Editor:

I am the member of the College of Humanities who voted in the recent student elections for Elvis Costello. My vote, and others like it, were criticized in Adam Benson’s March 22 column, “Saddam for President.” It was the opinion of the columnist that this was a throwaway vote and that if those who voted in such a way would simply vote for a viable candidate, then these votes could actually do some good.

This column misrepresented voters like myself as simply wasting votes. This is not the case. Where much emphasis was placed on my vote for Costello, there was no mention of me voting seriously in the primary elections or my choosing of many other actual candidates in addition to the aforementioned king of modern rock and roll. The sad truth is, after I voted for every person on the ballot who I thought would do a good job in student government, I still had one space to fill. Unwilling to vote for lesser candidates and unsure if the computer would log my votes if I did not completely fill out the ballot (the instructions were not very clear), I added the one name that came to mind.

A throwaway vote? Not really-more like a silent protest, a plea for better candidates to fill student offices. A cry for candidates who would do more than try to earn my vote with free oranges and day-old baked goods.

I would gladly have voted for an actual candidate if there had been any worthy of a vote.

James Bennett

Graduate Student, French