Dear Editor,

With this very important election looming on the horizon, I was encouraged by the ASI’s effort to encourage people to vote and provide voting information to my fellow students so they can make a well informed decision this coming Tuesday.

Unfortunately, as I approached the information tables I found a very biased selection of materials and then I realized the information was not there to educate my fellow students but to persuade.

This is alarming regardless of your political beliefs.

The materials from the Democratic party were well represented.

Yet, trying to find materials from any of the other parties seemed to be absent.

With rare exceptions, one-sided views of the propositions were available. I simply could not find the “just say NO” to Proposition 19 materials.

Even the materials for the state’s top position of Governor, seemed to only have materials on Jerry Brown.

One would think their were no other contenders in this important race; however, I see six candidates on my ballot.

Although I applaud the efforts of the ASI to encourage students to vote, the key is for people to vote responsibly.

This is done through making students knowledgeable on the issues and the alternatives, not provided a biased selection of materials and a skewed view of the political landscape.

One thing I have learned about CSU Eastbay and it’s students is it is all about diversity–respecting the wide variety of cultures, experiences and backgrounds our student body represents.

The ASI should have applied the same core values when selecting the information about the political candidates and propositions to present to the student body.

Sincerely,
Garth Gelster
Graduate Student