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STUDENT SENATE
Fee committee's 2014 proposals approved
Student Body President Marcus Tetwiler, a senior from Paola, stands outside the Senate chambers after the Title IX vote went through. Student Senate met on Wednesday in the Kansas Union.
FRANK WEIRICH/KANSAN
AMELIA ARVESEN
TOM DEHART
BRENDAN O'FARRELL
MIRANDA DAVIS
news@kansan.com
Student Senate voted on and passed the Student Fee Review committee's proposals within bill 2014-154 with a vote of 155-3.
POLICY CHANGE COULD RESTRICT
GRADUATE STUDENT
EMPLOYEE HOURS
A petition against the proposed University policy change to reduce the number of maximum weekly hours graduate student employees are permitted to work from 30 hours to 20 was introduced by Student Senate Graduate Affairs Director Pantaleon Florez III in the Student Senate weekly meeting.
English graduate students wrote the petition this past weekend in favor of keeping the 30 hour maximum. Florez personally delivered petition forms to graduates in 32 departments on the Lawrence campus, which he will collect on Friday.
"I think it's hasty of the administration considering they haven't even talked to any of us," Florez said.
Florez is a graduate student hourly employee and said this 10 hour decrease would directly affect his ability to sustain a living. He said the policy change would impact 5,600 graduate students who have the opportunity to hold a University job.
He said every voice counts and hopes to have at least 500 signatures. In addition, he asked senators in the room to collect 24 signatures by Friday to compile an undergraduate support petition.
"We do not wish to see graduate employees lose employment opportunities that are crucial for paying their bills, feeding themselves and their families, and generally establishing a decent standard of living," the petition states.
When Florez asked meeting attendees if they had been
taught by a graduate teaching assistant, nearly every student raised a hand.
"I don't think you want hungry GTAs," Florez said.
Florez will deliver the petition to Provost Jeffrey Vitter the Monday following spring break in the Tuition Advisory Committee meeting. He said administration failed to notify students of the policy change.
Florez added that if students want to sign the undergraduate support petition, they can visit the Student Senate offices in the Kansas Union.
SUA FEE REMAINS AT $5
Student Union Activities was one of the groups whose student fees were addressed in the Student Fee Review Committee's passed bill, and after a successful attempt to amend the committee's
"We don't like asking students for money, but we'll be struggling to maintain the programs that students wanted."
MANNY ABARGA KU Recycling
proposal last week, SUA is a step closer to retaining its current $5 student fee.
"I am certainly happy that Senate saw that we are certainly trying to make the most of the $5 that students give us," said Andrew Mechler, the fine arts coordinator at SUA. "We certainly don't take it for granted, and we are very thankful that they continued with that for the coming year."
Some of the issues that were brought to light while amending the proposed fee during the Fee Review Committee last week was that SUA did not provide a sufficient amount of multicultural and academic events along with its live entertainment events.
SUA had initially asked for a raise to a $7 student fee, which Mechler stated during the Senate meeting that SUA had planned to restore some of the series that had been cut in previous years, as well as grow its live music committee with the funds if it had been raised.
Kaitlin DeJong, the vice president of SUA, also voiced her concerns during the Senate meeting that a decrease in student funds could potentially cause SUA to need to cut two of its committees, including its film and media committee, and the spirit committee.
The Student Senate Fee Review Committee voted against increasing the budget for KU Recycling. The current student fee of $4.30 would have been increased to $6.92.
Budget not increased for KU Recycling program
The money for KU recycling goes to programs such as Rock Chalk Recycle, which collects compost waste and recyclable goods at athletic events, as well as picking up and sorting recycling from all over campus. The increased fee would have been used to maintain services and pay off a $100,000 shortfall that was created by increased labor costs and the effects of Rock Chalk Recycling on the overall program.
"It's a tough decision for us. We don't like asking students for money, but we'll be struggling to maintain the programs that students wanted," said Manny Abarca, KU Recycling operations coordinator. "We'll just have to get creative in finding ways to reduce costs."
KU Recycling has said it may have to reduce pickups on campus and presence at athletic events or cut student jobs if another source of funding can't be found.
PROPOSED REFERENDUM WOULD LET STUDENTS VOICE OPINIONS ON COALITIONS
The meeting ended with a proposal by Senate Chief of Staff Tyler Childress
and Senator Mark Savoy to include a referendum on this year's ballot that would ask the student body directly if they want coalitions removed from the elections process.
Savoy said Senate must trust that the student body knows enough about the election process to make an informed decision.
