Section A·Page 6
The University Daily Kansan
Monday, April 13, 1998
ISSUE STUDENT SENATE
Little agreement on enrollment
Tuition changes online practices suggested in race
By Gerry Doyle gdoyle@kansan.com
Kansas staff writer
The enrollment specter is upon the University's student body again, and suggestions for improvement are coming from all sides of the Student Senate race.
The Campus Cause coalition is pushing for online enrollment. Delta Force wants to restructure tuition. And an independent candidate just wants to generally make things better.
Seth Hoffman, Delta Force candidate for a Nunemaker seat, said that the key to enrollment was curbing linear tuition. Since
linear tuition had been instituted, students wanting to take more than the standard 15 hours of classes were being hurt by the policy. Hoffman said.
Delta Force also plans to change the refund policy for adddrop so that students could consider whether to take a class or not, he said.
"What we're going to do is make it so that it will give you a little more time to make that decision," he said. "At KU, it's almost arbitrary, really, class shopping? That's not good enough, really. It's just ridiculous."
Hoffman said that these changes could be accomplished by working with the administration. He said that Campus Cause's online idea was just taking credit for something that already was happening.
Kevin Yoder, Campus Cause candidate for student body president, said that while the online movement already was in
motion, his coalition's goal was to spur it along.
"The administration has been saying they will for years, and years," he said. "Now, it could be two to four more years. Who knows? Our goal is to
Hoffman: Coalition wants to curb linear tuition
really put pressure on them."
Yoder said that his coalition's priority was getting online enrollment. The enrollment process is so convoluted and frustrating that something needed to be done to make it more convenient, Yoder said.
The current system just is too unwieldy to be useful, he said.
"It takes long time, it's inefficient," he said. "Right now, we're
Aaron Profitt, Overland Park freshman and independent candidate.
Yoder: wants to push for online enrollment
said that online enrollment was a good start. Whatever is done to the enrollment process should be done to streamline it for the students. Profitt said.
"I want to see the University add online enrollment," he said. "It's making it easier for the student. Advising is OK, and the holds center is a good resource for students. I'm always in favor of something like that."
Corporate presence on campus causes debate
Candidates discuss pros and cons of University contracts
By Brandon Copple bcopple@kansan.com Kansan staff writer
Student Senate candidates disagree about the implications surrounding the growing corporate presence at the University of Kansas.
In the past year, the University has entered exclusive sponsorship agreements with Coca-Cola and Nike. The University sells Coca-Cola products exclusively on campus
Damon Miller, Campus Cause candidate for an education seat, said the benefits of corporate affiliation outweigh the drawbacks.
"It's a sign of the times that things are becoming more corporatized," he said. "But it provides us with the funds to do some things that we want done."
and at University events. Nike provides all University athletic gear and attire.
Sam Pierron, Delta Force candidate for a Liberal Arts and Sciences seat, disagrees.
"The mission of the University is education, and an important part of creating a positive environment for education is the absence of profit-driven distractions on campus," he said.
The University received significant financial incentives from both companies. A bout u
Pierron: profit motive harms education mission
$300,000 from the Coca-Cola contract will go toward student activities, and money from the contract will help bring lecturers to campus and set up new scholarships.
Only one of the coalitions, Delta Force, has included the corporate issue in its platform. Delta Force's Web page (www.ukans.edu/~dforce) states that the University must be careful about its corporate affiliations.
The Delta Force page states that Phillips Petroleum and Nike have close ties to the University and have been cited among the world's most serious oppressors of human and social rights and destroyers of environmental integrity.
Pierron said that partnerships with the corporate world detracted from the University as a place where that behavior can be openly challenged.
"Who's going to speak for those who cannot speak?" Pierron said. "It's not going to be someone in the corporate world. As University students, we're in a unique position to express our opinions because we're accountable to a relative few."
However, the biggest dangers of increased corporate presence are elimination of consumer options and creating the impression that the University is for sale to the highest bidder, Pierron said.
Jennifer Nazworthy, Delta Force candidate for a School of Pharmacy seat, said she did not object to corporate involvement because the University could put the money to good use. However, students
should have a more active voice in corporations' roles on campus, she said.
"Coke only sells plastic bottles on campus, and that raises some recycling problems." she
said. "Aluminum cans are better for recycling. That's something that students care about, and s en a t e should be there to voice that concern."
Melisa Veon, Campus Cause candidate for a Nunemaker seat, said the University was fulfilling its commitment to students by looking to the private sector to increase funding.
Veon: corporate donations help KU students
"Especially with the decrease in funds from state and local government, it's important that the University get money from somewhere," she said. "If it allows us to build a more diverse student body, you have to say it's the best thing to do."
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