Maroon

              THE MAROON SGA ELECTION ISSUE VOL. 83, NO. 22 LOYOLA UNIVERSITY NEW ORLEANS MONDAY, APRIL 4, 2005 Students need to step up One candidate for president, and one for vice president. Is this good or bad? What does it mean? But it's not just these positions. The four Congress-people-at-large, two college presidents and the college of business representatives are also running unopposed; there's an open music position. Who do you get mad at? Do we get mad at the candidates who went to the election meetings and turned their forms in on time? Do we get mad at the students who chose not to run? Or at SGA? There was more publicity for election meetings this year than in the past and Commissioner of Elections Amarena Diaz presented the most organized and thorough pre-election campaign I have seen in my four years. Last year's election had less publicity than this year for elected SGA positions, and it produced six presidential candidates and four vice presidential candidates. At some point students must take action. It is easy to complain about who is running for office and say SGA is corrupt and steals student's money. The challenge is MARTINA MILLS Guest Column MET THE CANDDATES Clarke's experience a plus By Chuck Alexander News editor swgrs Studenl Government Association Vice President Michelle Clarke's presidential run might be more adequately described as a walk. For the first time since 1998, a candidate will run unopposed for the position of president. "I would have liked to see more people coming out and running," Clarke, communications junior, said, "but every student had the opportunity to run." She added that she and vice presidential candidate Scott Daugherty, communications junior, are not taking for granted the positions which, barring any unforeseen circumstances, are theirs for the taking. "We are going to work very hard," Clarke said. Outgoing SGA President Martina Mills, communications senior, said that Clarke will adapt well to her new job due to her experience. "Michelle is a driven person," Mills said. "When shes puts her mind to something, she does it. She chose to run as a freshman; that's a big step. And she's used her position for good." Clarke served as Arts and Sciences President her sophomore year and is currently the Vice President. She was an A & S representative her freshman year. She is the second consecutive president to be a native of Lafayette, La. Last April, when Clarke took PLATFORM • Increase availability of classes dealing with diversity and Jesuit identity issues • Further integrate the Center for Intercultural Understanding into Loyola community • Ensure student representation on all university-related committees MAROON STAFF PHOTO Constituents come first for Daugherty By Katie Ide Managing editor gfdsg Scott Daugherty, psychology premed junior and the candidate for Student Government Association vice president for the 2(X)5-()6 school year, thinks that tew many people involved in SGA do not take constituent representation seriously. One of his top platform ideas is to change student representation on SGA. "When we go to SGA meetings, we begin with a creed that says we will represent our constituents to the best of our ability," he said. "When I take that creed, 1 take it to heart." Daugherty said that, although student representatives are required to check in with assigned constituent organizations, few are held accountable.He said that in his year as vice president he will make sure that representatives not only have contact with their organizations, but also that they attend meetings and meet with the presidents of those organizations. According to Daugherty, who has also served on the allocations committee, this requirement would make the allocations process run easier and smoother. If representatives met with their organizations' presidents frequently, the process would not seem so long and confusing. However, he did say that he thinks the process is fair and PLATFORM • Hold student town hall forums with the SGA President and Vice President • Improve classroom facilities and other physical aspects • Require SGA representatives to meet with their constituent organizations MAROON STAFF PHOTO SGA debates unchallenged race By Lola Thelin Editor in chief The position of Student Government Association president and vice president has a paid academic tuition perk. However, despite such an advantage, candidates for these two positions are running unopposed. Michelle Clarke, communications junior, is the first presidential candidate to run unopposed since 1998, while Scott Daugherty, psychology junior, is the first vice presidential candidate to run unopposed since 2001. According to Chris Cameron, director of the Danna Center and Student Activities, there is one major reason for the lack of opposition: If a candidate loses his or her race, there is no guarantee of a position on SGA except if there are openings in the Executive and Judicial Branches. "... Since the presidential winner appoints these positions, it's hard for a former opponent to get one," Cameron wrote in an e-mail. "This is a scary but real consequence for students who have committed their leadership careers to SGA. As a result, I believe most students only run for positions they know they have the best chance of winning." In comparison to this year, the 2004 election had six candidates running for president and four for vice president. Both ended in an election run-off. In all, 39 students ran for 25 positions that year. This year 26 positions are available, and 18 candidates are first-time runners. "While most races are unopposed, 70 percent of the candidates are new, bringing new ideas and fresh perspectives," Cameron wrote. On Tuesday, SGA deliberated whether or not to allow more candidates to run for positions, namely for business college president, which was vacant by Thursday night press time. College Business President Christian Watkins, marketing senior, drafted resolution RO5-37, titled 'Extended Election Filing Period.' The resolution failed but was praised for its effort. "The spirit behind the resolution was good and attempted to allow a more representative and fair election," said SGA president Martina Mills, communications senior. Although the resolution received 15 yeas and 13 nays, it needed a two-thirds majority vote to pass, said Commissioner of Elections, Amarena Diaz, communications junior. The majority vote is determined by how many Congress members are present, Diaz explained. "The general argument was to allow more students to run for positions, especially business. The argument against it was that the [election] was advertised," Diaz said. "People did know about the deadlines, and they are responsible to follow." There was also concern about personal vengeance against the candidates, Diaz said. "We wanted people to run for the position regardless of who would be running against them," Mills said. However, the Court of Review voted on Thursday to extend candidacy for business president since there were no candidates for the position.According to Diaz, there was a potential candidate but whether or not she would be eligible was not determined until after press time on ► See CLARKE, page 4 D- See MILLS, page 4 D See DAUGHERTY, page 4 ► See ELECTION, page 4 BY THE NUMBERS (§) 2004 2005 Pres. Pres. candidates: 6 i candidates: 1 Vice Pres. Vice Pres. candidates: candidates: 4 1 2003 Pres. candidates: 3 Vice Pres. candidates: 2