4
Tuesday, April 12, 1994
OPINION UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
4.2
VIEWPOINT
IGNITE shows vision qualifications to lead
Six other candidates are running for president and vice president: Darren Sinkler and Jon Gerner (A.S. W.E. GO! coalition), Bill Gist and Scott McDaniel (Independent), Sherman Reeves and Eric Medill (YOU).
On Thursday, Editorial Board members interviewed all eight candidates to aid us in making our Student Senate endorsements for president and vice president. Each candidate had strengths and weaknesses. Overall, Chad Taylor and Tonya Cole of the IGNITE coalition exhibited the best combination of vision, experience and understanding necessary to lead Senate.
The candidates showed commitment to at least one worthy cause. Sinkler and Gerner mainly concerned themselves with fiscal responsibility. They urged cutting unnecessary items such as punch bowls and floor waxings from organizations' budgets. They also suggested that Senate match the funds of organizations which would place more fund-raising responsibility on the organizations.
Sinkler and Gerner seemed to lack a complete understanding of the political process, however. Their responses were vague and passionless; at times, they did not appear united. Their proposal to create a group to serve as a liaison between organizations and the Finance Committee seemed unresearched and bureaucratic.
Gist and McDaniel focussed on alcohol on the Hill and too much greek participation in Senate. They were determined and seemed most genuinely interested in the interests of "the average KU student." Their partial support of the so-called "checkoff plan" — they support students being allowed to designate where part, but not all, of their $28 Student Activity Fee ends up was refreshing and open-minded.
Their complaints about greek participation in Senate, though, were disturbing. Politics is about uniting, not dividing people. Their lack of understanding of this, their lack of experience and their unrealistic goals (getting alcohol on the Hill would require repealing a city law), made them a less appealing choice.
By far the most polished candidates were Reeves and Medill. The two displayed unmatched experience and teamwork. Their goals, including the Student Economic Union and lobbying efforts in Topeka, were realistic and commendable.
But Reeves and Medill ultimately represent the status quo. The policies they support would continue what we consider to be at best a mediocre year of Student Senate. Just as important, Reeves and Medill lacked passion and had no real far-reaching vision.
Taylor and Cole exemplify much of what we believe Senate needs now and for the future. They are committed to providing the best health care possible for all KU students, including international students. In fact, Cole wrote the bill for additions to Watkins Health Center. She and Taylor have talked to administrators about a new recreational center and plans for satellite parking. In addition, their short-term goals include adjusting Senate's attitude toward KU students and retaining minority students.
With their vision and their qualifications, the Editorial Board endorses Chad Taylor and Tonya Cole of the IGNITE Coalition for Student Senate president and vice president.
taylor has been criticized as an outsider to the University because he transferred here at the beginning of last fall. But since that time he has immersed himself in the intricacies of University issues. Cole has proven that she understands the workings of Student Senate and what it takes to pass legislation.
NATHAN OLSON FOR THE EDITORIAL BOARD
KANSAN STAFF
BEN GROVE, Editor
LISA COSMILLO, Managing editor
TOM EBLEN General manager, news adviser
JUSTIN GARBERG Business manager
BILL SKEET, Systems coordinator
Editors
JENNIFER BLOWEY Retail sales manager
Editors
Asst Managing Editor ...Dan England
Assistant to the editor...J.R. Claimone
News ...Kristi Fogler, Katie Greenwawn
Todd Seifert
Editorial ...Colleen McCain
Nathan Olean
Campus ...Jess DeHaven
Sports ...David Dorsay
Photo ...Doug Hesse
Features ..Sara Bennett
Wire ..Allison Lippert
Freelance ..Christine Laue
Business Staff
JEANNE HINES Sales and marketing adviser
Campus sales mgr ... Jason Ebery
Regional sales mgr ... Troy Tarwater
Retail asst mgr ... Judith Standley
National & Coops sales mgr ... Robin King
Special Sections mgr .. Sheilly McConnell
Production mgrs .. Laura Guth
Gretchen Kooterhelmh琳
Marketing director .. Shannon Kelly
Classified mgr ... Kelly Connelys
Tearsets mgr ... Wing Chan
Letters should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 200 words. They must include the writer's signature, name, address and telephone number. Writers affiliated with the University of Washington are required to include the UW.edu logo.
Guest columns should be typed, double-spaced and fewer than 700 words. The writer will be photographed.
The Kansan reserves the right to reject or edit letters, guest columns and cartoons. They can be mailed or brought to the Kansan newsroom, 111 Stauffer-Flint Hall.
Endorsements for Student Senate
UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
The University Daily Kansan interviewed 86 of the 97 Student Senate candidates. The endorsements reflect the Kansan's opinion of who would be the most effective Student Senators. The numbers in parentheses represent the number of seats available.
LATE SEATS IGNITE YOU A.S. W.E. GO!
