This November 6 is one of the most important days of the year for America ― the day we vote for our next president. It is the day that we, as Americans, each get a chance to elect who we want to take charge of our country for the next four years.

As American citizens, we get to pick our leader, a responsibility we are lucky to have. We must take advantage of this.

Only 51 percent of youth voters (18-29-year-olds, aka college students) cast ballots in the 2008 election, meaning that only about half of college-aged students voted. That is not good enough.

We commend ASUCD and CALPIRG for easing the voter registration process for students through their Aggies Vote program.

Young voters are an important part of elections because they have a unique perspective on various issues and will be greatly affected by the election’s outcome this year.

Along with voting for candidates, voters will also cast ballots regarding propositions, including Proposition 30. If Prop. 30 does not pass, tuition could potentially increase by 20 percent in 2013 for UC students.

While youth voter turnout has increased over the past few elections, 51 percent is extremely low and is not enough to represent the American students’ voice. So go register and go vote. Now.

To register to vote go to californiastudentvote.org. The window for registration through this website will be open until October 22.

However, while it is important to vote, it is equally as important to be educated on the issues that you are voting on.

Students, the window for registering is closing, don’t miss out on this opportunity to make a difference.

So you’re still trying to figure it out are you? Here’s a clue … you work for a person who doesn’t tell the truth — who says one thing, but does another, who is directly responsible for violence committed against students, who confused state with student funding and who shamelessly broke terms of agreements with students, who ignored or dismissed distinguished faculty who have tried to help, and who has actively done her best to turn UC Davis’ uniquely funded and principled intercollegiate athletic program into something that would be indistinguishable from any other in the “stellar” constellation of Division 1 sports — and no doubt lose money chasing its own tail just like 90 percent of the rest of D1 athletic departments.

And it’s not the first time you’ve heard this.

So you can keep trying to figure it out and telling students they need to do more than just send you the $18 million they presently do each year or you can reduce ICA’s $4.5 million annual administrative expenses (that’s more than twice what Cal Poly spends, by the way) by $1.5 million, eliminate financial bonuses (yes, like yours), stop spending NCAA Student-Athlete Opportunity money on fancy dinners at Seasons and championship rings, avoid paying outrageous coach salaries, stop your plans to outsource athletic opportunities (and student-funded athletic scholarship money) to out-of-state students — and tell her to stop attacking and start respecting the Core Principles, to reinstate women’s rowing and men’s swimming and wrestling and to promise never to pull that crap again.

There you go. You’re welcome. We do indeed want you to be successful. We need you to be the principled Athletic Director you said you’d be.

Paul Medved

UC Davis Class of 1978

The ASUCD senate table was suspiciously barren at its first meeting last Thursday night.

Three of the 12 senators that students elected as representatives failed to show up, while still collecting paychecks that come from student fees. This is completely unacceptable.

Let’s start with Joyce Han and Anni Kimball. Coincidentally, these two missing senators are members of the same sorority. We believe it safe to say they skipped Thursday’s meeting for recruitment events, and we’re disturbed that they would prioritize a selective group over the needs of the whole student body. They prioritized something they pay for over something every student pays them to do.

The fact that this happened the first meeting of the quarter is setting a dangerous, dangerous precedent. Going to senate meetings is a vital requirement of the job. It’s where officials vote on bills, allocate money and hear from the public. We hope senators realize that when they run for office and start accepting paychecks comprised of student fees, ASUCD should always come first.

That brings us to the third missing senator: Yara Zokaie. Zokaie is in San Diego, attending law school. That’s cool and all, but we’re concerned she’s still insistent on keeping her seat.

Zokaie cannot possibly serve students sufficiently when she’s so far away. It’s simple. She’s not voting at senate meetings, and she can’t truly understand the current needs of UC Davis students when she is no longer a student at UC Davis.

If Zokaie were to step down, the president would look for a replacement. Zokaie told The Aggie that she is keeping her seat for political reasons, and we find that petty. Maybe Zokaie truly believes that her actions are merited, but the fact of the matter is that students deserve to have full representation on the senate table.

