Opinion
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY
Kansan
Published daily since 1912
Spencer Duncan, Editor
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Wednesday. October 15. 1997
True mettle of leaders tested when under fire
During World War II, Gen. George S. Patton had one standing order: Never hold your position, always advance. Patton knew that when soldiers began to feel comfortable, they became weak and vulnerable — no way to win a war. But if the division constantly stayed on the attack, they'd stay sharp and gain ground.
Patton accepted that few liked him. He knew that he was outspoken, stubborn and brash. He worked to do his job, not to please people and certainly not for a pat on the back. In the end, despite immense personal struggle and the horrible specter of war, he was victorious.
Here on the Oread front, too many student leaders are merely holding their positions. They're not advancing, and they're scared of battle. The attitude that detractors should have disappeared with their rise to authority is prevalent.
Andy Obermuelter
andyo@kansan.com
And foolish. Every great leader from Alexander the Great to FDR has had
detractors. They didn't cower and bellyache about how it made their job harder or that it hurt their feelings — they simply kept working.
Leaders must be able to handle criticism. They must realize that criticism of their performance is not personal. Leaders should be people who see confrontation coming, look it in the face and say, "OK. I can take it. Bring it on."
Leaders have to be the last ones standing, but they can't expect to get to that point by merely hoping everyone else will just sit down.
When opponents or the media attack an organization, leaders must defend it, turning every skirmish into an opportunity to prove the organization's merit and their worth as leaders. If they don't have the intestinal fortitude to stand up to a disagreeable editorial board or a lawn full of protesters, then they should quit. Go some place else and don't lead.
Because the University of Kansas has nearly 25,000 students and a Student Senate budget of $1.8 million, steady advancing is vital. No leader has the time or energy to waste stroking precious eggs or coddling those who cry at meetings. (Of course your involvement means a lot to you, but it means a lot to others, too. Otherwise, you'd be wiping your eyes behind a rostrum in an empty room.)
Leaders who aren't advancing can claim only one of two excuses; incompetence or insecurity. Incompetence abounds, but can be overcome with hard work and a little advice.
Insecurity among leaders, however, not only makes them ineffective, but also is an insult to those who have chosen the leaders. Students have placed their trust in you, so, to borrow from columnist Molly Ivins, we should put our foot firmly in your back and say, "Lead, you dumb bumditch; that's what we pay you for."
The end result is that the job must be done. The community — whichever constituency you represent — must be served.
One of the hallmarks of a successful leader is the ability to distinguish what is personal and what is business. The problem, however, is that student government is often an exclusive clique, and its members are friends. Thus, when a dispute arises, it is taken as a personal onslaught, allowing emotion rather than reason to dictate reactions.
Obermueller is an Liberal, Kan., senior in journalism.
"The Student Senate will work to represent students at all levels as a part of University averreaden."
— From the preamble to Student Senate's 1997 Rules and Regulations handbook.
When reactive emotions beat out reason, another person, whose actions may be influencing your emotions, is defining who you are. And that's when insecurity sets in, and you stop advancing.
About this page
Today's editorial page examines issues concerning leadership in Student Senate, senators' roles in being your voice to the administration and the need for student concerns to be the overriding reason for senate's existence.
Leaders should be brutally rational and learn to separate the emotional chaff from the business grain. The key to handling detraction and criticism is to stop seeking personal acceptance. Stop trying to qualify yourself. Start explaining your actions and be accountable for them. The personal quotient in this equation is manner, not substance.
A sign in the office of one of our best student leaders sums up exactly the right philosophy: "In this office, students come first — Every single time."
Unfortunately, the writing on too many other walls seems to be "In my office, I come first, and if that's challenged, I can't get my job."
Every single time
Individual priorities take control of Student Senate
Student Senate this ... Student Senate that ...
Political talk on campus has an underlying theme this year, often it is slinging explosive arrows at Student Senate.
Student Senate is the students' direct channel to University's administration. It gives the student body the opportunity to have some control over campus issues. Indeed, University student government is responsible for more than homecoming and senior prom.
This power has created a political machine that often seems more concerned with its inner workings than its final product.
A current debate in Senate concerns the creation of polling sites on Daisy Hill. The nature of this debate seems similar to the political concept of gerrymandering dividing a geographic area into voting districts to give advantage to one coalition in elections. Thus the powers-that-be are more concerned with who is voting rather than how many are voting.
How could raising voter turn-out at elections possibly be seen as a negative proposition if individual interests of camper-
interests of campaigners were not at stake? Pere not at stake? Perhaps a compromise would be to put polling sites near all University housing. Another troubling issue is senators who basically have
Politicking
their seats annually guaranteed.
