Section A·Page 8
The University Daily Kansan
Tuesday, April 14, 1998
ISSUE STUDENT THE UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS SENATE
Advisers stir concerns
Continued from page 1A
develop a campaign plan and has worked as a trouble shooter.
But Emily Heath, Delta Force candidate for student body president, said she thought Merchant was actually the one calling the shots in the campaign rather than Yoder.
Yoder denied this, saying he is the one with the final say and that Merchant only offers advice.
"I let Scott make many decisions because I trust him," Yoder said. "I wouldn't want to be the only one on this campaign making decisions."
Members of Campus Cause have raise similar concerns about Jason Fitzell's role in advising the Delta Force candidates. Some think if Heath is elected as president, students would be getting Fitzell as their leader. Fitzell ran as the Delta Force candidate for student body presiden last year.
Julie Numrich. Campus Cause candidate for the Language Arts and Sciences seat, said that because Fizell had started Delta Force last year, he obviously would be passionate about seeing his ideas through.
"He might be a little too involved." Num-rich said.
Partha Mazumdar, Delta Force candidate for a graduate seat, denied those claims, saying Heath was the undisputed leader of the coalition.
"If Emily were a man, I don't think anybody would say that Jason is running the campaign."
moore said that neither he nor Merchant were there to run the coalition or tell their candidates what to say.
"He's not the boss; Emily is the boss," Mazumdar said. "She has absolutely no problem telling Jason no. She does it all the time.
Moore said his role with Campus Cause was to work as a copy editor for press releases and to help organize the Web page, rather than to offer political advice.
"We're pretty unprofessional to be frank," Moore said. "This is put together with chewing gum and Scotch tape."
Regardless of the roles of the advisers,
their names will not appear on any ballots
Sullivan, Walden take sides
By Marc Sheforgen
msheforgen@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Student body president Scott Sullivan and vice president Mike Walden are supporting the Campus Cause coalition in this week's Student Senate elections.
"I'm in a unique position," Sullivan said. "I have nothing to gain, and I have had the opportunity to work with both coalitions."
Sullivan said that although he thought positively of Delta Force candidates, he supported Campus Cause because the coalition covered the issues that best represented student needs and concerns. He also said Campus Cause offered the best plans to implement those issues.
"Campus Cause has the leadership and experience to make good things happen next year," Sullivan said. "That's why I've pledged my support."
Walden said he did not think that supporting one coalition compromised his role as acting vice president.
"I feel as if I would be remiss in my duties if I didn't get out and support the group with, in my opinion, the best people and best ideas," he said.
But Seth Hoffman, Delta Force candidate for a Liberal Arts and Sciences seat, said the support of the acting student leaders was hypocritical.
"It's disturbing in the sense that this whole year, Scott (Sullivan) has preached about how divisiveness has to end, and yet, as soon as the time comes, he jumps on board with one of the coalitions," Hoffman said.
Hoffman said he was disappointed with Sullivan and Walden for drawing partisan lines. He said he would not want them or others involved with advising the Campus Cause campaign to support his coalition.
"You've got (Andy) Obermueller, who was forced to resign from the Kansan and two people who broke the rules last year. It's kind of an all-star lineup." Hoffman said.
Hoffman was referring to fines that Sullivan and Walden paid for violating elections codes after last year's elections.
Dion Jones, Campus Cause candidate for a nontraditional seat, said there were no rules preventing Sullivan and Walden from supporting the coalition of their choice and as long as campaigning was kept from the Student Senate office, he saw no problem with it.
Standing as political student organization may offer advantage
By Marc Sheforgen
msheforgen @kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Delta Force recognition questioned
Delta Force was established as a coalition to run against Unite in the 1997 Student Senate elections. When Jason Fizell failed to win the student body presidential position, he decided to continue Delta Force as a student activist organization.
"It basically was a selfish thing." Fizell said. "I lost in my election, and I wanted to change things still, so we kept Delta Force around."
Since then, Fizell said the organization had been working to make campus better by backing issues it deemed important throughout the year.
Acting both as a political coalition and
a student organization has allowed Delta Force to gain name recognition all year, rather than just during campaign season.
Members of the Campus Cause coalition have said that this was an unfair advantage.
"When did their campaign begin and their role as a student activist organization end?" asked R.J. Woodring, Campus Cause candidate for a Nunemaker seat. "For all we know, their campaign started in August."
Dion Jones, Campus Cause candidate for a nontraditional seat, said this year's Delta Force senators had taken issues that they supported in Senate and turned those issues into campaign issues. Jones said that when Senate made a decision about an issue, it should not be claimed as part of one coalition's platform.
He said there were bills sponsored by Delta Force members that he had voted in favor of during a Student Senate meeting.
"How is that a Delta Force issue?" he asked.
Some Campus Cause members also have said that because the Delta Force name continues after elections, it contributes to division in Senate.
Fizell said the division was not one sided. He said that just because Delta Force senators have a name attached to their ideology does not mean that the senators elected with the other coalition are not just as adamant about sticking with the people they campaigned with during the spring.
Marlon Marshall, Campus Cause candidate for an engineering seat, said both sides contribute to Senate division and that it had to stop.
"Whoever gets elected this week should take off their buttons and work together as a whole because we are student senators," he said.
Couple runs for Student Senate together
Melissa Ngo
Kansan staff writer
David and Heather Stras, married for about a year, attend the University of Kansas together and both are running with the Campus Cause coalition for graduate senator seats in the Student Senate elections.
David Stras has attended the University for six years. After completing his undergraduate degree in economics and political science, he began law school. That was when he got involved with Student Senate.
"As an undergraduate, I was involved with other activities," he said. "I got involved with Senate because it's an important body that does a lot for students."
David Stras has been a graduate senator for two years. He is the chairman of Legal Services for Students and has worked to allow the group to advise students in lawsuits against the University.
teaching assistants to help get them medical benefits," he said.
This is the first time Heather Stras has become involved with Senate. She is a social welfare graduate student.
"I want to continue working with the group and also work with the graduate
Heather Straas said she decided to run for Senate for several reasons.
"Since my sophomore year, they've
David StrasHas been a graduate senator for two years.
been telling us that things like online enrollment would happen," she said. "I want to work to move the University forward on these promises."
Heather Stras said she saw Senate as a venue for change.
"I had seen what David had been able to accomplish as a senator, and I saw it as an opportunity to become involved," she said.
Another reason Heather Stras is joining
is to spend more time with her husband.
David Stras said he had chosen to run with the Campus Cause coalition because he agreed with its issues.
"We're working on problems that the whole student body has," he said.
Heather Stras said she also joined the coalition because of its platform.
"The issues, like better parking, are also important for graduate students," she said.
The two have not yet argued about Senate issues.
"She's formed her own opinions, but we don't have any glaring ideological differences," David Stras said.
Heather Stras said that might change.
"If I get elected, then it's possible we'll differ on some issues when we both go to the meetings," she said.
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