Some say that taking a stance against the Machine is the equivalent to always supporting a voting block like the Machine. I disagree. A chief source of the Machine’s power is built on threats, and because of these backward foundations, I refuse to support candidates who are running through Machine backing.
Despite qualifications, despite taking money from the Machine or not, the Machine coerces many greek students to vote for their candidates by fabricating lies and threatening students. As a greek student who was previously a Machine-backed Student Government Association senator, I, along with many others, have experienced these lies and threats and am deeply saddened by how they are holding back our great campus.
As a freshman, I, along with my pledge class, was sat down for our secret “Machine talk.” Throughout this talk, we were told that Tutwiler elevators were bugged, that our votes were known and that we could never speak of “the Machine,” though we must always vote for it (for our own “good,” of course). As juvenile and ignorant as this conversation sounds to me now, as naïve freshmen this conversation was terrifying to us all.
My naïveté continued as I convinced myself that though I did not agree with the values of the Machine, perhaps I could make a positive difference from within. I soon learned that changes from within were beyond reach and a strong feeling of apathy overcame me. This apathy was triggered by my second “Machine talk,” this time with all the elected Machine-backed senators in attendance in a fraternity basement. Here, a few Machine representatives dressed in black cloaks with black, cone-shaped hats addressed us. One shaky voice read from a script, informing us senators that we were always to vote in accord with the Machine and if we faulted, we would face consequences.
Though all of these threats are completely unfounded, they make many greek students feel disenfranchised. Greeks are often forced to vote, yet many do not feel that they can explore whom they would like to vote for, thereby creating an apathetic and disengaged campus. This year, we have the chance to move forward as many brave Machine-house greeks have set a positive tone for this election and this campus: David Wilson, Alex Clark, Christian Smith and Chandler Wright.
The Machine discredits strong greek leaders who are qualified to hold their accolades with or without Machine support. After all, qualifications are meaningless if it is believed that the position, award or membership was only achieved through a system of intimidation. Greeks who are true leaders on this campus will thrive without the Machine just as easily, if not more easily.
Greek or independent, this year, I hope that all UA students will look past their organizational affiliations and vote as what we all ultimately are – UA students. Vote to better our campus as a whole; vote to leave our campus better than when you arrived.
Chirsty Boardman is the chief strategist for the David Wilson campaign and a senior majoring in French and economics.
