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              Maroon LOYOLA UNIVERSITY, [\IEU ORLEANS ~Vui L~ !\.n 'Dil Uill h?K 1974 No race for SGA president PATTI BRECKENRIDGE Staff Reporter Only one of Loyola's 4,300 students is nmning for President of the Student Government Association, one of the most powerful student positions on campus. That student is John Posey. Posey, a 25-year-old junior majoring in sociology, has had no previous experience in student government. He feels, however, that he is qualified to assume the presidency because of his ability to work effectively with people. The fact that Posey is unopposed in his pursuit of such an important position is indicative of student disinterest with student government, said Bob DeVoto, outgoing SGA president. "It just shows the general apathy toward student government that seems to be plaguing every campus. Why students are so introspective with themselves and not interested in their community is beyond me," he said. "You can't expect [the faculty and administration] to go rounding up students saying, 'Come on and get in on the decision-making process,' because they're not going to do that. You have to go out and assert your own right," he said. John D. Shoonenberg, Posey's running mate, agrees that students have become disenchanted with student government. "Politics isn't exactly the vogue thing nowadays. People are tired of politics. To them, elected offices should be left to the politician." Posey believes he is unopposed because the university generally satisfies students, giving them no reason to complain and hence no urgency to promote student politics. "This is a fairly self-sufficient little society because students get everything they need. There's no injustices at all on this campus. As a result, everyone seems to be pretty cohesive; there's not a lot of polarization of students. You don't find alot of conflict groups, so there's no big issues for the students to consider. So in general everyone here seems to be happy and having such a good time that they probably pass over a few things they should look into that affect them," Posey said. Deborah Gray, Shoonenberg's opponent for SGA vice-president, said the fact that Posey is unopposed illustrates the poor rapport that the SGA has with students. Posey doesn't believe his lack of political experience will hinder his ability to do a good job as SGA President. "It's the way a person responds to a learning experience that more than anything makes for a good president. There's a multitude of information I have to acquire and right now I'm in the dark about most of it, but I have an eye for the obvious. I can be efficient enough to turn out a good amount of work. I'm also open enough and have the personality that will allow students to come to me and tell me their problems. I will be able to effectively deliver the things they tell me to the administration and the SGA," he said. Posey's primary goal is "to bring the students back to SGA." He plans to fulfill this goal by "going out and talking to students" and urging other SGA members to do the same. He also hopes to sponsor student referendums on important issues, 'There are no injustices at ail on this campus. As a result everyone seems to be pretty cohesive," John Posey, the sole candidate for SGA president, said. Photo by Tom Du,.l Two law students vie for vice presidency PATTI BRECKENRIDGE Staff Reporter Neither one of the two candidates for Vice President of the Student Government Association have served on Loyola's SGA. Deborah L. Gray, a second year law student, feels better qualified for the vice presidency than her opponent, John D. Shoonenberg, because she has proved herself in the past. Ms. Gray became a justice on the Honor Code, a disciplinary arm of the Student Bar Association, and was a participant in Loyola's Moot Court team. She feels her achievements in these areas illustrated her ability to "get the job done." Ms. Gray doesn't think Shoonenberg has shown any similar capability. "My opponent is a nice guy, but I just haven't seen him do anything. Now if he can, that's another ballgame." Shoonenberg, a second year law student, responded to Ms. Gray's comments, saying, "I might not be quite as smart as Debbie. Maybe she's had time to get involved with a lot of things on campus. I've never held any office for the 'past two years because I've had my nose buried in the books at Law School. I've got a pretty good average and I know I can complete my studies, so now I want to get involved." "I'm doing a great deal just by running. People can say that I don't have any qualifications and I haven't done anything, but don't let it ever be said that I didn't try to do something." Shoonenberg said his interest in running and his desire to work are good enough qualifications. Ms. Gray points to her extensive debate experience as her main asset which she believes will help her get ideas across to students. She was a varsity debater in high school, a debate judge for four years and a debate coach for two years. Among other past activities, Ms. Gray served as parliamentarian and vice president of Oliviet College's SGA. In addition to working with the Honor Code and the Moot Court team at Loyola, Ms. Gray is a member of Loyola's Association of Women Law Students and has participated in the Criminal Trial Club. Shoonenberg said his most important ability is his art of salesmanship. "I have Photo by Tom Dural eyes, ears and a good mouthpiece and I know how Jo talk to people. I know how to negotiate with them and get things done." Although he has never served on a student government, Shoonenberg said he is familiar with campus politics. "I'm not a novice to politics. I've been around. I'm just a novice to Loyola politics." He said he participated in SGA campaigns when he was at Nicholls State University. Ms. Gray said her most important objective is to create a master plan for distributing SGA funds more equitably to the five colleges than has been done in the past. "The SGA Jias in the neighborhood of $26,000 to work with, but there is no master plan, no priorities. Each college should get a fair shake and I dont think it's been done before. Every year, emphasis goes to one college or the other," she said. Urging the Student Judicial Court to become more active and seeing to it that agendas and minutes of SGA meetings are posted publicly are more of Ms. Gray's goals. Shoonenberg's principal goal is similar to that of Ms. Gray. "My basic platform is to act as a watchdog over the funds, to make sure each student organization gets its fair share," he said. He also aims to stimulate SGA committee work. "As long as we can get students working together on committees, the SGA will start to function. Without your committees, all you have is a couple of people running the show and that's not .what SGA is all about." Shoonenberg says he is "exploring the possibility of the SGA providing free legal advice to all Loyola students. The Law Clinic right now isn't available to all Loyola students, but only those they classify as indigents. If we could find the money for it and if we could determine that it could definitely be an asset to the students, I'd like to try and implement it." Deborah L. Gray Photo by Tom Our*) John D. Schoonenberg NEXT WEEK Probation: The first of a four-part series dealing with academic probation at Loyola. Rank and Tenure: Faculty and administrators discuss the pros and cons of the current rank and tenure system. (continued on pagc3)