For the six years that I’ve been a faculty member here, a University student has always held the First Ward city council seat. This council member has been a vital link between the students and the community. There is a proposed amendment (Charter Amendment Section 2.01) on November’s ballot that will eliminate the current ward system and make it so that all city council seats are elected at-large for four year terms (current ward seats are only two years). Under the proposed system it would be very unlikely that a student could win a seat on council. First, students would have to run a city-wide campaign which requires much more money compared to the current system in which they only have to campaign in one ward (typically the First Ward). Second, the current proposal makes all terms four years in length. This would mean that students would have to decide to run in their first year (a daunting task for most students who haven’t even settled on a major) or would have to go to graduate school at Bowling Green Sate University (not a pleasant prospect for many students) or relinquish their seat when they graduate (having a non-elected official represent their seat).

It’s not surprising that the proposed charter change is decidedly student-unfriendly. Mayor Quinn, who formed the 17-member Charter Commission, did not nominate any University students to the commission. Given that Bowling Green is essentially a small college town, it seems unfair to propose a system that would exclude students from the city’s governing body. Students need their own advocate on Council. Please join me in voting this proposal down.