The March 3rd edition of The Buchtelite asked what students thought about Clinton and Trump’s wins on Super Tuesday. What shocked me is that some of the respondents didn’t seem to know or care about the Super Tuesday primaries, or they didn’t believe paying attention to politics should be a priority at this stage in their lives.

These politically apathetic views on the UA campus are concerning because the changes in the political landscape can, and do, have a direct impact on UA functions and abilities.

For example, the members of the Board of Trustees at public universities in Ohio are appointed by the Governor, and hold nine-year terms. The BoT then selects candidates for administrative positions at the University; for example, the BoT at UA selected current President Scott Scarborough.

Additionally, the Governor and Congress also control state funding for public colleges in Ohio. According to statistics published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities in 2014, the amount of money spent by Ohio per student decreased 21.7 % from 2008-2014. The effect of the dwindling funding is obvious at UA, as fewer full-time faculty are hired and essential services are being outsourced to private companies, whose focus is on profits and not on quality.

UA should do more to encourage student participation and promote awareness of their political environment. When students are aware and informed, they begin to participate in and influence the future of the University and their futures.

-Alex Belovich
Freshman,
Computer Information Systems