4a
Free for All will return to the opinion page tomorrow.
For today's Free for All
See www.kansan.com
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Opinion
Wednesday, April 11, 2001
for comments, contact Chris Borniger or Nathan Willis at 864-4924 or opinion@kansan.com.
Po
Who deserves your vote?
VOICE: Diverse coalition embraces diverse ideas Delta Force: Accomplishments set coalition apart
Fifteen percent of the student body elected the student body president and vice president last year. If you want a VOICE at the University of Kansas, it begins today with your vote.
To more accurately represent the student body, we found candidates from every corner of campus. We sought students in residence halls, scholarship halls, off-campus living and the greek community. Although more than 80 percent of our candidates have never run for a Student Senate seat before, our broad base of leadership experience in more than 150 student organizations prepares us to represent your
Jessica Bankston
VOICE
presidential candidate
VOICE.
Hunter Harris
VOICE
vice presidential candidate
Your VOICE is important for several different reasons. If you elect us, we will represent you on campus, throughout the Lawrence community and in Topeka. Decisions made in each of these places affect your daily life. Choose student representatives who will not only act as a strongVOICE for you but who are also willing to serve with open ears. VOICE conducted an extensive listening tour of campus and living organizations to determine what students wanted. We formed our platform with students' ideas in mind, and our 58 candidates are ready to act on those concerns.
The biggest complaint we heard when talking with students was that they wanted more personalized advising. Sadly, KU ranks 97th out of the top 100 public universities in freshman retention. We believe advising is part of the problem.VOICE will match you with an adviser or faculty mentor knowledgeable in your area of study.VOICE also will create an online faculty/course evaluation system so students can match classes to their learning styles.
VOICE will continue the work of the Student Senate Minority Retention and Recruitment Task Force to ensure minority recruitment and retention issues finally will be addressed by the administration and the student body. VOICE supports the hiring of full-time admissions staff dedicated solely to the recruitment of a multicultural student body and would work closely with the Office of Multicultural Affairs and various student groups to explore new diversity education and programming opportunities for all KU students. VOICE will work to create a campus representative of the growing minority population where all
students realize their importance as members of the KU community.
Too often, Student Senate fails to offer the KU community tangible services. With unions at polar ends of campus and only 10 minutes between classes, KU students are constantly on the run. With support from the class of 1955,VOICE will transform the information center in front of Stauffer Flint Hall into the Jayhawk Station. Students could pick up a newspaper or snack, use a campus phone and check out student announcements between classes.
Student Senate's lobbying efforts at the city and state level brought us to a compromise in the housing ordinance, a sexual orientation nondiscrimination policy and the original two-for-one technology matching funds. VOICE will aggressively lobby at the gubernatorial level to reinstate 1.8 million dollars in technology money cut from the state budget. In addition, VOICE will
get. In addition, VOICE will
put a KU student on the Lawrence City Commission to serve a watchdog for issues concerning our student population. The student commissioner would continue dialogue with the city to allow pre game tail gaiting and registration of landlords.
You are voting for the future campus leaders, students who will represent your VOICE and allocate your campus fee money for an entire year. Educate yourself before you vote. Stop and talk to any VOICE candidate about why they want to be your VOICE. Take five minutes today to vote for the coalition that will work to echo your VOICE on campus, throughout the community and at the Capitol. Vote VOICE.
bankston is a San Angelo, Texas, junior in Spanish and communication studies. Harris is a Baldwin City junior in communication studies.
In February 1997, 30 students who cared about the University of Kansas and their community formed Delta Force, a coalition for Student Senate elections. They loved the University but believed that many parts of it needed improvement. The name Delta Force was chosen because the Greek letter Delta means change, and Delta Force was focused on forcing fundamental change in student representation at the University. Although Delta Force has changed and seen success during the last four years, these ideas continue to be Delta Force's core values.
To understand Delta Force's commitment and values better, let us tell you a story.