We elected 12 senators. We expect 12 senators present at every meeting.

But what is even more ridiculous and petty than Zokaie’s decision is that ASUCD President Rebecca Sterling is looking into removing Zokaie unlawfully. This is ridiculous. Even though we wish Zokaie would step down, the ASUCD bylaws still need to be followed. That means it is not the president’s place to make such a decision, it is up to the judicial branch of student government. Without the bylaws, we are potentially allowing chaos to ensue.

The president should be bringing the student government together and be a leader by focusing on policy. However, there is a clear division on the table that anyone who attends senate meetings regularly can see. This extreme and visible tension between senators is clearly inhibiting their ability to do what’s best for UC Davis students.

We hope our elected leaders can focus on what their jobs truly mean — to represent student interests, not personal ones.

Editor’s note: This article was updated on Oct. 4 to reflect accurate information.

What makes a body or system of law legitimate?

When you drive your car up to an intersection and reflexively halt at the stop sign, why do you do it? It isn’t because the imposing red octagon frightens you, nor is it because the word “stop” commands you to do so.  You stop because you recognize the associated traffic code carries with it the force of law, and you acknowledge the legitimacy and steadfastness of that law.

We as members of a student government pretend at being legislators and arbiters of law. We hold meetings, bang gavels, and write and pass legislation, but at the end of the day, we’re not true politicians; only pretenders.

However, in maintaining this charade, we agree to consent to the ASUCD constitution and ASUCD bylaws. This may seem foolish to onlookers. There is no true punishment for breaking a bylaw. There are no ASUCD police who will apprehend you and place you in ASUCD jail. Rather, we consent to be governed by said bylaws because we recognize their legitimacy in maintaining the fairness and impartiality of our association. Furthermore, in mirroring our student government in the image of the United States Federal Government, we implicitly acknowledge the value and worth of the American model of Democracy, and the separation of powers imbued therein.

In “Federalist No. 51” James Madison advocated the need for a separation of powers, “separate and distinct exercise of the different powers of government … essential to the preservation of liberty.”  He spoke of the desire for a balanced executive, one that could not wield infinite power at its discretion.

As members of this association, we too affirm the need for distributed powers among the branches to keep each in their proper place.

All this philosophical background is meant to illustrate a pressing issue. At the end of last spring, ASUCD Senator Yara Zokaie absconded off to San Diego to begin her career at law school. Though she is across the state, she still retains her seat as a senator.

Is this right? Most likely not. Zokaie swore to continually represent the UC Davis student body throughout her tenure as a senator, something she cannot be reasonably expected to do from across the state.  However, that’s not for me, nor ASUCD President Rebecca Sterling, to decide.

If a member of the association is in violation of our laws, they ought to be referred to the ASUCD Supreme Court, the ultimate arbiters of the ASUCD constitution. However, rather than do the rational and procedurally correct thing, our president has taken the unprecedented and drastic step of attempting to forcibly remove Zokaie from her seat.

In any real government, this would be unacceptable. Such a move by the executive would invalidate the separation of powers, rendering the result of a fair election in which a senator was popularly chosen utterly meaningless. Such a step would represent the beginning of a slide into an authoritarian regime and a total collapse of all the values inherent to a democracy. This is wrong, and I cannot support it, because I believe in the value of a fair democratic process.

In the end, it all comes down to competing claims of legitimacy. Sterling may have a point when she argues that Zokaie’s actions have made the association look illegitimate.

However, I ask you to consider which is worse: a one-time instance of a senator shirking their responsibility which can be rectified, or a president setting a dangerous precedent by flaunting the constitution meant to govern her, and permanently breaching the separation of powers so crucial to maintaining our association.

I for one will not abide such a step. I say here and now, if this unlawful process continues unabated, I will seek the immediate recall of our president, and should I fail, I myself will resign my position. Because I for one love this student government, and will not see it delegitimized thusly.