"We have to place our faith in the electorate," said Savoy, a third-year law student from Overland Park.
The referendum would be considered binding, but once students voted on it, the Senate would be responsible for carrying out the student body's wishes.
In fall 2013, Senate voted to keep coalitions and pursue other election reforms, and the proposed referendum would essentially supersede the voting power of next year's election, according to Childress.
"This is asking your constituents how they feel about the issue," said
Childress, a senior from Coffeyville.
Alek Joyce, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, voiced his opposition to the proposal. He said the bill was generated without going through a committee and presented tonight without being on the agenda.
"I don't think this is the right way to approach this," Joyce said.
Joyce proposed an amendment that would allow for other possible answers, such as "I need to learn more" and "I have no opinion" instead of just "yes" or "no" answers on this question. He also suggested including a survey to gather information from the student body while not creating an automatically binding resolution.
"It's like going to a football game and asking about the sports fee," joyce said.
In a 41-13 vote, Senate decided to move the proposed
SEE SENATE PAGE 2A
Full senate votes to eliminate Athletics fee
news@kansan.com
It's now Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little's decision whether or not to uphold Student Senate's decision to eliminate more than $1 million in student fee money that goes to Kansas Athletics.
In a 55-3 vote, Senate passed a bill Wednesday night to eliminate the $25 semesterly campus fee to offset travel expenses for women's and nonrevenue sports. Students pay between $1.2 and $1.3 million to the athletic department in 2014 through the current fee. In 2012, the fee accounted for 1.6 percent of Athletics' revenue.
"It's time to bring this money back to student groups," Tetwiler said.
Tetwiler said he will sign the bill, sending it to Vice Provost for Student Affairs Tammara Durham. Senate said Durham does not have the power to veto the bill. From there, it goes to Gray-Little's desk. If she vetoes the bill, it will be sent back to Student Senate for amendment.
Kansas Associate Athletics Director Jim Marchiony has stressed how the fee helps KU Athletics comply with federally mandated Title IX standards.
No representative from Athletics attended the meeting.
"You think that would make a difference?" Marchiony asked.
Marchiony said Athletics will not officially comment until Gray-Little makes the final decision.
Student Senator Patrick Jacquinot defended the fee. Jacquinot served on the Women's and Non-Revenue Intercollegiate Advisory Board, which is a group of students tasked with providing a fiscal recommendation to
SEE FEE PAGE 2A
CAMPUS
Venezuelan panel discusses human rights violations
MCKENNA HARFORD
news@kansan.com
At the beginning of the year, graduate student Erica Dalman took a trip to Venezuela to visit friends she made while growing up there. Just weeks later, protests broke out all over the country.
"It's where I grew up, and it's a country where people are fighting for freedom and democracy," Dalman said.
Dalman will speak about the social unrest in Venezuela at the Venezuelan Panel, which will be hosted by the International Student Association today at 6 p.m. in the Jayhawk room at the Kansas Union.
The protests, which have been going on for about a month, started with students who were unhappy about their education and the job market. The protests have since spread
"I think the Venezuelan people are fed up with what's going on, so I don't see the protest dying down anytime soon," Dalman said.
One of the reasons that Dalman believes the situation in Venezuela should be important to KU students is because they can understand
to become a protest of the insecurity and violence that affect citizens throughout Venezuela.
"It's important to realize that it was a student-led movement, [with] people like you and I realizing that once they graduate, they're not going to be able to do anything with their degree," Dalman said. "I think we can relate to that, it'd be pretty infuriating."
The Venezuelan Panel seeks to inform students about the
CLASSIFIEDS 2B
CROSSWORD 5A
the desires for a good education and the opportunity to find a job.
CRYPTOQUIPS 5A SPORTS 1B
OPINION 4A SUDDOK 5A
Dalman added that
"I hope that the word will spread and we will get more students requesting information regarding the subject," said ISA volunteer Daiane Aizen, a freshman from Montevideo, Uruguay. "I hope students will be more interested in the international situation."
human rights injustices so that students can take a more active role in preserving rights.
Don't Forget
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2014 The University Daily Kansan
"My goal is to give the Venezuelan people a voice because the government is totally shutting them out," Dalman said.
international pressure on the Venezuelan government is necessary and informed students can help make that happen by speaking out about what's going on.
To wear green on St. Patrick's Day!
Today's Weather
— Edited by julie Etzler
Sunny. Zero percent chance of rain. Wind WSW at 13 mph.
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