Perhaps you’ve noticed the yard signs, chalk drawings or shamelessly self-promotional campaigning ramping up the past few weeks. If not, it won’t be long, because ASG elections have begun ramping up.

Though many of us are still reeling from election fatigue thanks to the last national cycle, these elections promise to be cleaner, more civil and, refreshingly, student-focused. Though candidates may disagree, I haven’t come across a candidate in my time here at CMU who wasn’t wholly focused on making our university experience better for students.

Unfortunately, CMU suffers from the same problem that the nation does: college-aged people simply don’t vote very often. On a campus of 10,000- plus students, we see less than 1,100 people vote in a good year.

Yet the winner of this year’s election will have a profound effect on the lives of every student attending CMU for an entire academic year. To quote Barack Obama, “elections have consequences.” Last year’s victors had the opportunity to advise the allocation of $2.5 million of student fees, keep the school administration informed, create new events for students and participate in crucial conversations about inclusivity on campus. Their (and my) success in doing these things is, as always, debatable, but nonetheless, who does them is important.

We have many issues facing our student body in the upcoming years. Colorado’s higher education funding has been cut, and students need to be active members of the conversation on how to preserve CMU’s status as the best value university in the state. Also of importance is the potential for federal policies from the Trump administration to harm students; focusing on and implementing practical solutions is a skill highly necessary for the future leaders of ASG.

To put it shortly, ASG matters, and who leads it matters just as much. I hope readers decide to vote this year.

ASG Elections start April 12th and end April 14th. Ballots can be found on OrgSync under the ASG page.