Every year the same group of Senate veterans control the most powerful committees. And every year a freshman is chosen to be the future student body president and immediately worked into the loop of inner politics.
This is more like the British Parliamentary system, complete with hereditary monarchy, than a duly elected committee of students representing the student body.
The committee stacking issue is more proof of the politics involved in Student Senate. I was asked to attend the first meeting of the year to assist in a senator's quest to hold a committee chair, which I find absolutely unethical. The senator only wanted me to attend so I could vote for him.
Most members of the Senate are interested in improving student life. More experienced senators should hold more power, but perhaps members should take a moment to recognize their goals, both as senators and as students. Important issues should not be neglected this year simply because they will make a good platform for next year's coalitions. Senate should not be seen as greeks vs. non-greeks but as students representing the student body's interests.
Politics are abundant in Student Senate. Political careers are being established, and connections are being made in the political networking of the University.
Let's keep it in perspective - Student
experience but often lacking in its purpose: to represent the students of this University.
Polling site on Daisy Hill is needed
Voting in Student Senate elections is not a priority for KU students, as shown by the 15 percent voter turnout last year. Because of this, Student Senate should support the attempt to add a polling site on Daisy Hill.
This idea is not new. For two years, students have made this an issue, but the attempts to make it a reality were usually too near to the elections for the initiative to go through Senate. Opponents claimed that it was only a political issue for a certain coalition to increase its election chances. Some opponents even say that a Daisy Hill polling site would lower the quality of voters.
Getting involved
The idea that encouraging residence hall students to vote would lower the quality of voters is wrong. What kind
These excuses are ridiculous. The proposal for a Daisy Hill polling site was not just the idea of a coalition running for Senate. In its final report last year, the nonpartisan Elections Commission, which oversees Student Senate elections, recommended that a polling site be placed on Daisy Hill.
of credentials do we need to vote in a Student Senate election? If students are not informed of each coalitions' issues, then that is the fault of the coalitions for not appealing to the entire student body. This is a great opportunity for Student Senate candidates to become more responsive to their constituencies.
Another reason this proposal has been jettisoned in the past is because students working on it did not get proper approval from the Department of Student Housing. This time, however, not only did Ken Stoner, director of student housing, give his approval, but the Association of Residence Halls and the All Scholarship Hall Council have passed resolutions in favor of the new polling site.
Some opponents of the proposal claim that there are not enough students on Daisy Hill to warrant a polling site. Yet Daisy Hill contains the highest density of students anywhere on campus — approximately 10 percent of the
student body. There are other polling sites on campus that these students could utilize but not having a polling site close to such a large number of students doesn't make sense. And because the majority of the students living on Daisy Hill are freshmen, making it easier for them to vote now will encourage them to vote in the future.
The cost of adding this polling site is minimal at $870 in a two-year span. The money to pay for Student Senate elections comes from the student fee, and with more than 1,000 student signatures on petitions supporting the proposal, the price is more than justifiable.
Student Senate is for the entire student body. It uses our money and should provide services for us. However, if only 15 percent of the student body is participating in elections, Student Senate cannot represent us.
By adding a polling site on Daisy Hill, Student Senate will increase voter turnout and become more responsive to the students.
Nicole Skalla for the editorial board.
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Committee stacking unethical
Committee stacking occurs when people attend the first committee meeting, vote for a chairperson and never return. Their interest in Student Senate ends after elections.
A large number of people attended the first committee meetings Sept. 10, giving an impression that students were willing to be involved in Student Senate.
Committee stacking within Student Senate is a reprehensible practice that yields committee chairpersons who don't represent broad student interests but do dander to special-interest groups.
Student Senate should not be a popularity contest — it should be a liaison between students and the administration. When a committee head is elected by students who have no interest in student government, the electoral process is invalidated.
However, few of those students returned for subsequent meetings. Not only is this disappointing, this also results in electing a committee chair by a false majority.
Each student who wishes to join a committee
Changing practices
Through this process, committee chairs are ideally elected on their ability to lead everyone, not just their one visit flankies.
submits an application that is reviewed by a committee board of five elected senate members. If a large number of students from one address choose the same committee, Senate accepts 10 percent of those applications. The rest are assigned to different committees.
But the process is not fool-proof. For instance, if a student lives off campus and also is involved in a special interest group — be it a Greek house, Environs, etc. — then it's hard to keep committee stacking from occurring.
The most ethical way to avoid committee stacking rests with committee members. Involvement in Senate should be out of a desire to enhance student life at the University, not to do a friend a favor.
Tamara Miller for the editorial board.