Student Senate coalitions talk money

By Mike Bontrager

Monday, April 13, 2009

Photo Gallery

Student Senate Debate

Ryan McGeeney/KANSAN Adam Wood, Lawrence senior, presidential candidate with Students of Liberty, organized a Student Senate debate Friday afternoon in Alderson Auditorium. Presidential and vice presidential candidates from the United Students and Envision coalitions also participated in the debate, which Wood organized after the original Student Senate debate, scheduled for April 6, was cancelled due to securit concerns.

When last Monday’s Student Senate debate was canceled, one candidate decided to take matters into his own hands.

Adam Wood, Lawrence senior and Students of Liberty presidential candidate for Senate, organized a debate on Friday afternoon in Alderson Auditorium in the Kansas Union.

“At the time it didn’t look like anything was going to happen,” Wood said. “So I just said, ‘No, there is going to be a debate and I’m just going to put it together.’”

Students of Liberty, United Students and Envision debated for an audience of about 30. Wood said he invited Free State presidential candidate Tutu Lee, but he was unable to attend.

Wood said the debate was an important part of the Senate elections.

“If you don’t have a debate then there will be less voter turnout because no one has any clue what they’re voting for,” Wood said. “It’s just a big poster and button fest, it’s not really about ideas, it’s just about who can spend the most money on materials.”

Campaign funding

During the debate, Wood said the Students of Liberty campaign raised and spent about $700.

“Which is a lot more than I thought we’d ever do,” Wood said. “Last year we ran a campaign on $70.”

Wood said half the money came from fundraisers and the other half was donations.

JJ Siler, Overland Park junior and Envision presidential candidate, said Envision had spent about $2,000 on its campaign.

Siler said some of the money came from fundraisers that involved alumni from both his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, and Senate. He said the coalition also raised money at social events promoting Senate.

“We were very lucky to find a lot of people who are willing to support us in our endeavors,” Siler said.

The money funded handmade banners, informational fliers and buttons in different languages.

Siler said he thought these were the basic methods to get more people involved in Senate.

May Davis, Clay Center junior and United Students vice presidential candidate, estimated United Students spent about $3,000 on its campaign.

Mason Heilman, Lawrence junior and United Students presidential candidate, said the money came from family, friends and people who had helped them in the past. Davis said her coalition acquired additional funding by advertising for businesses while promoting itself.

Economic issues

Heilman said keeping costs for students down was a priority.

“One of our biggest responsibilities as Student Senate is making sure that we are not overstepping our bounds in terms of asking for money,” Heilman said. “I think you can see that through our platform with common sense, low cost issues.”

Alex Porte, Great Falls, Va., junior and Envision vice presidential candidate, said the way to respond to the economic crisis was to wait a couple of months before planning the year’s budget.

“I think that because this crisis essentially happened in a four- to five-month period, to project for an entire year would be extremely short-sighted of us,” Porte said. “However, I think the zero-percent fee increase that was mandated by the Board of Regents and the chancellor is something we seriously need to look at keeping for another year.”

Porte said keeping the same amount of services on campus was more important than avoiding an increase in fees.

Wood said there shouldn’t be an increase in fees, but wanted to take it a step further by putting money back in students’ pockets. He said it would come from fees that would be expiring this year, such as the boathouse fee. He also said it only made sense to lower taxes during a recession.

“Student government is a government and student fees are taxes,” Wood said.

There will be another debate among the presidential candidates at 1:30 p.m. today in the KUJH-TV newsroom, room 2000 of the Dole Human Development Center, which is located south of Watson Library.

— — Sonya English

Comments

connerm (anonymous) says...

Remarkable how the only article I have seen in weeks that actually discusses policy has 0 comments while all the political banter articles have at least 20 comments.

April 13, 2009 at 2:55 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

ebhyde (Eric Hyde) says...

I have awoke yet again from a coma caused by United Students 'blunt force'.

To whom it may concern,
I would like to re-emphasize that United Students are fascists, liars, and hypocrites. They are 'married to private economic institution(s)' on campus, they lie repeatedly in public, and trust me-- there is nothing noble about their lies-- and they are proven to be hypocritical------what happened with the long terms plans for a luxury pool, or even, what happened with the energy efficiency plans they suddenly borrowed from last year's Students of Liberty? Hell, what's going to happen when the university proposes a rise in student fees and tuition again during the coming second economic crisis wave... I'd have to assume they will become hypocrites again in that regards. And, there is no way in hell that they spent, "Well... I'd have to say somewhere around three thousand dollars" (May Davis, a very attractive liar) on their campaign. Let's continue the fight against Student Senate apathy and deception!

April 13, 2009 at 5:45 p.m. ( | suggest removal )

Advertisement