True to form, it has been shown once again that ASU Cares.
On Saturday, the ASU Cares community service initiative descended upon the local Sunshine Acres Children's Home in one of ASU's largest community service projects. Eager students brought shovels and paintbrushes and spent a good portion of the morning and early afternoon refurbishing buildings and playground equipment.
I applaud these volunteers for their service and their sacrifice. On behalf of the ASU community, these students worked to show that we take pride in the community that we share, and they did so only in the name of goodwill, a free lunch and a t-shirt.
For those of you who were there, and those of you who weren't, I issue another challenge to make sure that ASU students make their mark on this community. When the polls open tomorrow for Tempe to elect a new mayor and fill three City Council seats, don't let your voice go unheard.
I know most of you are already packing for spring break or trying to figure out how to collect your $13.86 from the record industry, but I'd like to think that rocking the vote would have a much larger impact.
Around 70 percent of you are registered to vote here in Tempe. And 100 percent of you are affected by local government decisions. From the grocery store back home to your mailbox and all the way through your front door, city decisions have a gigantic impact on the way you live, work and play.
I don't know how many of you have EVER been to a City Council meeting (one that wasn't involved with the Party Ordinance vote, anyway). For those who have, what did you see? Most likely, it was one thing -- a constituency of middle-aged and older residents watching the wheels of power turn in a manner that suits, well, your average middle-aged homeowner, whose only connection to college life might be paying off his or her student loans.
And who was to stop them? Though the Council makes many of the final decisions that shape Tempe, they're YOUR elected representatives. Which means you should be the one to put them there.
The entire idea of the student "transient," most recently propagated by mayoral candidate Hugh Hallman, should be enough to stage a student revolt. And while it might be fun to find some pitchforks and lay siege to the upside-down pyramid at the heart of Tempe politics, wouldn't it be more effective to just get off your lazy ass and vote?
Hallman's opponent, Dennis Cahill, would love to open the channels of government to students. The City of Tempe has more than 70 commissions and committees that provide input to the Mayor and City Council on everything from planning and zoning to fine arts.
For all of you aspiring politicians and anyone who has an interest in what's going on in the world around you, Cahill proposes to open up a seat on each of those committees and reserve it for an ASU student, to make sure that students have a voice in guiding this city's future.
At this point, kids, the door is still open. Wide open. But if all goes as it usually does, no one will pry himself or herself away from the Xbox or their textbooks long enough to prove that anyone cares.
Want to prove that ASU really cares? Get out there and do something about it. You may not get a free t-shirt, but if you ask nicely, I'm sure they can hook you up with one of those "I voted today" stickers.
Brian Clapp is all about the free stickers. Reach him at leisurestudies@asu.edu.
