Illini Online - Editorial Elected leaders must live up to obligations Sunday in the Pine Lounge of the Illini Union, the Student Election Commission announced all the candidates who had won Illinois Student Government elections and will serve in student government next year. The reactions ranged from bitterness to resignation to jubilation. In one year, campus should see more of a focus on multiculturalism, more development in Campustown and a student government that is vocal in issues that concern students. Leadership isn't about being called by deans and having an office in the Union.
Leadership is about obligations, which each newly elected student has a duty to maintain.
The slates might have picked some issues thinking of how they would resound with the voters and not how they benefit the campus or actually be implemented, but now is the time to worry about details and not popularity. Making empty promises is the worst thing the new leaders could do. We should expect results. Student government isn't about being important, nor is it about self-advancement. It's about leadership for the student body and improving the life and academic career of the average student.