Politicize Much?

Tonight's blog is going to be short since its already pretty late, but I'm going to write anyways because I need to get in the habit of making it a regular habit. Tomorrow is a big day for the university because it is election day for student council. I was on student government at EWu for a year and was involved for another two years but I can confidently say nothing I've seen in student affairs compares with election action like this:

Those are political party flags outside of the campus, the runners with little flags that cross over the street are also for political parties. These are not Student political flags but actual state-political party flags, the yellow are Fatah, I'm not entirely sure what the red are, but there are also orange ones for the PFLP. Everything in Palestine is so politicized that not even something as simple as student government is free from the issues of the Palestinian state and direction of the state. It's actually absurd even though it's fascinating. Hamas used to participate a few years ago, but has since gone more underground for various reasons. Quite simply, its dangerous on many levels to be a part of this political party because even though it is popular, publicly announcing your alliance to them can land you in PA prison, Israeli prison, Israeli watchlists and generally a social pariah. Once again I have to clarify that Hamas is a political party, not a terrorist group explicity but instead just like any other political group has factions that are havens for nutcases and fundamentalists. A few years ago there was large scale brawl on campus due to the election results between Fatah and Hamas that led to the university being closed for the day to ensure the safety of everyone. There has been an increased police presence not just around the campus but all around town in expectation of the STUDENT elections and there is potential for the internationals to be sent home from work to make sure that incitement is kept to a minimum.

Its getting late so I need to get to bed but I'm excited for the choatic democracy that will happen tomorrow. As a parting shot, here is a rally of Fatah students (recognizable by their black and white keffiyehs) for the elections marching through campus below my building. If only kids in America cared this much about about politics(even if it might be be a little misguided).