Brandon Bogard’s April 5 opinion piece titled, “Care About Other Issues” struck me as the most absurd and anti-democratic attempt at coercion I have ever read in The Reflector.
Brandon demeaned his fellow students and spat upon the democratic process, operating under the presumption that students at Mississippi State are too apathetic, too stupid and too politically impotent to get involved in this spring’s city elections cycle.
The gist of Brandon’s claim is as simple as it is cynical: The future of Starkville is too important to be influenced by a bunch of silly college students.
His indefensible argument that we, as students, do not care about the future of Starkville is both preposterous and insulting. From Brandon’s diatribe, you might assume that all MSU students are incurious drunks incapable of possessing the reasoning ability required to fill out a ballot at all.
Brandon conveniently contrived the myth that students limit their concerns to bars, beer and sidewalks. We should take time to thank Brandon for the vote of confidence.
In reality, students have focused more clearly on economic development than any other issue. If he would actually attend a Board of Aldermen meeting instead of watching from the sidelines, Brandon might grow a little less eager to stereotype and discriminate.
He claimed that “most students also do not go to the Board of Aldermen meetings.” I actually went to Tuesday’s meeting as I have done regularly over the past three years. There were nine students and 15 others in attendance. It seems that, proportionally, students are outshining the community in the attendance category.
The truth is obvious: students want every aspect of the Starkville community to continue to improve, and they want to provide input and assistance. Community leaders have supported student involvement as have the candidates for city office who have actively sought student input. To advocate otherwise stands as little more than a petty plea for apathy.
Many students, myself included, have grown to regard Starkville as our home and find it offensive to be told that we are “guests in this town.” But even students who only reside here during their college days have not only a right, but a responsibility to cast their votes here.
What if a single mother were to live in Starkville for only four years? Would she be denied the right to organize other single mothers to forge a common voice? Is she any less a part of this community? Should she be frowned upon for being a minority?
Anyone who would seek to make her and her peers feel unwelcome at the polls would be summarily denounced. The same should be true for anyone attempting to discourage student involvement. According to Mississippi Law, anyone over the age of 18 who has lived in a community for at least 30 days has the right to vote there. I’ll side with the law on this one.
Students don’t just live here for four years. They’ve been here since 1878. Perhaps Brandon should attempt to explain his position to the tens of thousands of alumni here for Super Bulldog Weekend. I wonder how they would respond to Brandon’s claim that “most students do not have an interest in the city’s wellbeing beyond their (college) stay.”
These integral contributors to Starkville’s economy commit dozens of weekends a year to spending their hard-earned money and valuable time in Starkville. When they are not here, they are telling their brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, children and friends about the wonderful things this university and community have to offer.
They are Starkville’s greatest ambassadors, and they fill that role without democratic compensation. For this reason, current students represent not only their own interests, but also those of past and future students. Work done by students before Brandon has improved his Starkville experience, and our work should do likewise.
The only attempt Bogard makes to support his position is his assertion that students do not pay enough in taxes to be legitimate voters. But even there, he badly misses the mark.
The city depends on students eating and shopping in Starkville for much of its tax revenue. Student supported businesses, which pay taxes in Starkville, would not exist without students.
Ask anyone who knows anything about the city’s tax structure, and you will learn that students are the lifeblood of the local economy.
Brandon claimed that student representation should be suppressed because we don’t pay property taxes. Since when is owning property a requirement for voting?
The claim that not owning property necessitates disenfranchisement harkens back to the days of Jim Crow. I wonder if Brandon realizes that 60 percent of Starkville residents live in rental property. By his logic, this sector of the population, which includes most of Starkville’s impoverished citizens, should be denied representation. Furthermore, the burden of paying property taxes is passed on to student tenants in the form of rent. Rest assured that renting property to students is not a philanthropic venture.
Despite all of Brandon’s hand wringing, the truth is that the Student Association’s ongoing efforts to encourage student participation in municipal politics do not amount to what he termed a ’60s era “student revolution.”
As a steadfast advocate for students, I have never once encouraged students to do anything other than to think for themselves and vote independently. However, I find it outrageous that Brandon advises students to disregard issues that are important to them.
You cannot leave behind the issues that define you when you step into the polling booth, nor should you try.
Instead, when you cast your vote May 3, do not feel like you have to apologize to Brandon Bogard or anyone else. Be proud that you are participating in one of our country’s proudest traditions and investing a small piece of yourself in a community that depends on you for its vitality.
You can and you will make a difference.
Adam Telle is the president of the Student Association.