So So Mentally Gone

I know that technically, I depart for Brasil several weeks from now. But to be completely honest, I have already mentally departed from Swarthmore.

So how do I stay grounded? In finals? Reality? Work that NEEDS to get done, if I'm already gone?

So So 17

17 votes determined the StuCo presidential campaign.

Something that, on some level, I anticipated.

But given that, and thinking about historical and ongoing movements and struggles, what is the significance 276 votes? In a cut and dry race? In a win or lose situation?

What is the significance of 276 votes if we think about the results outside of the binary of winning or losing? Does it mean that it was not worth it? Do the conversations that come out of it make it worth it? How has the collective imagination of who and what Swarthmore changed and what does that even mean?

These are all questions I am interested in addressing because in the larger context, a lot of the small steps that it takes to build movements are not recognized as wins, but they still work towards something. So...

So So None Of The Above

None of the Above, the option and the campaign, is a part of the democratic process, written into our (Swattie) Constitution. As in, it is a part of my choice, as a voter, a constituent of the student body, and as a Swarthmore student. I do not know why it is perceived as anti-democratic, when in fact it has and is currently serving as a crucial part of the check and balance system necessary to keep StuCo accountable to the student body. Instead of attacking the imagined constituents of this campaign, why don't we take a step back and ask what kind of structural bureaucracies and ideologies have maintained the status quo that has traditionally left the majority of the student body disaffected and disengaged with student government in general? Instead of protecting this defunct system that protects the privilege and comfort of a select few, why don't we expose and examine in the way it currently functions and create some creative, alternative solutions in typical Swattie fashion?

The backlash against NOTA leaves me extremely disappointed with Swarthmore. Instead of rising to the challenge and taking the opportunity to start a serious self-examination process, many Swatties have gone on the defensive and removed themselves from the examination of what is going at Swarthmore and why people are pissed off.

A quick note on the OOTA campaign: I interpret it as an attack. For me, those posters remind me that I am regarded as a second-class citizen of the Swarthmore College community. Which is why I blog. Which is why I focus on the internal growth and strengthening of the communities where I can identify as a first class member.

Swarthmore, I am this close to being done.