Lights off on the elections

Somewhere before three in the afternoon, I went out of the radio lab, went down to the Miguel Walk, and started to walk stridently towards the polling area for the CLA and COE. In my head, it was supposedly picture perfect – until Tapat’s Monica Escalona asked me if I have voted.

After two weeks of following people around and trying to think with school requirements lurking, I have finally placed my vote. The feeling of having people ask you that question for the past three days has been akin to stress, but you really couldn’t blame them, as turnout was low, at least in the CLA, for the first two days. Thankfully, with around five hours before polls closed today, the announcement was made: half of FAST 2005 had voted. Applause from both parties’ CLA candidates surrounded the voting area.

The sheer number of party colors today led me to call the area between Miguel and Velasco a “house party,” with the idea that everybody will break out into song in celebration of the moment the polls officially close. With the assurance that an extension won’t happen, it seems they’ll just clap their hands thinking that they could finally sleep.

It will soon be over, but…

Indeed, the busy schedule that I pointed out in the first entries for this year’s coverage has really reared its ugly head, which explains the lack of entries for the past two days. In those days, aside from trying to get things done, I was also trying to, finally, decide who to vote for.

It has taken so long, isn’t it? I’ve been talking to party candidates and supporters who have been watching the polls for the past two days, and I’ve somehow found the questions on whether I should vote repetitive. I’ve always said I’m voting today – because I really haven’t made a decision on crucial slots in the executive board – yet people keep on asking me to vote. My candidate-friends, even, have been (jokingly, I believe) dragging me to the voting area, but with no luck.

It’s somewhat ironic, really. The way the campaign has gone, the people that are supposed to fully understand the issues being presented by both campaigns are not going to vote. As of yesterday, turnout for students of FAST 2005 – the CLA’s junior batch, which I am part of – has been hovering at around 30%. With thesis deadlines for some departments already set for today, it doesn’t seem to be going up any sooner, unless we see a surge today. And I haven’t seen the younger batches vote, or I just wasn’t there to see it.