Daily Kansan
oter Guide
Section A·Page 5 Tuesday, April 11, 2000
Platform Strengths and Weaknesses
United Students
Strengths: Small student service ideas such as clocks and pencil sharpeners in classrooms, using housing meal cards on campus. Reasonable goals on which it should be reasonably easy to follow through are a better focus.
Weaknesses: Dependence on traditional lobbying for pie-in-the-sky goals. Traditional lobbying is an extension of the status quo, and the status quo isn't working.
Students First
Students First
Strengths: Students First is the only coalition with a plan to change the way students
think about Senate. Requiring senators to complete 10 "outreach" hours per semester would help them better connect with their constituencies.
Weaknesses: One of Students First's main platform planks is improving school spirit and improving Homecoming and Hawk Night attendance. Moving the Homecoming parade to Saturday or canceling classes probably would hurt attendance.
Resume Builders:
Strengths: The only issue one even can take seriously is the coalition's plan to allow beer at football games.
Unfortunately, challenging state laws may be more than the Resume Builders can handle.
Weaknesses: Everything else. The Resume Builders have sprinkled their platform with issues such as keeping the library open 24 hours and halting corporatization, but it's hard to imagine they'll do anything about these concerns.
Independent
Strengths: The Independent candidates' intentions to increase voter turnout is admirable, but just intending to get more people to the polls won't make it so.
Weaknesses: The plan to increase student representation on University Council is fine, but they keep calling it University Senate, which is something different completely.
Delta Force
Strengths: Delta Force's plan to create an off-campus resource center shows a concrete commitment that will benefit a large constituency. Also,
recycling in the residence halls is a noble goal that would be relatively easy to implement.
Weaknesses: Delta Force's plan to increase minority recruitment is less concrete, which brings down an otherwise strong platform. In addition, its perennial student involvement plank is equally nebulous.
David Jack junior business Andover
Claims to have no leadership experience
Favorite thing about KU: GSP-Corbin
Also claims to have no leadership experience
Favorite thing about KU: Freshmen girls
You guys are kidding, right?
tion.
What a long, strange trip it's been. From the time they decided to run to this final week of campaigning, the Resume Builders have been nothing if not fun. But fun does not a successful Student Senate make. After several years of watching Delta Force and another multi-named coalition go at it, it was good to see someone expose the obvious grandstanding that takes place during Senate elections.
Resume Builders were fun but it's time to move on
The drunk bunny will join the pantheon of
great political symbols, from the donkey to the elephant. Ordering a Pizza Shuttle two-fer ensured that this year's debate would be as entertaining as any previous.
wnite they wallowed in unimportant issues such as Trivial Pursuit dominance, unexplained NHL statistics and strip club Senate meetings, they also touched on very germane complaints. Why can't regular people drink at Jayhawk football games? Almost everyone on campus thinks the administration is being hypocritical about its Memorial Stadium alcohol policy, but the issue conveniently has died down after a semester of staunch inac-
And what about Senate? Resume Builders certainly have brought the most important Senate issue of all to the forefront: Who cares? Certainly not the 84 percent of students who didn't think Senate was important enough to vote in last year's elections.
But alas, all of the joking around is done, and it is time to coronate a new set of leaders. In doing so, the Resume Builders clearly don't have what it takes. The reason voter turnout is important is that Senate itself is important. Candidates need to be more direct and honest about their ambitions, but they also must get work done once elected. This is not Resume Builders' strong point.
Luke Atkinson, the coalition's student body presidential candidate, said during interviews with the Kansan editorial board "I don't want to be remembered for anything."
This will be almost impossible for those who have been treated to one of the funniest campaigns in Senate history.
