4A
Opinion
Wednesday, April 19, 2000
Editorial
For serious crimes, fines are not enough
Walker should be held responsible for actions of coalition
Student Senate elections are done, but there still are important issues involving certain candidates and glitches in the voting process being discussed on university. Associations of misconduct.
campus. Accusations of misconduct and questionable ethics are fluc
and questionable ethics are flying in the aftermath of a close race among three of the prominent coalitions: United Students, Delta Force and Students First.
Last week, the Kansan reported theft of 6,000 newspapers. Four students either running for or supporting the United Students coalition confessed to the crime. No charges have been brought against the students yet. But the question remains, should the leader of an organization be responsible for the actions of its members?
As reported in the Kansan, Ben Walker, Student Body President-Elect, overheard members of his coalition talking about stealing the papers the night before the theft. He said that he warned them not to
who stole and disposed of the papers should be punished accordingly
If Walker had any knowledge of the crime or any hint of his coalition's intentions, according to University of Kansas policy, which can be found in the "Offenses by a Student Organization or Campus Organization" section in the code of Students Rights and Responsibilities in every student's timetable, he should be held responsible as well.
The task at hand is deciding what consequences those who violated election codes should face. Election violations have taken on a pattern during the last few years. The same codes are being violated each year, such as stuffing residents'
mailboxes with campaign propaganda — and by the same people, and by essentially the same coalition, just with a different name.
Again, the responsibility of real-world
It is the leader's responsibility to oversee the conduct of those working with him. If members of United Students view their jobs as real-world politics, they should be ready to accept the real-world consequences. And it is clear that Walker, at least, views student politics as comparative to the real world. This is evidenced by
his well-known stance in opposition to campaign spending limits in Student Senate elections. He and his coalition should be consistent in their acceptance of responsibility and consequences.
politics comes into play. The fines instigated against violators on campus are not enough. If violators know that all they will have to face is a simple fine, then they will keep up their unethical conduct. Hefter fines or other punishments should be established to convey the message of how to run a clean campaign for future coalitions.
Glitches in the voting system may have been a factor in the outcome of the elections. Computer systems were down on last Wednesday morning for four hours, resulting in a
significant decrease voters. Nothing was done to amend this problem. Voting booths
Senate elections are done,
Elections Commission owes it
to the student body to seriously
investigate the preceding issues
up at a few campus areas on Friday to make up for lost time.
Tabatha Beerbower for the editorial board
Note to Elections Commission: Justice must be served - today
This afternoon, the Student Senate Elections Commission will convene to determine guilt and discuss sanctions for the complaints filed in last week's election. At the center of the discussion will be the felony grand theft committed by former candidates and supporters of the United Students coalition. This kind of blatant criminal act is exactly the reason most people stopped reading this column as soon as they realized it was about Senate. It's also part of the reason so few people voted last week. It must be stopped.
In a KJHK interview immediately after the election results were announced, the winning candidates expressed their dismay with the "biased media." If they meant that the Kansan was biased against them, they were wrong, because, simply put, we're not. It's our job to cover news. And, if one coalition is breaking rules and the others are not, the rule-breaking coalition is going to receive more bad press but that's its fault, not ours. It's simple; if you don't want ugly stories written about you, don't do ugly things. Just because they don't always get reported doesn't mean they never will.
It's no secret that last spring, I, too, ran for student body president. (I won second place!) It was a good experience, but as anyone who has ever done it — especially against the entrenched campus political machine — knows, it was also an ugly experience. There were systematic attempts to harass and intimidate me by members of the opposing YOU coalition, and then at the end of the election, a clear message about where that harassment came from.
There were plenty of nasty acts, but I'm just going to list the verifiable ones, which were witnessed by others, or to which the individual involved has confessed.
1. I was followed in my car as I ran errands across town by Eric Ohlsen, who wasn't even running for Senate, but who worked for the YOU campaign as a some sort of lackey.
2. On the days of the election, Lindsey
Gaston, my favorite paper thief, followed me across campus with a walkie-talkie, reporting my whereabouts as I campaigned. It was no fun at all.
3. As a special final, after the announcement was made that he had won, student body
president Korb Maxwell and friends showed up at Pearson Hall, where I lived at the time. I wasn't there, but witnesses described the scene as a champagne-spraying, obscenity-hurling adventure worthy of videotape. Unfortunately, unlike the *Laurence Journal-World*, Pearson has no security camera.
The reason for this list isn't to call out these individuals, but instead to demonstrate that there is pattern of deplorable
Seth Hoffman opinion editor opinion@kansas.com
o behavior. Every year the list of offenses committed by the winning coalition is disturbingly high. This doesn't even include all the official complaints filed with the Elections Commission, which is also generally long and just as egregious. Almost every candidate who has run against these individuals and their predecessors have similar stories. Stories that include cars being flipped, personal safety threatened and homes broken into.
11m year, in addition to the criminal offenses committed by members of the YOUnited Students campaign, the list of on-campus vio-
The reason these actions continue is because no one is ever substantially punished for their misdeeds. Too often, the Lawrence Police Department, the University of Kansas administration and the Elections Commission write them off as silly college pranks centered on a couple of kids playing politics.
