UNC Charlotte students give yourself a hand. You’ve done yourselves proud.
Regardless of the outcome of the student vote on whether the school should start a football program, the participation of the student body has exceeded the hopes of many of the football faithful. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, 7,517 students had voted – that’s nearly 35 percent of the roughly 21,500 students on the rolls last fall.
By comparison, the highest turnout of student government elections anyone at Charlotte can recall was about 10 percent, and that was several years ago. Also, the largest number of student tickets distributed for a men’s basketball game this season was 3,454 for the Feb. 10 homecoming game against Fordham. The football vote count is more than double that.
No one knows how the students have voted. And I really don’t care. The fact more than 7,500 students have taken the time to speak on this issue is an accomplishment. When I was a student at UNCC, you couldn’t get 7,500 students to agree to miss class on the same day.
When all is said and done on this football issue – voting ends at 9 p.m. Sunday – there will be those who are disappointed the outcome didn’t go their way. But please take the time to pat yourselves on the back for showing student apathy isn’t always a forgone conclusion.
-- JIM UTTER
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
UNCC students rock the vote
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3 comments:
Agreed. A lot of good people put a lot of time into aggregating interest into something tangible, like this vote. Even if the vote doesn't turn out the way it should, we won't be able to blame it on the administration.
THANK YOU for finally putting something positive up about this Football vote. Those ignorant reporters at the University Times newspapers just keep spinning more and more negative stories. Atleast you guys show both sides in the Big O!
I have to take issue with the description of the UTimes reporters as ignorant. These folks put in a lot of work for little reward and are a true asset to UNCC.
The voter turnout was impressive. About 80% of the students voting said that they'd be willing to commit extra funds to 49er football. Presumably they've spoken with their parents, who would be paying for their commitment.
The reality, though, is that this number amounts to only 30% of the student population. The poll never asked the basic question. Do you want or not want football at UNCC? Instead, it assumed that folks wanted football and asked them what they would commit to. I have to wonder what weight commitments like this really hold.
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