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From the Archives – Rage Against the Machine

Last year’s DSU elections had a turn out of only 10.9% of eligible voters, even with ten referendum questions on the ballot. Without the same glut of referendum incentives this time around, we may be on the verge of setting a new benchmark for student apathy.

The following is a look back at some of the more prominent DSU also-rans who have done their best to run against the system, fight apathy, and inspire the masses. Whether earnestly erudite (Hankey & Foley), openly anti-establishment (Robson & Parr), unabashedly “straight shooting” (Dunn & Tremills), loveably goofy (Zelle & Bastarache), or simply possessing a T-1000-esque relentlessness (Debogorski), these outgunned outsiders stepped up and did their best to fight the long, slow march towards our present state.

Peter Robson and Jim Parr – Volume 98, Issue 16 – February 14, 1966

Robson and Parr have billed themselves as anti-establishment candidates,”This year, in an effort to make the Dalhousie student aware of the machine which for the past few years has seemingly decided all the posts on Council well in advance of the elections,” Robson said. “We have decided that an attempt should be made to oppose such action.

“The present head of the Treasury Board, and as such Treasurer of the Student’s Council, is the ‘In’ group’s choice for next year’s president. We do not question Young’s ability but do question the means by which he is to gain his new position. As golden-haired boy on Council this year, Crawford has obviously impressed the ”IN’ crowd group, and is being amply rewarded for his work.”

Wayne Hankey and Tim Foley – Volume 99, Issue 18 – February 16, 1967

First, we see the activity of thought as a true mode of life in itself, and the student, as student, as a real member of society. The truth of this statement will become clearer and clearer as time passes. Now and more so in the future, the creation of leisure through increased productivity will demand adoption of these ideas. In some parts of the world today where the student has acquired the equal status of worker he is paid a wage for his contribution to the society.

The student as engaged in investigation of the principles of action is concerned with what ends motivate his society. Every society needs this criticism if it is not to stagnate. The student’s position cannot, however, be merely abstract or armchair criticism. Thought to be responsible must include the possibility of action. The campus must be politically active.

Phil Dunn and Colin Tremills – Volume 115, Issue 18 – February 10, 1983

The only thing the administration listens to is piles of statistics, said Dunn. The only way to deal with them is to have persistence and to keep banging away at them. What is needed is a good system of information and facts and not as much bureaucracy. “If [Dalhousie President]MacKay doesn’t come around, we’ll shoot him between his beady little eyes,” said Dunn. That would be a very effective means of getting your point across, he added.

Mike Zelle and Ralph Bastarache – Volume 123, Issue 17 – February 7, 1991

Hi! We are Mike and Ralph, and we are running for President and Executive Vice-President of the DSU. “Why should I vote for Mutt and Jeff’, you might be asking yourself, as indeed people have already asked us. Before we can answer that, maybe you should ask yourselves why we want to run a ‘Fido-Dido’ type campaign.

It boils down to student apathy. Last year had a record turnout of voters … a whopping 25 per cent of the student body. This occurred during a year where there were three teams to choose from and the major issues were a possible 25 per cent increase in tuition and possibility of yet another faculty strike. The strike was averted but not the tuition increase, and now we must all pay the price.

Student awareness must be raised, so that in the future the students know what the issues are BEFORE it is too late to affect them, so that students may voice their opinions to their student leaders and have their opinions represented when and where decisions are being made. Our campaign is based on communication, commitment and involvement. Teamwork is a logical extrapolation of these ideals and therefore we have chosen, as a team, to answer these questions together.

Gregory Debogorski – Volume 139, Issue 24 – March 15, 2007

Debogorski wants to increase efficiency at Dal, which could help both students and the administration. “There’s a lot of slacking going on around campus,” he says.

If the university became more efficient, it would have more resources to balance its books and allocate more money to student needs, he says.

If he’s elected, Debogorski says he would go out of his way to make himself known as the students’ representative and “basically their servant.”

“I would want to them to feel free to come up and make complaints or suggestions or even give me attitude,” he says.

He says he’d also like to put more focus on decreasing student apathy, because he feels too many students aren’t involved with the university.

Gregory Debogorski – Volume 140, Issue 22 – March 13, 2008

Regrettable fashion decision: “It’s cool any way I bust it.”

Hidden talent: Can read people by their tone of voice.

Debogorski’s main focus in his presidential campaign is, as he puts it, putting students back into the student union rather than allowing them to feel left out of union activities.

“The DSU has this political clique, in the commissions, in council, at the front desk, all across the DSU, and I think that’s part of the reason for the apathy,” he says. “The executive review committee is a farce.”

Gregory Debogorski – Volume 141, Issue 22 – March 12, 2009

What’s your guilty pleasure TV show: “I don’t watch TV.”

Specialty dish you cook: “I don’t have one.”

Where would you go if you had a time machine, and why?
“To post 9/11 to try and stop these silly terrorist acts from being legislated.”

If elected president of the Dalhousie Student Union (DSU), Gregory Debogorski wants to start experimenting to install a form of participatory democracy at Dalhousie.

Debogorski also wants to switch up the university’s current investments to start building a student-based economy that would allow the union to take over its own food services and start its own welding shop.

“There is a political clique that’s instituted here on campus and needs to be broken up through increasing the number of votes on council and the number of people on council.”

Gregory Debogorski – Volume 142, Issue 23 – March 19, 2010

“I’d like to take the executive out of their offices,” he says. “If I won, I’d put my desk right across from the info desk. It’s ridiculous that we have a union that we all pay fees to, and yet the people that make decisions in the unions aren’t accessible for students.”

Debogorski wants to push for a monthly referendum where students can have their say about issues and decisions the union is making.

He says the website is also a big priority. Debogorski wants to clean it up, make the information easier to find and add debate forums.

John Hillman
John Hillman
John Hillman is the Gazette's Opinions Editor. John is a second-year law student, but he has been at Dalhousie for much longer than that. Recently discovered cave paintings indicate he was first observed lurching around campus by Halifax’s original human settlers some time during the late Pleistocene epoch. He started writing for the Gazette back when you were in elementary school, but he unexpectedly went off the grid a half-decade ago to concentrate on helping found Punditry.ca, a DSU-focused political blog. Where exactly was he hiding between the years 2009-2013? Certain individuals would prefer he not comment. Why has he returned? Not because of a top-secret Illuminati indoctrination project known only as the Omega Initiative, that’s for sure. You can email John at opinions@dalgazette.com.
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