1. Offering a free ride to campus from Daisy Hill in return for votes
2. Going door to door in residence halls, where soliciting is prohibited
3. Dropping off campaign materials in sorority mailboxes.
4. Pushing handbills under the doors of graduate teaching assistants' offices.
These don't seem like huge transgressions, especially when compared to the other stuff they did, and to be fair, they haven't been found guilty. If they are though, the penalties should be heavy because they've happened so many times before. In fact, Walker's previous campaigns have been found guilty of No. 4. That's an obvious disregard for the rules that govern a fair and free election. As long as those who oppose these campaign outlaws continue to play by the rules, they will be at a distinct disadvantage.
Today, it's possible that the Elections Commission will see the probable criminal charges the thieves face as enough punishment. It's not. In court, they will not be charged or punished for violating the elections code that two of these individuals signed and pledged to follow. In court, Walker and Marshall will not be held responsible for the theft, although it appears that they suspected it would happen and could have done more to stop it. In court, nothing will be done to send a message that Senate elections cannot be bought.
Justice must be served, it must be swift and it must be severe.
If not, these types of election violations will continue to occur.
The University Daily Kansan
Hoffman is a lenexa senior in journalism. He was Delta Force's candidate for student body president in the 1999 Student Senate elections.
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Broaden your mind:
Today's quote
“When the president does it, that means it is not illegal.” — Richard Nixon
Feedback
Printing criminal records in Kansan unnecessary
Hasn't anyone on the Kansan staff done anything they regret? I bet they have. Will this sort of thing be a future feature that we all can look forward to, a sort of mistake-hall-of-famers list? It might take a while to print all of the mistakes, as I think everyone in the entire human race will have a couple.
Can someone explain why there was a need to cite the criminal records of those running for Student Senate elections? Where was the story there? Was a moral lesson involved somewhere?
Carrie Gray
West Inn. Ore... senior
The Kansan went to an all-time low last date by printing Student Senate candidates' prior convictions for the whole school to see.
Student politicians differ from regular politicians in one major thing — they are students. Students attend the University of Kansas to receive an education, not to have their names smeared in the mud. They deserve the respect of having their personal lives kept private. Student candidates are doing a noble thing by trying to improve the life of students at the University.
Rather than support the candidates in their cause, the Kansan has unnecessarily created a mud-slinging election. The backgrounds of the candidates are completely irrelevant to the campaign. All the citations involve alcohol misuse, and though it isn't condoned, underage drinking is a fact of life for most students at the University. Would the staff of the Kansan appreciate having their backgrounds being a determinant of their professional abilities? Rather than printing each candidate's issues and platforms, which would be more beneficial to students, the Kansan took a tabloid approach to journalism.
The Kansan needs to re-evaluate its purpose as a newspaper. It is to provide relevant, newsworthy information for the students? Or is it a gossip tabloid trying to exploit other students for entertainment?
Nooshin Soltani Overland Park sophomore
Toilet paper low priority
To the oppressed, chafed and spoiled children living on campus, do you think that being able to attend a good school, having a roof over your head and at least one good meal a day is not good enough?
Step out of your selfpitying realm and take a look around. With all the murder, hate crimes and 'NSycalc sales that plague our society, it's impossible to look at your crusade with sympathetic eyes. Here's an idea: Buy your own toilet paper, or would that be too reality-based to handle?
To the little James Deans who toilet
The only problem I see with housing on campus is this: It contains a select few who believe they are privileged and deserve special treatment. I have news for this small group: Life is tough! If putting up with one ply for 9 months out of the year is the biggest problem you have to face, consider yourself lucky.
Julius Fackler Leavenworth junior
papered the scholarship halls, remember what you did. When and if you live off campus, toilet paper will become part of a budget, and you will wish you had what you wasted. So grow up and be happy that you have it so easy. Until you have considered stealing toilet paper from public restrooms to save a buck, suck it up and buy some aloe.
Student elections a farce
As an interested outside observer, I would like to say that Student Senate elections at the University of Kansas are a farce.
I am repulsed to see that to get elected student body president and vice president, the only thing that matters is who you are, what you look like and which group of students you are associated with. Apparently, no matter what one's coalition does in a campaign, there are no consequences as long as you have the "right" pedigree. Integrity and trustworthiness, which are the building blocks of leadership, are apparently meaningful.
Their election victory makes a mockery of student government and the democratic process.
The president and vice president of United Students may or may not have been directly involved in the theft of newspapers. But, their coalition was, and as its leaders, they should take responsibility for their coalition's actions. In matters of trust and integrity like these, "guilt by association" applies.
Brian Harris 1993 KU graduate
Apparently, Ben Walker, the United Students student body presidential candidate, was at a party last summer where unapproved alcohol was served. This tactic by the other coalitions to discredit him is ludicrous. I would venture to say that almost every coalition member along with almost every KU student has either drunk before they were 21 or been at a party where people under 21 were drinking, which constitutes serving unapproved alcohol. Does this make any of us bad people or unworthy to be trusted? I, like many others, want someone who has made mistakes and has learned from them just as I have.
In the April 12 Kansan, there was an article entitled "Kansans stolen to protect coalition," which particularly grabbed my attention. If you want to know why nobody cares about the elections, this article sums it up.
Mudslinging must stop
So I say to all of Senate: Quit putting down your opponents so you can win a seat and tell us what you'll do to better the University of Kansas. I hope that someday the phrase "May the best man win" will mean just that, the best man for the job. Not the flawless, not the perfect, not the one who has never made a mistake, but the best for the job. We're all in this together and not one of us is better than the other. If Senate can realize that, perhaps next year I may just vote.
Eli Cox
York, Penn., sophomore