monday, april 12, 2004
news
the university daily kansar
7A
Third face-off in history for KUnited, Delta Force
By Andy Marso
amarso@kansan.com
Kansan staff writer
Delta Force and KUnited will face off for the third year in a row in this week's elections, extending what has become one of the longest-running Student Senate rivalries in recent memory.
Delta Force was formed by Jason Fizell and Matt Caldwell in February of 1997. Senate had been dominated by members of KU's greek community while Delta Force brought in a crowd of mainly older, off-campus students.
on-campus stations.
Twenty-two of Delta Force's 33 candidates for Senate seats won in the coalition's first year. Fizell and Delta Force's next three presidential candidates didn't win, but the coalition was increasing its presence in Senate. The group championed issues such as recycling and the construction of a new child care center in its early years. Since then,
floor-to-floor recycling in the residence halls and the Hilltop Child Development Center have become realities.
Mills
Delta Force's influence reached its peak in 2001 when
Justin Mills and Kyle Browning won a shocking victory to give Delta Force presidential control of the Senate for the first time.
relief funds.
During his term as president, Mills fought to prevent credit card companies from soliciting students on campus and organized students to fight against tuition increases. He and Browning also focused on national and international issues. Browning fought for fair-trade coffee to be sold in the Union, and Mills led a fundraising campaign that brought in $30,000 for Sept. 11
Ng
"We wanted to use our power at the top to help people all over the place," said Mills, who is now a student at KU Medical Center.
Mills and Browning had
defeated Jessica Bankston and Hunter Harris of theVOICE coalition to win office. They won by just 39 votes, but Senate elections haven't been the same since.
haven tucked the saddle
Until that year, Delta Force had
run against a series of coalitions
with different names but mostly
greek candidates. After Mills' victory,
Jonathan Ng, who ran with
VOICE the year before, formed
KUnited.
Rohmeh Ng focused his campaign on diversity and issues relevant to campus. Ng said he thought Senate
focused too much on issues outside of its influence during Mills' administration. He and his running mate, Loren Malone, campaigned mainly on campus issues such as increasing diversity.
They formed a group of candidates that was a mix between veterans of the VOICE campaign and leaders of student organizations with no Senate experience.
Ngand Malone were successful defeating their Delta Force counterparts by more than 800 votes. Since then, KUinited has been the dominant fixture in Senate.
The coalition increased its control of the Senate the year after Ng's election, Andy Knopp and Catherine Bell retained the presidency and vice presidency for KUnited, winning the 2003 election by more than 1,100 votes. KUnited candidates won 49 of the 67 open Senate positions.
positions. NgsaidhewasproudofKUnited accomplishments that included
getting a new Multicultural Resource Center approved, helping with the transition of KU Info and making sure there was student input on how tuition was spent. He said it was important to establish another permanent coalition.
"We've established a group that's ongoing and can carry through major programs on campus," Ng said. "It's consistency versus turnover, and the ultimate winners are students."
Ng, who now works in the University's Admissions Office, said he was pleased that KUinted continued to involve students from different parts of campus, including this year's presidential candidate. Steve Munch, who lives in a scholarship hall.
Delta Force supporters are hoping Blake Swenson, who lives off-campus, can defeat Munch this week and become just the second Delta Force member to win the presidency in the coali-
ton's boyfriend.
Amy Cummins, Lawrence graduate student, was a senator with Delta Force from 1998-2000. In the spring of 2001, she served another two years in Senate. She said she was inspired by the group's grassroots activism and added that even though Delta Force hadn't won many presidential elections, it had still had an impact on Senate.
sun had an impulse.
"I think Delta Force has succeeded because all the coalitions are concerned about things like diversity now." Cummins said.
"The apathy, at least within Senate, is gone."
Student Senate elections will be held Wednesday and Thursday. Students may vote from any on-campus computer lab or at polling stations located in front of Wescoe Hall, Mrs. E's, GSP-Corbin Hall and the Student Fitness Recreation Center.
Edited by Ashley Arnold
Increase the value of your KU degree.
Vote YES for Study Abroad! April 14-15,2004
It costs $2,000-$4,000 more to study abroad at selected sites than to study on campus.
A $4.00 per semester required campus fee ($2.00 in the summer) will create a scholarship fund for study abroad.
Scholarship allocation will be based on academic merit, financial need and underrepresentation in study abroad.
Approximately $190,000 will be available for distribution. All funds will be returned to students who are participating in credit-bearing academic programs and research.
Don't leave KU without a passport. Your country needs you to be more savvy about the world.-Ambassador Kenton Keith, KU grad
For more information, visit www.ku.edu/~osa/scholarships/gesp.shtml