Student votes vital to filling numerous UCSU seats
Every semester the University of Colorado Student Union, CU’s student government, holds elections to determine who CU’s next student leaders will be. Controlling over $30 million dollars in student fees, UCSU is the most powerful student union in the nation. They fund and control 12 student cost centers, the largest of which are the UMC, Wardenburg and the Rec Center, and they form and debate policy that guides the campus and its students.
Despite the influence the elected members possess, it is rare for more than 20 percent of CU’s large student population, numbering near 30,000, to vote in the spring election. Fewer than 10 percent of students have historically participated in the fall elections. Two years ago, the number of students voting dipped below 1,000.