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From: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Newsgroups: net.college,net.politics
Subject: Re: E.g. Student Gov't Project.
Message-ID: <1175@mmintl.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 5-Mar-86 20:47:37 EST
Article-I.D.: mmintl.1175
Posted: Wed Mar  5 20:47:37 1986
Date-Received: Sun, 9-Mar-86 21:21:01 EST
References: <39@crystal.UUCP>
Reply-To: franka@mmintl.UUCP (Frank Adams)
Organization: Multimate International, E. Hartford, CT
Lines: 24
Xref: lsuc net.college:384 net.politics:3559

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.

If the 10% were a random sample of the student population, it would indeed
be adequate.  There is every reason to think it is not, however.  Those who
vote are very much more likely to be political activists.

Furthermore, with a turnout that small, it is relatively easy for a small
minority with an axe to grind to get its members to all vote, resulting in
a very unrepresentative body.  (I'm not saying that this happened in this
case, of course; I have no idea whether it did or not.  The fact that it can
easily happen is a reason not to give too much power to a body selected by
such a narrowly-based vote.)

Frank Adams                           ihnp4!philabs!pwa-b!mmintl!franka
Multimate International    52 Oakland Ave North    E. Hartford, CT 06108