The year 2012 is a power-shifting history to be remembered; following Russia’s presidential election in March, France had its presidential election in April and the United States recently reelected Barack Obama for his second term as the 57th president. Korea is also heated with the 18th presidential election to be held on Dec. 19.
From Nov. 28 to 29, Ewha, too, is electing the 45th Student Government Association (SGA), which will represent and work for 20,000 Ewha students during the entire 2013 school year.
But then, who cares about the SGA elections these days?
Last year, only 7,241 students out of 13,779 registered voters voted, meaning only 52.6 percent of the entire Ewha student body voted. Only 3,543 students out of the 13,779 students actually endorsed  Acting Ewha, the current SGA; this equals mere 25 percent of the entire student body.
I have been working for the Ewha Voice for almost three years and as a part of my job, I have witnessed the election of the SGA for the past three years. I kept a close eye on the SGA meanwhile and have also dealt with so many complaints and disapprovals of the past SGAs. But do the 47.5 percent who did not vote have the right to complain about the SGA and their disapproving acts?
Election is how democracy is surviving in the modern society—we have ourselves a representative who speaks out for ourselves and in turn, we have the right to vote for the person who will represent us. It is our right yet a responsibility to pick the representatives; the one vote—whether it was casted or not—results in consequences that affect society during and after the tenure.
We should all take the responsibility bestowed upon us as a member of a society. After all, it is the bare minimum of what we can do for our community.
Personally, I may have been skeptical of the SGA—of their existence and performance. But the role of the SGA can extend further than ever imagined.
The 45th Students Union of Korea University, Kodae-Gong-Gam-Dae has been greatly praised among university students for its outstanding performance this year. Kodae-Gong-Gam-Dae is one by one completing the election pledges it has made, starting from the withdrawal from the Hankuk University Students Association. It has also pulled up rather successful anti-smoking campaigns on campus and is in process of installing smoking booths for the smokers—creating harmony between the different interests, wants, and needs on campus.
Kodae-Gong-Gam-Dae is making a difference on campus, benefiting the students who had voted for them.
This is the power of electing a reliable representative. Why don’t we make the same thing happen for Ewha students? Why don’t we make our SGA voice out for us and work for us so we can all make a difference on campus? We can make it happen.
Let’s vote for change.
저작권자 © Ewha Voice 무단전재 및 재배포 금지