On May 3, Starkville will hold its municipal primary elections. We students represent a significant portion of the population and income potential for at least nine months of the year. It is important for us to understand the issues the next administration will be facing and to participate in the election so we can help decide who will run a city that is just as much ours as it is theirs.
It’s time we take some responsibility for, and make some decisions about, our city. Students are a major driving force in this town. Just ask anyone who works in the retail or hospitality industries in town during summer, spring break and Christmas.
If you plan to vote in the May 3 primary elections, you must be registered to vote by April 3. Don’t wait until the last minute. Your registration has to be completed, processed and filed in time for the election. I’m sure the Student Association and several other campus groups will be conducting programs over the next two months to register voters, so all you need do is ask your representative.
Another step students can take to ensure our impact is to stand up against the biased nature of the general elections. The primary election basically determines who gets to run for each party. The general election is the important one-the one where we choose a winner. But it has been inconveniently scheduled-or conveniently, depending on who you ask-for the first Tuesday in June. Guess what. More than half of MSU students are gone during June and July.To counter this inconvenience, those of us who continue to rent or lease a residence in town over the break, whether you’re gone for two months or still here, need to make a commitment to return to town to vote in the pivotal race. Starkville is at a crossroads and is facing many difficult issues ahead. Student input must be felt if Starkville is to become what we want it to be, and what it deserves to be.
Planning and zoning is one issue that they will have to figure out up front if Starkville is to remain a beautiful town en route to becoming a beautiful city. Current zoning statutes, or a lack thereof, has caused a mishmash of commercial and residential occupation. Drive down almost any street in town, and you are likely to be confused by a wealthier home next to a business next to mobile home next to a gas station.
These kinds of infrastructure problems cause animosity between property owners and property renters. Animosity is a major reason Starkville has for years resisted becoming a true college town. Many permanent residents simply have a bad opinion of students because our apartments-with our loud parties and huge amounts of trash and empty beer cans-sit adjacent to their six-figure homes. More stringent zoning rules would alleviate such harsh feelings.
Speaking of apartments, the next administration will have to find a way to ensure the much-needed growth of Starkville without letting it become filled with cheaply constructed, cookie-cutter dwellings. The current six-month moratorium on residential development will run out soon, and the mayor and the board will need to be prepared to encourage growth without making Starkville a city of Crossgates. Perhaps a conditional moratorium if unit vacancy reaches a certain percentage would do the job.
The next government will also be faced with furthering the relationship between the town and MSU. If you’ve ever been to another college town, you’ve probably noticed a lot more school spirit, not just from the students but from the locals and the businesses. Starkville needs that sort of community involvement in the university. And university officials and students need to make sure they give the town something it can be proud to support.
The bottom line is that if students work with-not against-the permanent residents of Starkville, and if the permanent residents of Starkville work with students, we can ensure that Starkville becomes what everyone wants it to be.
But in order for that to happen, students need to take an interest in the town and the town needs to take an interest in the school.
Nick Thompson is a senior communication major. He can be reached at [email protected].