Volume 126 Issue 34
kansan.com
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
CAMPUS POLITICS
Student Senate to vote tonight on coalition resolution
KAITLYN KLEIN
kklein@kansan.com
The Student Rights Committee of Student Senate voted last week to send a resolution on coalitions to full senate tonight for a vote.
The resolution would affirm the removal of Senate coalitions, such as KUnited and Ad Astra, from the election process and leave candidates to run independently of a group affiliation.
Although the resolution itself does not affect election procedure, if it passes, senators working on election reform legislation will proceed to remove coalitions from their election reform bill and focus on rules for individual candidates.
With the new legislation, students would no longer be able to go down
the line and vote based on a specific group. Ballots would only list the names of the candidates running for each position.
Student Body President Marcus Tetwil ran with the coalition Ad Astra last semester, but he helped author the resolution to eliminate coalitions to make the election process more inclusive.
"It shouldn't be about one team's popularity contest and how they can bury everyone else from being involved in the process," Tetwiler said.
Tetwiler supports the resolution because he hopes that without coalitions, elections will be more localized, each school would have its own debates and the candidates could focus on what their school needs rather than on the platforms
of the presidential candidate they support.
"They'll have their constituents at heart first," Tewiler said.
Thomas Plummer, a member of the Student Rights Committee, does not support the resolution.
He ran in and won three campaigns under KUnited, and he said coalitions help individuals unite to promote change.
Plummer said he would rather focus the debate on specific election reform, which he said everyone agrees is needed.
"Ad Astra winning this year is the best example, in my mind, of coalitions," Plummer said. "It shows the strength of coalitions and what it can be."
"A lot of people think it's this [eliminate coalitions] or nothing,"
Plummer said he likes the debate that has surrounded this issue because it shows how many possibilities there are in terms of election reform, but that he thought the resolution should have been seen by two committees, as is traditionally done before a resolution or bill goes to full senate.
Plummer said. "But that's kind of silly because with or without them, it's natural for people to pair up on common ground."
Tetwiler said he understands that many people wanted to have a say on the resolution before it went to full senate, but that vice president Emma Halling chooses where the bills and resolutions go. Tetwiler supported Halling's decision to send it to the Student Rights Committee.
"I was really proud of the way rights committee handled the debate," Tetwiler said. "Anyone who wanted their voice heard had their voice heard at the committee."
Michael Wade Smith, a former student body president, was one non-committee member who spoke at the meeting. He spoke out against the resolution.
Normally, only committee members have speaking rights at meetings but because there were others interested in voicing their opinions, the committee agreed to allow non-committee members to speak if they wanted to.
Though Hannah Bolton, last year's student body president, did not attend the committee meeting, she said she supports Smith's position.
Bolton said coalitions are incredibly important to bring young leaders together and help them understand how Student Senate works. She said she thinks that voter turnout would decrease without coalitions.
"I ran in four campaigns, so I was aware of all of the problems with Student Senate, and there are a lot of problems associated with the student elections." Bolton said. "But I don't believe the elimination of coalitions is the right path."
Full Senate will hear the resolution and vote on it tonight at their meeting in Alderson Auditorium at 6:30 p.m.
Edited by Emma McElhaney
WHAT DO YOU THINK? The Kansan asked students how they felt about removing coalitions from the Student Senate election process.
"I think it would be a good thing to take it [coalitions] out so it's not two groups against each other, but students voting on the issues instead of voting on groups their friends affiliate with."
Becca Gordan,
senior from Omaha, Neb.
"I don't know a lot about it. I think it'd make more sense to not have coalitions so we can vote on individuals. I like that better."
— Louis Fehlig,
junior from Overland Park
"I guess if you knew someone you could put a name to a group. I didn't vote because I didn't know anything. It would be less anonymous [without coalitions]. You could vote for individuals instead of a group of people behind a group name."
"I would agree with that [removing coalitions]. I think I'd be more likely to vote."
— Maureen Costello, sophomore from Chicago
— Robert Ward,
sophomore from Olathe
"I personally like the coalitions because it's easier to pick a viewpoint."
— Paige Kauffman, senior from Denver
GLOBAL
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
The KU Women's Leadership Institute will open its international residency program to women from rural and small communities in Kansas this upcoming summer. Participants will have the opportunity to develop leadership projects and gain global contacts.
Leadership program for international women opens to Kansans
CALEB SISK
csisk@kansan.com
The KU Women's Leadership Institute will host its international residency program for the fifth time this summer, along with one major change. In past years, the program was offered exclusively to women from international communities. This time it is open to Kansas women as well.
The institute traditionally focused its efforts on developing the leadership skills of women from countries in North Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. Through an effort
"Up until now the program has been focused on developing leadership capacities of women internationally, while this year's residency gives us a chance to serve Kansas by developing the leadership capacity of women right here at home," said Mary Banwart, co-director of the institute and associate professor of
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supported by the University's Endowment Association, this summer's residency will include undergraduate women in Kansas with at least one year left in their studies. Preference will be given to those from small or rural communities.
"One of the striking things about the issue of women's leadership is how quickly you realize the issues affecting women internationally are not that much different
The institute staff hopes that participants will gain a farreaching perspective that carries into their respective job fields. Allison Colburn, a 2013 Kansas graduate and multiyear staff member at the institute, suggests that women at the University take this opportunity seriously.
During the four-week residency, participants will work in tandem with University faculty and staff as well as women from an array of professional fields. Participants will also develop projects to take back to their home communities.
communication studies.
As a student in Kansas, I
think that it is valuable to any KU student to have a connection worldwide because it creates an opportunity for networking that you can't get in the classroom," Colburn said.
Participants in the residency will gain an international perspective, including how domestic issues women face in the U.S. also affect women globally.
SAFETY
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY GEORGE MULLINIX/KANSA
Most college students ignore risks of texting while driving
I ASHLEIGH TIDWELL
atidwell@kansan.com
We've seen the commercials and heard the horror stories — texting while driving is dangerous. So why do we still do it?
A study released by King's College in Pennsylvania shows that four out of five college students have texted while driving even though they are aware of the risks. That's an overwhelming 80 percent of college students.
Seriously, why?
For Kristen Korona, a senior from Kansas City, Kan., the answer is overconfidence.
"People think they are good at it and they won't ever get in a wreck." Korona said. "They don't take it seriously enough and don't see it as a distraction."
It's time to get serious.
We have seen great advances in communication technology in the last 20 years that allow us
According to distraction.gov, a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,331 people were killed in 2011 in accidents where the driver was distracted. On top of that, 387,000 people were injured in accidents where the driver was distracted.
Mia Phillips, a junior from Lawrence, said that she actively avoids her phone while driving, but does admit to the occasional text at a stop sign.
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CROSSWORD 5
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While sending a text message, a driver is not paying attention to the road or the cars around them they are concentrating on that
"You never know what could happen when you're not paying attention," Phillips said.
to connect with nearly anybody through our handheld devices. But our constant need to stay connected has distracted us from the road and put millions of lives at risk.
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2013 The University Daily Kansan
Don't forget
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Protect your brains during SUA Zombie Week.
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