d blowing in the wind blowing in the wind RICHARD KASER blowing in the wi Once again, as we look out the library windows onto the greening campus below, the signs of spring begin to appear. The paths in the grass turn a muddy brown, the sun worshipers sprawl in lazy abandon, and the campus election banners begin to sprout all about. Yes, it is time for a reawakening, a reawakening of the mind, soul, and heart. Too bad we aren't left alone long enough to enjoy the carefree springtime world! Perhaps the most perplexing springtime phenomenon at Weber is the studentbody election-probably because to the average student these exercises in campus civic duty are totally worthless and irrelevant. So what if Joe Bloe is elected Financial Vice-President with a three vote plurality? The band will still get its $345.86, as will the choir, and also the student representatives to the national champagne bubble makers of America convention. Things at most institutions of higher learning, and in fact at most institutions of any importance, run on the principle of inevitability, a principle which states that everything will continue on in its own fine way no matter who is in charge. Names, faces, ideas, and programs change, yet still the college continues to function, a fact which should, in the end, be solace to the great uninvolved and unaffected electorate. It would be nice to think that a single election could make a difference in the general quality of academic and social achievement, but as with all things in the big world outside our pearly gates, one change does not necessarily bring about other corresponding changes. One student-body president may appeal to more girls than another, and still when it comes to the actual job, the job of doing something for every student at Weber State College, each man is caught in the vice of reality. Finances are tightly controlled from the top, activities and attitudes are tightly controlled by the surrounding status quo, and personalities are held in check from below. The students, when and if they even vote, are concerned with an image rather than a program; an idea rather than a concrete proposal; and most importantly they are mostly concerned with their own ideas and personal problems rather than those facing the campus around them. Weber, in a sense, has no real problems which directly concern the students that cannot be handled more efficiently, fairly, and effectively by the paid, professional administrative staff, a fact of which most informed college students are well aware. In looking at the question of the irrelevance of student-body elections, it would seem that one of the most significant reasons for this problem is the fact that Weber, out of economic and social necessity, has become a sort of cash-and-carry institution of higher learning. Students come in the morning, rush to class, drop into the Union for a quick chat, and then quickly abandon the premises for home, work and play. School for the modern working student has become just one aspect of a total life, an aspect which is probably becoming less and less significant. Thus, what do all the neat posters blowing in the wind from the roof of Building IV mean to a student who can afford no more than a few hours of his day to the furtherance of his academic career? And, probably more importantly, what chance does an elected student official have to actually make an impact on those he supposedly serves? A good case in point is the recent war between the late Signpost editor and the studentbody president. Although there was much fuss over the idea of censorship, it would seem that the basic question boiled down to whether or not the highest elected official of student government had the power, or even the right, to step in and try to rescue from oblivion the one student endeavor which actually affects students. It would seem appropriate to assume that if it really mattered who was elected to what position, then it should also matter that these people vigorously enforce the power, trust, and respect they are charged with. For a president to slam his fist into the organs of free press' is one thing, but it is quite another to allow an obviously inferior publication to limp along as the sole student connection with student activities and student government. So, the campus experienced the usual bickering and infighting, and as could have been expected, nothing was accomplished or settled. The president of the students held secret meetings that only the "in crowd" knew about, while the student newspaper was published with six pages out of seven left blank. And, as also could be expected, the students reacted to this latest example of student government ineffectiveness with the only rationalization possible: the famous "So What?" With this point, then, we return to the basic dilemma of just what the students at Weber State want from their ballots. It would seem that the majority would prefer to be left alone, and would, in the final analysis, be totally unmoved by the abolition of student government, a fact borne out by the number of students who bother to vote in any of the student elections. Certainly not one student in ten can name more than one or two student officers, and not that many have any idea as to the identity of the class officers. And, as long as it is "business as usual," with the gang running student offices as though they were a private country club, it would seem that this basic negative attitude will continue on. So, as I look out the window upon the greening campus below, and see the banners of this and that candidate floating in the wind, I find that the only thing I can say is to please clean up the mess before it spreads all over the flowers and bushes. The least student government can do is to see to it that things are reasonably sanitary and pollution free, for with all this mess blowing around, I might just forget where Building IV is, and then think of the problems! Of course, on the other hand, it might be a nice vacation made possible by the guy with the huge green and white posters who is running for Financial V.P. Who says the Financial V.P. never did anything for me?