Architecture (2 seats) Aaron Hinkle M. Saqib Shaikh
Business (2) Holly Naifeh Steve Simpson
Education (2) Kim Cocks Kara Laricks
Engineering (3) Jeremy Desch Paul Wolters Carrie Hoffmann
Fine Arts (2) David Turner Staci Sill
Graduate (1) Arthur Yudelson
Journalism (2) Gordon Ho Dan Hubbard
Law (2) Tyler Garretson Todd LaSala
Liberal Arts & Sciences (12) Ted Miller Melissa Leeland Shannon Newton Sandra Olivas Ann Perry Tom Rottinghaus Heidi Snyder Mike Stanley
Non-traditional (2) Alan Pierce Collin Reynolds
Nunemaker (14) Jessica Bobker Heather Austin Brad Burke Dan Hare Crystal Collier Jason Kaplan Jennifer Edwards Adam Mayer Grey Montgomery Ken Martin David Stevens Carey Stuckey
Off-Campus (5) Danielle Rand Jacqueline Flannigan Bob Grunzinger Dave Hull Mike Moyer
Pharmacy (2) Ming Chang Monte Montfore
Resident-at-Large (1) Adrien Lewis
Social Welfare (1) Meg Baumann
The following candidates did not attend their scheduled interviews: Matt Bellemere, Art Chiu, Fred Coulson, Mark Galus, Amy Hizer, Jeni Miller, Mohsin Mohammed, Jeff Russell, Scott Shulda and Chris Stong. Six of these candidates are running for Off-Campus seats.
Lisa Cosmillo/ KANSAN
Hard work ends with endorsements
When we told people we were interviewing people for Student Senate endorsements, they said we were crazy. They said we were masochistic. They said we should be prepared to give up our lives.
Four of us — Matt Hood, Colleen McCain, Nathan Olson and David Zimmerman — conducted the interviews. For Student Senate, the number was 86. That's 86 candidates at 10 minutes per interview. In round numbers, it comes out to 860 minutes.
In retrospect, they were right.
While 860 minutes doesn't sound bad in theory, in practice — in a roughly five-foot-by-seven-foot room, asking the same six questions 86 times — it affects one's mind.
EDITORS
Now that it's all over, we have had time to reflect. We have had time to look back on all the fun times we had during the week: all that we learned, all that we ate and all that we lost. With that, we present a day-by-day account of our experiences:
And that's not counting the four hours spent with president and vice president candidates one night.
Day One, Thursday Evening. We begin with unbridled enthusiasm and paper. Artificial stimulants aren't needed.
Day Two, Friday afternoon. Lives?
Day Three, Saturday morning. We ride a great sugar high with doughnuts. We're beginning to notice some trends. Many people seem to be talking about the same issues: lobbying, recycling and communicating. Coincidence? Maybe not.
Day Four, Sunday evening. We interview Candidate of the Week. In four of the six questions he's asked, his response is, "I don't know," or, "I really can't answer that yet." On the final question, he gives us his most honest response: "I haven't been told what to think yet."
Who needs lives? All we need are some Doritos and a little sugar to keep us going. We don't care that it's 70 degrees and sunny outside.
Monday evening. Tonight, no interviews are scheduled. We have classes to attend, laundry to clean, basketball
Day Six, Wednesday Evening.
Tonight is not so bad: only five hours with a few breaks here and there. It begins auspiciously, with three of us singing "59th St. Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" Within an hour, Simon and Garfunkel have been replaced by absenteeism and the Student Economic Union. The two issues begin to reverberate in our ears, especially after consecutive candidates give identical responses to our questions.
Day Seven, Thursday Evening. Presidents and vice presidents speak to the entire Editorial Board. It's a welcome change from the same six questions. It's also a welcome change to hear lobbying, recycling and communicating spoken about without sounding like it's being quoted from a platform.
games to watch. It's good to get out.
Day Five, Tuesday evening. This is the evening we've been waiting for. Four hours straight. During breaks, we share tales of our first kisses and dating fascoes. Matt recalls a rejection line a woman used on him: "I can't go out with you. You remind me too much of my little brother."
Day Eight, Friday afternoon. Our final day. Light can be seen at the end of this impossibly long tunnel. Again, another beautiful day, and we can
only watch from inside. After the last interview — the clock reads 7:08 p.m. — we retire to Molly McGee's to make our endorsements.
At around 10:30 p.m. — after nachos, mozzarella sticks and sandwiches — we arrive at the Final List. The depressing thing is that it consists of 53 names. The fruits of our excessive labors, of 860 minutes of Senate interviews and another 240 minutes of president and vice president interviews comes down to names on a single page.
It was more depressing, though, to realize how as a whole the quality of the candidates was relatively poor. While we interviewed some genuinely qualified people, many others seemed to quote from their coalition platform, and still others didn't seem to have many thoughts at all. It's sad to think that some of these people may get elected.
Was it worth it? The bonding, the Doritos and the chance that, in some small way, we might affect the outcome of the election make us think yes.
Colleen McCain is a Bismarck, N.D. sophomore in Journalism. Nathan Olson is a New Orleans graduate student in English.
1.
---