The True Blue Student Coalition, with an assist from Eugene hip-hop group the Four Trees, rocked the EMU Amphitheater on Wednesday in order to get the word out about the upcoming ASUO elections. Students who stopped by to chalk their most important issues for the upcoming election on the ground of the amphitheater highlighted the concert, ensuring that the issues would take center stage for the upcoming primaries.
Midway through the event, the entire True Blue team was introduced to the student body, giving each candidate an opportunity to speak directly to the crowd. Executive candidate Nick Schultz outlined the True Blue platform to the audience and invited students to discuss their biggest concerns with candidates mingling throughout the Amphitheater. The weather threatened at times, but held out long enough to allow for a tremendously successful event, complete with jugglers, instrumental hip-hop, and even a visit or two from competing campaigns.
When the event was finished, the entire floor of the EMU Amphitheater was covered with messages from students about what they’d like to see from their student government. Responses ranged from “Free NY Times!” to “Results, not politics!”. Though we were committed to providing a fun, exciting atmosphere for students, True Blue was proud to see so many students taking a few moments to speak out about the things they enjoy and wish to see from the ASUO.
True Blue’s kickoff concert underscored the need for an issue-based campaign with direct input from the student body – even while having fun in the process. Elections too often are reduced to infighting among candidates, but during these difficult economic times, students are most concerned with who is going to make their lives a little bit easier on campus and how they are going to get it done.
Most of all, members of the campus community deserve to know that the candidates who are running take their concerns seriously. The True Blue Student Coalition is full of passionate people that are sacrificing sleep, food, and free time to try to make a positive change in the ASUO government. We were happy to provide students with the opportunity to hear some good music and enjoy themselves in otherwise dreary weather, but most importantly, True Blue appreciates the chance we had to interact with students, solicit their ideas, and let them know that we’re doing all we can to demonstrate how serious we are about making a difference in the student experience on campus.
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