Left unattended, it becomes a mere silence. Left unchallenged, it falters to a whisper.
When student voices no longer hold sway over their government, representation is nothing more than an illusion.
The staggering figures of the Maroon Elections highlight the extent of this issue: In 2023 Maroon Election had 10, 544 eligible Cobras, and only 9% voted, with a majority of 91% unengaged.
In the following 2024 Maroon Elections, this alarming trend continued and showed a persistent pattern of disengagement with a slight increase to 11% vote turnout out of 10,907 students.
The Maroon Elections, meant to be a democratic process, has teetered on the edge of irrelevance, undermined by a decline in involvement and an apathetic electorate. If a student government is meant to be a voice of the students, then a system where barely a fraction participates is failing at its core.
A significant factor of this democratic decline is timing—SWU Commission on Elections have been persistently scheduling the Maroon Elections during the most inconvenient period in the student calendar: exam week. The scheduled elections taking place when academic responsibilities take priority pushes civic engagement to the background, resulting in the votes being rushed, uninformed, or in certain cases, completely ignored.
The issue of participation is not a mere logistical problem; it is a failure of democratic ideals. If students are too burdened by their academic workload to vote, then the very foundation of student government has been severely compromised. By repeatedly scheduling the Maroon Elections consistently during times of academic strain, the university indirectly discourages students’ voter turnout, weakening the credibility of student representation.
Beyond this scheduling conflict of the Maroon Elections; electoral integrity is also at stake. Many positions are left uncontested leading to an absence of meaningful competition.
For the upcoming 2025 Maroon Elections, only one political party applied for accreditation—highlighting the lack of political diversity and competition, and securing leadership positions by default.
When elections lack competition, the results no longer reflect the collective voice of the student body but instead mirror a complacent system that rewards a select few while leaving the majority disconnected from the process.
The disengagement in student elections creates a culture of political apathy that goes beyond the campus walls.
If students do not see their votes as making a difference in student government, they are likely to carry this apathy to local and even national elections.If civic participation is neglected at the student level, it creates a harmful precedence for future political activity. A generation that is passive in student leadership stands the risk of becoming a quiet generation in actual democracy, undermining representation and accountability.
While some may argue that the low voter turnout and lack of opposition stem not from a flawed electoral system of the university but rather from the students’ reluctance to engage. After all, if no one had a desire to serve the student body, can the system truly be blamed?
SWU COMELEC has also stated that they are considering shifting the schedule to a more convenient time for the students. However, this overlooks the systematic barrier that slitters this crisis. The fact is that the students are disengaged not from unwavering passivity but because they have been led to believe that student elections are irrelevant—a perception fostered by years of inadequate scheduling, lack of opposition, and minimal student outreach.
Year after year, just like clockwork, student democracy is slowly fading in the background within SWU PHINMA’s walls. If the student government meant to amplify the voice of the students, then that voice is scarcely heard—drowned out by scheduling conflict, seemingly automatic wins, and a system that inadvertently deters participation.
The Maroon Community must decide whether to stay as passive observers or take an active role in shaping their representation.
In the end, a silent student body today may very well lead to a muted society tomorrow.
