It’s time for our Associated Student Government elections, or rather, another reminder of how apathetic and uninformed Fresno City College students are in regards to college affairs. But then again, it can’t just be that simple of an answer.

We have seen in national and state elections that if students know how items or candidates will actually affect them, they actually do care. That doesn’t seem to be the case at FCC, which means that there is something more going on.

Students do not know that elections for student government are going on right now, and every candidate on the ballot is running unopposed. Additionally, only 11 people are running for 21 positions. There are more than 20,000 students at FCC, and on average, about 600 people vote in these yearly elections.

In 2011, there were three people on the ASG presidential ballot; in 2012, there were two, Daniel Clark and Nathan Alonzo. Now in 2013, we are left with one name on the ballot, Edward James Sidebotham. Where are ourchoices?

It seems that fewer students participate in the ASG elections. This shows a lack of awareness on campus, but makes one question whether or not the student government is doing its job because they make such an effort to remain in the shadows.

What a shame. It is sad that students at FCC do not seem to care about how they are represented or who speaks for them or about their entitlements as community college students.

We wonder who bears the blame for this gross apathy. Do students know they can run for office in the first place or are they simply apathetic about how their college is run? Are they ignorant of these elections because no one tells them they can choose to get involved?

There have been no posts or announcements about the election process because of a misunderstanding of the campaigning rules, which state that no campaigning can take place until the April 9 mandatory candidate orientation meeting.

But if enough students had shown enough interest in their representation, they would have found out that they could sign up to run for office. Who should bear the blame that students were not told they could run for office? Whose fault is it that most FCC students do not know there is even a student government? Is it the role of the Rampage to be the mouthpiece of the Associated Student Government, its public relations tool?

The answer is NO. The Rampage reports on ASG activities, but only on issues or topics that the ASG discusses. If the ASG had tried to raise awareness or shown concern about a lack of participation in the election process, it would have been deemed newsworthy, and the Rampage would have covered it.

It is necessary to question whether some of the apathy on this campus can be attributed to the ASG and their perceived ineffectiveness on campus. We believe that students who choose to be in student government must be willing to tell every single person who they are, what they plan to do and aspire to achieve, and what the student government is all about. Every person in every class on campus should know who their representatives are.

That is not the case. In ASG meetings, members of the senate sometimes claim to have made these types of awareness speeches in their various classes. The claims are always very vague, and lead you to wonder whether or not these speeches actually took place.

There are even a few senators who claim they have attended their required school committees meetings. that they signed up for, but have no information to show for it. That is the entire purpose of their job. They are supposed sit on campus-wide committees and be the voice of the students. This provides cause to question their ability to serve the students in completely.

This lack of transparency is what leads to ASG’s invisibility. And if nobody knows ASG even exists, why does it exist? If ASG is “advocating” for students, why does their constituency not know that they’re even being represented?

ASG should also stop throwing away student money on going to “leadership” conferences that get our student body absolutely nothing, except a bunch of student leaders that find themselves unwilling to let their voices be heard by those around them.

This is not to completely bash ASG, because not everything that they do is bad. When they actually advocate on behalf of the students, they do a great job. There are many times when ASG’s hard work on behalf of the students goes unnoticed and thankless, and that is a shame.

The only thing that is worse than the student body not knowing the process to becoming a member of the student government is not recognizing the faces that are currently the student government.

So for those few that are joining the ASG as senators after this election, make sure that you avail yourself to the students. Always remember that even though you did not have to work hard to get votes due to a lack of competition, that you are still there to do a job and must let the students you represent know of the job you are doing on their behalf.

And for those members returning to the ASG, please be sure to remember how you got there, and why you took the positions that you did.

Your job is to make a difference, and if the students do not know who you are, then you are not doing your job. How will you get feedback from students on the extent of your success or the extent of your failures? That is what student government and true representation are all about.