On Stop Day, May 6, 1997, Cancellor Robert Hemenway announced the purchase of a new KU jet for $4 million. The next day, Delta Force put up posters on campus decrying the timing of the decision (when students would be busy with finals) and alerting students that the University could have spent this money to buy 500 computers or 16 KU on Wheels buses, or to provide hundreds of scholarships. The purchase of the jet was not cancelled, but Delta Force showed that administrators
they thought was important to work for students all year even though we had just lost the presidency and vice presidency. We believe that sticking around year after year says a lot about us. Our record gives Delta Force credibility and accountability. In the past, Delta Force members have secured a fall break, more e-mail terminals and the Daisy Hill polling site. Delta Force's record proves we will work for you when elected. In the past, other coalitions have made promises that they could not live up to. Since these groups (in theory) no longer exist, they
cannot be held responsible. Delta Force can.
This year, Delta Force has four main platform issues all long-term goals that can be accomplished only by years of sustained hard work.
First and foremost, we believe minority recruitment and retention need to be improved. Senate must make diversity issues a priority for students and the administration.
Second, Senate should work to increase recycling on campus. Delta Force was instrumental in creating the campuswide recycling program, and we continue to possess a strong environmental ethic.
third, we believe Senate should support the Graduate Teaching Assistants Coalition during its contract negotiations. GTAs are essential to the University. Delta Force, which was helpful during GTAC's first contract negotiations, continues our support for a fair and just contract for our GTAs.
Fourth, we believe that Senate should work with the KU Athletics Corporation to get better seating for students at basketball games. KUAC does not have students as a top priority. The sports program cuts are evidence of this. KUAC must be more responsive to students. Better student seating would be a first step.
Finally, Delta Force believes that the Parking Department must be more receptive to students and allow students to have more power. Recently, university governance unanimously approved a proposal to replace the Parking Board with a Parking Commission that would decide parking issues. The new commission should be monitored so that students appointed to it adequately represent their constituents.
Point/Counterpoint
Delta Force will shake up Senate to make it more responsive to students. Long-term commitment is
Justin Mills Delta Force presidential candidate
Kyle Browning Delta Force vice presidential candidate
the only way to create long-term change. By its continued existence, Delta Force will make sure that Senate and the administration do not forget their responsibilities and promises.
Please take the flies from our candidates on campus, stop and talk with them, and visit our Web site at www.ku.edu/~dforce. Do your own research and determine for yourself who deserves your vote. We are confident that after you do, you'll be convinced to vote for Delta Force.
Mills is a Lansing senior in history. Browning is an Overland Park senior in political science.
Is voting worth the effort?
Yes: Voting is students' path to power at University
About 1.7 million movie tickets,
396 million Jolly Ranchers,
180,000 biology textbooks. You
may like some of these things more
than others, but all are worth a lot of
money — $12 million, to be exact.
Not exactly chump change, huh?
Good news for you. That $12
I've got good news for you. That $12 million dollars used to be your money, and it can be your money
Dustin Johnson guest columnist opinion@kanan.com
again. All you have to do is vote today or tomorrow.
Around election time, almost every one dismisses the importance of voting. After all, Student Senate doesn't do anything anyway, right? Well, that $12 million says
Senators have a lot of power, and they get elected because people vote for them. If you are upset because you think Student Senate is made up of people you don't identify with,
otherwise. Twelve million dollars to the amount of money that KU students pay in fees, money that our "powerless" Student Sepale controls.
there is an easy solution: Vote. Unlike some, I don't think people should vote because it's their responsibility. I don't think people should vote because it's the "right" thing to do. Instead, I think people should vote because it's the easiest way to become powerful.
When you vote today or tomorrow, you will get to elect the candidates who think like you do. When they vote to spend our $12 million the way you want them to, you will regain control of your university, your education and your $12 million. That seems like an awful lot of power to me — not bad for a day's work.
