A victory for democracy?
Juan Tolentino
As many of you should know, last Wednesday your Student Society Board of Directors, by an overwhelming majority, were impeached and removed from office. Shawn Hunsdale, Margo Dunnet, and all those listed among the so-called “Group of 7” were removed, quite suddenly, from their positions.
Now, let me take some time to reflect upon what happened during that most crucial of days. I happened to be present for a good portion of the SGM, and I’m afraid that I wasn’t particularly impressed with how things went. In fact, the meeting as a whole was quite embarrassing, a shameful example of the degree to which the deliberative process has given way to visceral opinion.
First off, let me say that the opposition could have done a better job of presenting themselves and defending their views and decisions. The actions of some of their defenders, such as trying to delay the voting process, were somewhat shameful, and should have been reconsidered. I wonder, though, if I would have been so careful had I been in a similar position. When the vast majority of those gathered have every intention on removing you from office, then a frantic end-run to prevent such a consequence is, after all, a natural reaction.
No, the main source of ire for me was the attitude of the pro-impeachment forces. I was under the impression that there was supposed to be a meaningful, cogent, and thoughtful conversation about the actions of the Board of Directors and the reasoning behind it. Instead, I got to watch, in great embarrassment, as the defenders were heckled and jeered by the gathered students. None of them wanted to hear the other side’s story because all of them had already made up their minds before stepping into the meeting area. None of them wanted to consider opposing views because everyone had already assumed that they weren’t worth listening to.
That is a great shame. Our democratic society functions because its members are willing and able to consider the issues for themselves and make their own decisions about them. Nothing like this happened during this meeting. No one bothered to consider the deeper story, or what really happened behind the scenes. Instead, they chose to listen to the constant clamor for impeachment, because if everyone was supporting it, then it must be a good thing, right?
There was an experiment conducted some years ago by a high school student down in the U.S. He began by making a presentation about the dangers of dihydrogen monoxide, citing it as a major component of acid rain and a ubiquitous ingredient in industrial processes, being freely expelled from factories and seeping into the environment. Almost everyone agreed to his conclusion that dihydrogen monoxide was a menace to society that should be extirpated.
Of course, anyone with a basic knowledge of chemistry would know that dihydrogen monoxide is just plain old water. The real experiment was a test on how much peer pressure influences the opinions of your average secondary student, and needless to say the results are a strong example of just how powerful group thinking really is.
So, how is this relevant to the situation here at SFU? Very. The mere fact that no one was willing to investigate further, that no one was willing to consider all the views (including those of the so-called G7), that everyone was content with following the crowd, is a tragic indicator of the state of student politics, and politics in general. No one at that meeting was really willing to learn everything they could about this controversy, but they all resolved to vote in favour of impeachment. In their great fervor, they saw the Board members as the ‘enemy’ that had to be overthrown. The excitement of a revolution was more important that the principles that lay at its foundation.
The ideals of democracy and the notion of majority will are powerful ideas that have formed the foundation of modern society and given us great benefits. We cheat ourselves, however, if we do not act within our responsibility to be well-informed, critical, and engaged citizens. Sure, the will of the majority is what makes things happen in a democracy. The sad lessons of our past history, though, prove that will alone is not enough.