Jeff Engstrom for the editorial board
Independent candidates need seasoning
Independent student body presidential and vice presidential candidates Tyler O'Neil and Cesar Mori offer fresh faces for Student Senate elections, but their platform — which they were unable to provide in written form — leaves much to be desired. Although it was refreshingly apparent that they are not running to further their own political careers, their candidacies are not based in leadership or Senate experience. This is not a problem if supplemented with knowledge about politics at the University of Kansas or with a cohesive vision coupled with detailed goals. However, O'Neil and Mori come across as disoriented candidates who may have genuine intentions, but who if elected, probably would become overwhelmed and ineffective from the start.
Independent
from the start.
The candidates' main goals seem to be to increase voter turnout, expand awareness about Senate by working on issues of concern to students and to "have fun." During the interview with the Kansan editorial board, Mori first put forward the lofty and seemingly unattainable goal of working to raise voter turnout from 17 percent to 50 percent this year. Unfortunately, though, even exorbitant budget funds and glossy propaganda don't seem to faze a largely apathetic student body. And, O'Nell and Mori — who have none of the above — didn't put forth an alternative.
Tyler O'Neil junior business Lawrence
The candidates focused on issues that may be within a Senate's realm of influence; reasonable goals that they thought would have a
None
Favorite thing about KU: Students
None
positive impact on students, including cleaning up Potter Lake and, more ambitiously, increasing the political power of international students.
Favorite thing about KU: Warmth of people on campus
when asked about how they would deal with state legislators and the University administration on difficult issues, the candidates responded frankly; in other words, pessimistic. O'Neil and Mori believe that Senate does not have much clout with either body. While their upfront nature is, in a way, appealing, it also left something to be desired.
The major problem with the Independent
candidates is the apparent lack of thought and detail behind the goals and issues that they were able to provide. While some of their ideas, such as increasing environmental efforts on campus, are good ones in their raw forms, they simply are too unpolished to give a clear understanding of how and why they would be accomplished if the candidates were elected.
— Matt Dunehoo and Heather Herrman for the editorial board
Candidate roster
Architecture
Delta Force — Nick Delgadillo
Delta Force — Adam Rich
Students First — Matthew Cortez
Students First — Jason Hickam
United Students — Alison Beck
United Students — Sarah Taghizadeh
Business
Delta Force — Jason Fleischauer
Delta Force — Matt Thompson
Resume Builders — Brad Hoffman
Resume Builders — Kyle Lew
Students First — John Duckworth
Students First — Kelsy Simcox
United Students — Jermee Jones
United Students — Cooper Sutherland
CLAS
Delta Force — R. James Abraham
Delta Force — John Giampaoli
Delta Force — Jennifer Green
Delta Force — Trevor Loney
Delta Force — Lisa Meinen
Delta Force — Olivia Stockman
Delta Force — Imad Uddin
Delta Force — Sarah Yannaccone
Resume Builders — J. D. Clark
Resume Builders — David Dietierch
Resume Builders — Trevor Kohl
Resume Builders — Sara McBride
Resume Builders — Nathan Tyler
Resume Builders — Eric Wendling
Students First — Josh Boots
Students First — Bred Buchbaum
Students First — Ana Duran
Students First — Matt Dwyer
Students First — Justin Nichols
Students First — Kendra Seaman
Students First — Curtis Sloan
Students First — Eric Snider
Students First — Jessica Sullivan
Students First — Chris Vetter
United Students — Katie Bens-Majerle
United Students — Eric Chenowith
United Students — Andrew Crouse
United Students — Rachel Henry
