The Post: Three prospective Senate parties announce platforms

Monday, April 20, 1998

THE POST

Athens, Ohio An Independent Daily Newspaper Ohio University

Three prospective Senate parties announce platforms
by Amanda Wolfe
THE POST

If elected, the Becoming Empowered Students Together (BEST) party members said they promise to empower students so they can help solve the problems they face.

"We want to bring out the issues that empower students," treasurer candidate Jason Barron said. "We can help students fight for themselves."

Keeping the name of the previous two Student Senate administrations, the BEST ticket is a separate group of executives that shares the same ideals of the previous BEST tickets but promises a different experience, vice presidential candidate Melissa Wervey said.

To begin the healing process after the Uptown disturbances this year and last, BEST party members will investigate the deeper causes of the problem, presidential candidate Amanda Wiebold said.

"Students didn't riot because of daylight-savings time," she said. "There's an underlying problem. Students don't feel like they're a part of the community."

Maintaining an open line of communication between students, city and university officials will help to prevent further incidents, Wiebold said.

"We can't wait for the city to come to us," Wervey said. "We have to go to them. We have to work together."

Ensuring student feedback is implemented into Hudson Health Center services is another BEST party priority. Although students could enter complaints or suggestions into a student feedback box this academic year, many students did not take advantage of this opportunity, Wervey said.

The senate's current health committee has experimented with issuing evaluations to students after they had gynecological exams. If that system proves effective, Hudson and the senate might create other evaluations, Wervey said.

Creating more effective student evaluations of faculty members is another BEST party promise.

The senate's current academic affairs commission studied course evaluations within OU's colleges and made recommendations to deans to make those evaluations more specific. The BEST party executives said they will ensure those changes are made.

The BEST party members also said they will promise a better quality of living on and off campus. Guaranteeing a microFridge in every dorm room and educating students about living off-campus are a part of this goal.

Housing forums will inform off-campus students of tenants' rights and responsibilities, Wervey said.

The BEST party members will inform students of their rights during dorm room inspections, Barron said.

Creating a better lit, safer campus is another BEST party goal. Too many dark areas on and off campus exist, Wiebold said.

The BEST executive candidates have investigated alternative funding methods, but the party also will encourage the university to make safety a budgetary priority, Wervey said.

REAL wants to improve group visibility.

Making Student Senate a visible body forging change is one of the key motivations behind the Realizing Excellence and Achievement through Leadership (REAL) party members.

"It's not the students' job to go to Senate; it's the senate's job to go to the students," presidential candidate Darien Moss said.

The REAL party executives plan to make students aware of the programing and changes they will implement.

Ticket members will make Hudson Health Center more accessible to students by increasing the hours Hudson is open. Hudson should be open on weekends or later in the weekdays to accommodate students more effectively, treasurer candidate Judy Croxton said.

"So many people have problems with Hudson," vice president candidate Shannon Bibbee said. "We need to figure out why."

To help students feel like an integral part of the Athens community, REAL party members, who all belong to a sorority or a fraternity on campus, will encourage students to take an active role in community service.

Although the current senate has planned Circus of Service, a one-day, student-organized community service event, service projects must be on-going, Bibbee said.

"The role of philanthropy is much more extensive (than a one-day project)," Moss said. "Circus of Service is a great start."

Keeping to a theme of visibility, Moss said the senate's college representatives will have an expanded role if students elect the REAL ticket.

Students should know who their representatives are and should feel comfortable approaching them with questions about academic requirements, Moss said. If a representative cannot answer a question, he or she should know who can.

Although an evaluation of landlords and properties already is on-line, REAL ticket members said they plan to expand the database and increase its availability to students.

"It's not publicized enough," Moss said. "If we didn't know about it, then other students didn't know about it."

The party members also plan to educate students about the leasing process and encourage better cooperation between students and landlords.

By expanding weekend safety programs, in which security aides patrol the residence hall greens, to weekday patrol, REAL party members said they hope to improve the safety of the campus.

More sexual assaults have occurred during weekday evenings. Increased patrolling might reduce those numbers, Moss said.

Security aides are the best people to patrol the campus because they are trained specifically to advise and counsel students, Bibbee said.

Party members also said they would like to see a more equitable Student Activities Commission. Many students think the student organization funding body shows favoritism to certain organizations, Bibbee said.

Members of the Now Everyone Wins (NEW) ticket want to lead students in a campaign filled with idealism and activism.

"We have the ability and the desire to serve other students," NEW presidential candidate Eleni Zulia said. "We want to show other students that."

A formal evaluation of Hudson Health staff members tops the NEW party's list of student health goals.

"Students have a right to know which doctors people are complaining about," vice presidential candidate Tony Eufinger said.

Once evaluations are compiled, Hudson staff and senate members would discuss them and consider suggestions, Zulia said. Evaluations could be posted on the senate Web site, similar to the way landlord and property evaluations are now.

To help forge better relations between OU and Athens, NEW party members propose stronger communication measures, especially with the Athens City Council.

"Direct communication is the way to go," Zulia said.

Sending a senate member to council meetings regularly and inviting council members to the senate's meetings is part of that communication, she said.

If the senate members initiate more face-to-face contact with city officials and community members, those members might begin to see students as concerned Athens citizens, she said.

To combat safety issues, NEW party members said they will create a stronger sexual assault program for freshmen at precollege. Party members said they plan to provide education programs for students on campus.

"You only can put so many blue lights on campus," Zulia said. "Most of what goes on happens in houses, apartments, and the dorms. We have to go deeper and get into people's heads."

Ticket members also want to increase student awareness of counseling and sexual assault survivor assistance services, according to the party's platform.

Helping students become actively involved in the selection of faculty members is another NEW party priority. By sitting on selection committees and helping to choose new faculty, party members can ensure students have a voice in the process, Zulia said.

NEW party members also said they will investigate the four-year graduation guarantee, a plan outlining graduation requirements and a timeline for completing those requirements.

Increasing student suggestions into on- and off-campus housing issues also tops the NEW party's list of priorities. Students should have a voice in renovations or changes in the housing code, Zulia said.

NEW party members said they would like to create a more student organization-friendly Student Activities Commission. The party hopes to make the funding application process more informative for organizations, treasurer candidate Upendri Gunasekera said.

[Front Page] [Top Story] [Today's Edition] [The Post Archives] [About The Post] [Post Phone Numbers] [Staff Resumes] [Advertising Information] [Contact Us] [Useful Links] [Entertainment]