Tipping the scales of justice

I love watching House of Cards on Netflix, but I hate being reminded about it in real life.

If you have been keeping up with the election in the United States, manipulation, power, betrayal and corruption are just a few of the elements that make up the overall discussion. Vying for such high positions of power seems to come with some controversy, sure, but not nearly to the degree we’ve seen recently. House of Cards and the American election should not be any sort of influence to your political aspirations.

McMaster’s own candidates, groups and issues have certainly not kept their hands clean when it has come to elections. Looking at the last year alone, it was clear that a change in culture was needed to ensure that the next MSU presidential race will be substantially less newsworthy. Actions that make a farce out of the system should not be tolerated when it comes to the university’s own political systems.

This calendar year started with possibly the worst campaign season in the university’s history. It’s not that the candidates were any worse than previous years, but the tallies on every candidate’s rule infraction list were marked with far too much red for anyone to take pride in. Even though there were only two presidential candidates disqualified in the history of the MSU before this year, the one in 2008 being overturned after a month of discussion, it was extremely odd that we only had one candidate in a similar situation.

Looking back on that election, it’s not difficult to see parallels to the recent Exclusive Club Card referendum. While there weren’t a large amount of candidates all continuously messing up, this referendum was a great reminder of how idiotic McMaster students can be when it comes to following solid rules.

A total of eight broken rules, as minor as they may seem, are important to the integrity of our democracy. Varying from pre-campaigning to failing to disclose expenses, most of these offences are, at this point, completely typical and unsurprising. While a few fines may happen with the extensive amount of rules in elections, it is completely unacceptable to be ignorant of them while campaigning. The alternative of knowing them and simply not caring is worse.

Poorly run campaigns, whether they be for a presidential candidate or for a referendum, are embarrassing for the student body. If student leaders can’t be bothered to read a rulebook or follow these established rules, why should anyone else in the student body bother with rules that apply to them? Attempting to gain an advantage through illegitimate means is a disgusting representation of the school you’re trying to represent.

Looking forward to the MSU presidential race that will happen in January, the reminder that campaigns can be struck down was a much needed one. The student body should demand more from their candidates, help enforce fair campaigns and those on campaign teams should at least try to not be completely mindless. This doesn’t seem like a lot to ask, but I fear that our news section will be busy regardless in the likely case that campaigns ignore the lessons that could be learned from this year.