VOTE NO

With the suddenness of a Nazi diplomatic bomb, the referendum on elections burst upon defenseless freshmen this morning. They are given absolutely no warning; they are given just as little time to think. Showing an unfortunate tendency to steamroller techniques, the plebiscite fails to present the question fairly. By its timing and by its management, it is calculated to stampede freshmen into approval of the old system.

If elections were to be abolished by the decision rendered today, it would be mechanically impossible for the morrow's voting to be constitutionally discontinued. This is the extent to which the Student Council is confident of a confirmation for its stand. The referendum comes when the whole class is politically conscious and expectant over the outcome. It comes when many Yardling groups have a vested interest in the current election, and are consequently unwilling to forego a chance to vote. It comes with such lightning rapidity that every freshman will hesitate to take such a mighty step with such great dispatch.

The fact that the ballot box has been stuffed must not prevent freshmen from standing up and fighting for the abolition of a meaningless form. The present system of elections makes a farce of democracy. The duly elected representatives of the class have absolutely no function but to appoint the chairmen of the Jubilee and the Smoker--something which the Union Committee could do just as well. Hence the election resolves down to a formal recognition of the most prominent freshmen.

But this recognition is tendered on the basis of notoriety rather than ability. Since the members of the class have not had the opportunity to learn to know each other, votes are dictated by completely false and illogical standards. The athlete and the milk-drinking champion triumph over the able executive. Perhaps freshmen should be given an opportunity to recognize their fellows, but in this case a spade should be called a spade. Elections should then be for the Most Popular Boy and the Best Athlete, rather than Class President and Class Treasurer--terms which connote something entirely different.

Elections are defended on the grounds than they provide much needed practice in the democratic process. But forms mean nothing provided the correct spirit is not behind them. Democracy in the Union and the Yard is a mockery. The cynical and frivolous attitude toward democratic forms which this situation produces does greater harm than a complete failure to exercise a democratic prerogative. The opportunity to vote will be offered students under far more auspicious circumstances in later years. In the Yard, however, elections are synonymous with hypocrisy, and freshmen conscious of this will abolish the two together.