Why should we vote? Traditionally, none of the candidates for city council have truly cared about the needs of the students of UVM. What possible reason would drive the eight thousand students of the University of Vermont to the polls? Are you tired of the housing crunch and excessive property taxes driving your rent to ridiculous heights? Are you fed up with having to drive to campus, contending with poorly plowed streets, broken up sidewalks and a severe lack of parking? Are you frustrated with the lack of such a simple staple as a grocery store in our fair city? Why is the city council funding a supermarket that is taking YEARS to build? Another ordinance has made it illegal for four unrelated people to sign a lease to live in the same house. What population in Burlington is that ordinance biased against? How about penalty taxes? Our elected representative in Burlington has taken it upon himself to submit a bill to raise gasoline taxes to encourage us to use alternative forms of transportation. Do you still wonder why we should vote? Apathy has thrown vote after vote to the Progressive party. One seat is already theirs; are we going to throw this seat away, too? All Progressives vote. They are a clear minority population that counts on the apathy of the majority to give them their victories. The majority of students at the University of Vermont don’t vote although most are eligible. Come Town Meeting Day, March 5, 2002, it’s a good bet that paid-activist Ashley Smith, Will Miller and all of their cronies will come to the voting booths, casting their Progressive votes for fiscal irresponsibility and bigger government under the banner of Social Justice. Where will you be? Do you want to pay higher rent because the city can’t efficiently build a supermarket? Do you enjoy having to skip class because there’s nowhere to park? Do you love to pay more and more money because our city council doesn’t know how to behave responsibly? You consider yourself patriotic. Perhaps you’ve given blood or have been watching the news more than before. You definitely care how you’re being represented. How about doing something about it? It won’t take much to change the dynamic of the city council. There’s no reason why we can’t have a Democrat or Republican in that seat. UVM junior Nathan Rice of Burlington is running under the Republican ticket for City Council in Ward 1 against Democrat attorney Ian Carleton. Why not either of them? Don’t let voter apathy put the Progressives in office again. March 5, 2002. Get out and vote.