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From: chapman@miro.berkeley.edu.BERKELEY.EDU (Brent Chapman)
Newsgroups: net.college,net.politics
Subject: Re: E.g. Student Gov't Project.
Message-ID: <11965@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: Fri, 21-Feb-86 22:33:54 EST
Article-I.D.: ucbvax.11965
Posted: Fri Feb 21 22:33:54 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 23-Feb-86 04:00:33 EST
References: <39@crystal.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: ucbvax!miro!chapman (Brent Chapman)
Organization: UNIXversity of California, Berkeley
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Xref: lsuc net.college:292 net.politics:3370

In article <39@crystal.UUCP> chavey@crystal.UUCP (Darrah Chavey) writes:
>
>As yet another U of M alumni, I wish to speak in favor of the MSA having
>the right to attempt to ban the CIA from campus.  I doubt that almost any
>major campus has student government elections that get more than 10% voting 
>attendance.  We certainly don't get that much at the Univ. of Wisconsin.  
>A 10% sample of such a large sample space would be considered representative 
>under almost any circumstances (except by people who disagree with the 
>decision).  Pollsters make do with much less than that.  Hence I think the MSA 
>has the right to view themselves as a representative body, and to proceed under 
>those assumptions.

But consider WHICH 10% votes:  the 10% that have an opinion or an interest.
That means that 90% of the people JUST DON'T CARE!  And I don't blame them!
We've got other things to worry about, like the problem set that's due
tomorrow, the midterm next week, the term project we haven't even LOOKED at
yet, (sound familiar?) ...

10% may be a very good sample IF the rest of the body can be assumed to have
roughly the same characteristics in the same proportions as the sample,
which is DEFINITELY not the case in elections.

Enough.  I'm probably going to get flamed royally about this, but what the
hey?  After all, I'm at Berkeley, and such things are sort of expected
around here...  :-)


Brent Chapman
ucbvax!miro!chapman