United Students — Sarah Hovel
United Students — J. D. Jenkins
United Students — Tanisha R. Jones
United Students — Brandon Kane
United Students — Hunter Williams
United Students — R. J. Woodring
Delta Force — Corey Snyder
Students First — Carlisha Bell
Students First — Dusten D. Crichton
Students First — Jamie Goode
United Students — Nikki Bina
United Students — Lisa Braun
United Students — Erika Frantz
United Students — Jennifer Pittsford
Nontraditional
Education
Delta Force — Eahab N. Alias
Delta Force — Lisa A. Baghal
Students First — Joshua Burdette
Students First — Doug Herbers
Students First — Justin Marz
United Students — Jeremy Bodecker
United Students — Keili Deuth
United Students — Sonya Mohseni
United Students — Richard Pass
Engineering
Nunemaker
Delta Force — Michael Rosseler
Independent — Carl Folsom III
United Students — Deena K. Hardie
United Students — Amber Ratttie
United Students — Brent W. Wallace
Delta Force — Jeff Beraun
Delta Force — Heath O'Campo
Independent — Matt H. Gregg
Students First — Billy Budnovich
Students First — Jane Dodgen
Students First — Jen Nielsen
United Students — Cindy Bracker
United Students — Sarah Brenner
Fine Arts
Delta Force — Mike Appleby
Delta Force — Jeremy Glauner
Delta Force — Kurt Lane
Delta Force — Breeze Luetke-Stahlman
Delta Force — Erin Simpson
Independent — Jonathan Sternberg
Students First — Jarrod Forbes
Students First — Nicole Hash
Students First — Corinne Hickman
Students First — Samantha Singer
United Students — Kate Harding
United Students — Alissa McCurley
United Students — Vanessa McDonald
United Students — Paul Walker
United Students — Jared S. Wilkinson
Pharmacy
Delta Force — Eric Braun
Delta Force — Bree Bruns
Delta Force — Ben Burgen
Delta Force — Geoffrey Gilpin
Delta Force — Kate Hazelwood
Delta Force — Karen Keith
Delta Force — Kyle Hopkins
Delta Force — Maggie Koerth
Delta Force — Scott McKenzie
Delta Force — Emily Nelson
Delta Force — Jesse Oehlert
Delta Force — Casana Siebert
Delta Force — Chris Ward
Delta Force — Vanessa Wilson
Resume Builders — Ryan Schumm
Resume Builders — Brett Wadsworth
Students First — Katie Bartlett
Students First — Josh Brown
Students First — Scott A. Factor
Students First — Hunter Harris
Students First — Jimmy Hummert
Students First — Dulcinea King
Students First — Katie Kramer
Students First — Loen Malone
Students First — Sean MeMahon
Students First — Rebecca M. Roemeling
Students First — Kevin W. Seaman
United Students — Jessica Bankston
United Students — Tracy Chiles
United Students — Erin Day
United Students — Marsha L. Hartson
United Students — Meade Kelley
United Students — Megan Knop
United Students — Jessica Lucas
United Students — Laura Nelson
United Students — Jonathan Ng
United Students — Scott Paxton
United Students — Dallas L. Rakesstraw
United Students — Laura Rupe
United Students — Brooke Schmidt
United Students — Drew Thompson
Delta Force — Reza Kazerooni
Delta Force — Sam Swiderski
Students First — Ann Stueve
United Students — Patrick Brady
United Students — Amanda Teel
Graduate
Residential
Social Welfare
Delta Force — Matt Steppe
Students First — Jon Davis
United Students — Kelsi L. White
Delta Force — Amy O'Gara
Delta Force — Kristy Schill
United Students — Heather M. Greene
United Students — Meg Hartman
Delta Force — Joy L. Jenkins
Delta Force — Hugo A. Vera
Students First — Carrie Giese
Students First — Brad Harrah
United Students — Adrienne Harris Boggess
United Students — Duane Bruce
United Students — Shannon Doyle
United Students — Michael D. Johnson
United Students — Lynette Lewis
United Students — John H. McCool
United Students — Maria Melgarejo
Off-Campus
Journalism
Delta Force — Katie Bartkoski
Resume Builders — Lana Guilfoyle
Resume Builders — Eric Taylor
Students First — Missi Schoen
United Students — Thomas Franklin
United Students — Katie Holman
Law
Students First — Lewis Mitchell
United Students — Nate Bunck
United Students — Ashley Udden