Donna Mae Alaga 
Student council exists to advocate for the student body’s welfare.
With the existence of sole candidacy in student council elections, it would be a challenge to amplify voices that could fully encapsulate the diverse needs of students.
This epitomizes the impending case of Samar State University – Main Campus as its Commission on Elections announced last September 27 on their Facebook page that a lone political party is qualified to run for the University Student Council Elections for Academic Year 2023-2024.
The prospective fresh slate of new student leaders may mean a shift in the scenery of student experiences, but there are more to it than what meets the eye of an average student voter.
NO OPPOSITION, NO COMPETITION
It might seem counterintuitive but a political party running solely in a student council faces the grave harm of false democracy. It’s a deviation from the usual clash of voices and platforms which ultimately challenge not only the public speaking and persuasive skills of aspiring candidates, but their grit and resilience in gaining the trust of the student body in getting their job done— represent and realize student’s welfare.
Without an intention to undervalue the sole political party’s interest to run, lack of immediate political foe lifts the burden in their shoulders for the common enemy they should be facing now is the credence to get their names ticked in those ballot forms.
TO ABSTAIN OR NOT ABSTAIN
Political apathy tend to be the usual tactic of student voters who were not substantially convinced of the candidates’ preach of would-be platforms and projects to fulfill their duties, let alone not vote at all, especially when there is only a single roster of candidates they will pick from. In a different light, since there are positions that are ought to be filled, students are prompted to just vote and veer away from evaluating their bets in terms of their credibility and leadership capabilities. Fortunately, political abstinence, which has recently tipped the repertoire of students, shed light on the pressure to participate in such university student elections without compromising one’s standards in who to vote.
DEPOLITICIZATION
A single party running to acquire political spaces implies the routinization of student council— we’re doing it for the the sake of urgency that its office should house mere leaders.
The lack of diversity in political parties restrict opening positions for leaders who could have better, viable platforms for the student body, if only they have the courage, credibility, and extra push to make it before the filing of candidacy ends.
But who are we to judge when this sole party’s regime have not even started yet. Good thing political debates still exist to initially scrutinize what this single political party could bring to the table.
It might seem that students of SSU won’t be solving puzzles anymore, for now, just to pick their best bet in the upcoming elections. However, they should still keep an eye out of these aspirants by evaluating what they as would-be student council leaders has to offer, understanding one’s right as a voter, and being wary of potential oppressive force on participation student themselves tolerate.
