Direct Elections requires money. We cannot certainly rely on students to use their own finances since the election will only favor those who have the monies to support such a run, defying the very democratic process. And how could we go about doing that in a manner that is fair and unbiased. But I am very skeptical that Direct Elections can ever work at NU, particularly in the way that the utopians seem to believe that it will work. There are clearly many issues that would need to be worked out, but I would like to see at least one at-large position be elected by the student body.
Some attempt is better than no attempt.
The fact that it is not being utilized today should give you an indication of its success rate amongst NU students. If you are familiar with Project Vote Smart, you will recognize the following proposal. Through the use of the NuWay initiative, the kiosks, and the Internet, a system could be devised to allow students access to the candidates as well as voting. No paper ballots required. It's not the paper ballots I'm concerned with necessarily.