There is a columnist on this opinion page telling you that your vote doesn't matter, that the hard-working candidates don't deserve your vote. Don't listen to him. Like most people pushing apathy, that columnist is just trying to be cool. Rather than admit the importance of voting, the apathy-pushers smugly sit back and attempt to rationalize their own laziness. I don't have any problem with them not voting (in fact, I prefer it), but I can't understand why they would want to keep others from seizing the power (and $12 million) that is rightfully theirs. Perhaps some day they will realize that cynicism doesn't solve problems.
The good news is that, contrary to what the apathy-pushers say, KU students are not apathetic. In fact, they care a great deal. A quick glance at the Free for All on any day of the week will make that abundantly clear. People care about racism, they care about campus safety, they care about parking, and although I don't understand why, they seem to care about mullets, a popular Free For All topic. Although we are probably powerless against the infamous mullets, Student Senate can do something about those other issues. The only question that remains is who will be elected; that is what you decide.
Johnson is a Pierre, S.D., graduate student in public administratio and the elections commissioner.
Each of us has a choice today and tomorrow; Join the more than 4,000 KU students who are taking control of their university or sit on the sidelines with the apathy-pushers. Your money will be spent either way.
So, spend five minutes voting; it will be worth your time. I know that calling Free for All might be more fun, but I can assure you that voting is much more powerful. After all, no one will give you $12 million to call Free for All.
No: Apathy best choice in Student Senate election
When I was walking across campus a couple weeks ago, the smiling students giving out free Coca-Cola products on Wescoe Beach kindly reminded me that it was time for Student Senate elections. Yippie.
No subject on campus causes more rolled eyes, blank stares and outright apathy then Student Senate.
Mitchell Trope
guest columnist
optionian.kaanan.com
Like most people, I don't know who my senators are.
There are apparently three engineer-senators. I'm sure that with a call to KU Info, I could find their names and office hours, but I'm not that motivated.
Neither is anyone else I have talked to — except, of course, for those running for office. People seem more eager to relive their last root canal than discuss Student Senate. Even the Kansan recognizes this — stories about the election often are buried within the paper, only to be read as a last resort before
After three years at this University, I've seen Senate do one thing only; raise fees. It adds $6 here, $20 there, and $10 more for this or that. Recently, it tacked on $6.50 for newspapers. Although I enjoy reading newspapers, I almost never have time to get through the Kansan. There was also a campus safety fee increase a while back. I don't see any new lights or emergency poles. If they have been installed, can someone please point them out?
It isn't fair to get mad at Senate for raising fees. If it weren't around to do it, the administration would gladly take on the same role without student "participation." After all, we're supposed to feel better about these things because our elected "representatives" make these decisions on our behalf. How can people represent me if I don't even know their names?
dying of boredom.
Every year, two or more coalitions put forth candidates for Senate, student body president and vice president. These people promise to lead the student body to new heights by reforming this or changing that or "opening a dialogue" with the assistant vice chancellor in charge of deputy assistant vice chancellors. I wish someone would tell me the last time anyone kept a promise like that.
Raw, unbridled apathy is our only weapon. Sure, those running for office would love for you to believe that the way to make things happen is to vote. The truth is, there is no vast difference between the people running for office from the various coalitions. The same stuff (with the exception of a few pet projects) will happen no matter who is elected.
Just take a look at how campaigns are conducted. Both sides pledged a "clean campaign." Why should we care? I prefer a good, old-fashioned mud-slinging contest. It's fun to watch each side see how close to libel it can get without crossing the line.
Heck, last year thousands of copies of the Kansan were stolen from the loading dock of the Lawrence Journal-World, where they were printed, because they contained an unfavorable story about a candidate. At least that was good for a laugh. Cast your vote for the Apathy coalition. It's the one without any signs, platforms or candidates. Best of all, it requires no effort to vote. Just keep walking right across campus, past the voting tables. Please try to avoid stepping in the campaign promises on the way.
Trope is an Overland Park junior in computer engineering.
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