In 13 hours across the span of two days, Associated Students of Madison gave students the opportunity to decide the fate of the Student Union Initiative and Living Wage referendums.
In a perfect democracy, UW-Madison's 41,169 eligible student voters would have cast about 53 votes per minute. In the real world, however, a mere 2,635 students pencilled in votes with a frequency of approximately three votes per minute.
The votes of said 2,635 civic participants spoke for the entire student body, though they only represent approximately 6.5 percent of the student body.
But low voter turnout aside, the outcome of the elections will have mixed impacts on the university. Voters made the right choice in electing to support SUI, and will see the fruits of their ballots blossom over the next decade and beyond.
Clearly, those who voted for SUI made an informed decision. On the other hand, voters who passed the Living Wage referendum presumably either hold union or university jobs or voted uninformed.
The referendum will effectively raise the wage of those students from $7.25 to $10.23, but the source of funding remains unknown.
At least students can watch Living Wage suck more money out of their wallets from the comfort of renovated union facilities.
