When the GSB election results came out, the voting numbers were a little disappointing. Two thousand, eight hundred and sixty-five students voted in the executive election, a number far lower than last year. But there were other numbers that were far worse, showing the high level of student apathy on campus regarding student government.

For instance, only five people voted in the “race” for Buchanan Hall senator. All five voted for write-in candidates. The College of Business senator race had only 28 votes, and again, all were write-ins.

The College of Family and Consumer Sciences senator race saw two people vote, both write-ins for the eventual victor. Only six students voted for their American Ethnic Minority senator, five for Disabilities senator, 12 for International senator and four for Non-traditional senator.

And the GSB Veterinary Medicine senator seat will now be decided by a special council after a three-way tie during the GSB elections.

That’s right, a rarity in governmental elections occurred on campus, a tie. Three students voted, and three students received a single vote each.

What does this say about the level of interest in GSB on campus? Not much at all. Student apathy toward the organization runs rampant on campus, and this has been evidenced by the voting numbers released from this year’s election.

A great number of those who received votes for senate seats in the election were write-in candidates. So it’s not only the sorry fact that no one’s voting, no one’s even running for these spots. Just take a look at who writes the GSB bills; it’s the same handful of senators every time. Maybe these other spots don’t matter.

The introduction of online voting was a good move by GSB. The luxury of voting from home or class was a move that did increase voting numbers, but more needs to be done. Students need to feel that taking the time to vote – no matter how minute that time may be – is going to make some difference on campus. Apathy doesn’t just appear out of thin air. There has to be a reason students don’t show any interest in student government.

That’s where GSB needs to take the initiative. If more input from the student body is really something they are striving for, there needs to be a greater level of openness. It is GSB’s responsibility to make people believe that what they do matters.

A new administration has been elected. If they truly want students to put faith in them as leaders, they will have to prove there is a reason to do so. In addition to this, there must be a concerted effort to get students involved in the process, both in voting and in running for office. When six students cast a vote for a minority senator on a campus with a decent number of minorities, the message is clear: No one cares.

Well, GSB, let’s try to make them care. Do what you must to bring back the apathetic.

editorialboard: Andrea Hauser, Tim Paluch, Michelle Kann, Charlie Weaver, Omar Tesdell