Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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"Cht ©amecock . Elections commission aiming to increase SG voter turnout at USC \ by Angie Alpert Student Government In February, the campus explodes with flyers, stickers, poster and even golf cans. Student Government elections are the reason for the chaotic supply of pa per supplies. Student senate seats and executive officer positions, such as pres ident, vice president and treasurer, are filedfor in a three-week campaigning pe nod. Elections Commission is designed to learn the codes, know the codes and im plement the codes during the weeks of campaigning. Other than the codes, the elections commission publicizes all as pects of Student Government elec tions, coordinates a debate for the ex ecutive candidates and organizes inau guration. The elections commission consists of seven students: Ashley Heaton, Erin Foster, Jo Louise Baxter, William Sny der, James Battle, Rachel Keisler, Shar mon Lebby and Melissa Morgan. The commission’s biggest projects this year are publicizing elections and working on the debate for the execu tive candidates. Last year, more students voted than ever before; this year the commission is hoping to again improve voter turnout. The commission is improving the debate and trying to make it bigger. The debate is scheduled for Feb. 13,2001 at 5 p.m. on the Russell House patio. Details for debate are still in the works but mark the date on your calendar and come to the patio and get to know the executive of ficer candidates and learn how they will work for you. Any student wanting to run for stu dent senate or executive office can at ' tend a pre-candidate’s meeting Jan. 22 at 4 p.m. in Russell House room 203. This meeting will give any student the opportunity to ask questions and de cide if running for SG office is the right choice. Monday, Jan. 29, filing begins in the SG office. To file for a student sen ate seat or an executive officer posi tion, go to the student government of fice and sign the list to run for senate or executive position. The candidate will receive a candi date’s packet containing the elections codes and other rules and regulations. Filing will end at 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 2. Every candidate, senate and execu tive, must attend a candidate’s meeting on Monday, Feb. 5 at 4 p.m. for Senate candidates and 5 p.m. for Executiv e can didates in the Russell House Ballroom A. As a commission, we are dedicated to the students of the university and up holding the ideals of the Carolinian Creed and the university. Senate committees striving to represent student interests B Finance by Hydrick Harden Student Government The Sti dent Senate Financ Committee serves tli student body by uf holding the fiscal rt sponsibihties of Sti dent Governmem Tlie committee is re sponsible for th daunting task of die A tributing student ac tivity fees among all student organization! pursuant to the SG Ftnancial Codes. Th committee is also responsible for coot dinating the Treasurer's Workshops, wliic! are held once at the beginning of each se mester to help student organizations an advisers understand the allocation process Each spring, the committee review the budgets submitted by these organiza tions and determines an appropriate al location of student activity fees tha will be awarded to each organization fo the next fiscal year. In the fall, the com mittee assists organizations in allocatinj money left over from the previous fis cal year (carryover funds) into their cur rpnt hudeets. Throughout the year, the Finano Committee serves as financial liaisons t< ^members of student oiganizations, help ing them retrieve and complete expendi ture documents, such as purchase requi sitions and direct expenditure vouchers The committee assists groups in planninj for travel expenses, preparing for banquet and obtaining special funding for con tent neutral programming that is benefi cial to the entire student body. The Fi nance Committee recently presented th< fall appropriations bill to the student sen ate, which passed the bill unanimously and is now finalizing the budgets for th< 2000-2001 fiscal year. The committee is currently handling routine budget transfers and preparing foi the spring allocation process for the 2001 2002 fiscal year. The committee is alsc reviewing the financial codes to assesi changes that might be advantageous to the rrttudent body. The members of the 2000-2001 Fi nance Committee are Hydrick Harden Kristen Heatherly, Jennifer Poon Becky Floyd, Faiyaz Dossaji, Randa! Croshaw, Kenny Hinson, and Charaka C Cook. •Student Services Staff Reports Student Government The Student Services Committee is the committee that focuses on what the students at Carolina want. The commit tee s main focus this year has been the "Campus wide community service project, *" ■ i / i .. 'H •_:_* j:..: j UUUUUU. * IUJ pi U1»1UC3 111C campus into 38 different spots and student organizations are assigned to the areas and clean them once a month. The project, which works in con junction with the department of facilities management, has been more than suc cessful. A Clean-up Day was held in October, where individuals and organiza tions were invited to clean their areas and campus. Student Services has worked with the senators this year to help push back the drop date. The committee pub lishes a newsletter that is sent to student organizations and faculty to facilitate stu dent and staff involvement in Student Gov ernment. The committee is now focusing efforts on trying to upgrade the connec tion speed to T3, investigate adding more JJiannels to the RHA network, student transportation, televisions in the Grand Market Place, and garnet and black street signs for campus. The committee is also in charge of writing legislation on behalf of students. The committee, which consists of Chair woman Jessica Lentini, David Bomemann, Brook Bristow, Lee Alyson Gaillard, Chris Odom, Katie Lengel, Danny Cooper, and Nathan White, started the year with a sur vey of students to see what types of pro jects they would like to see implemented on the campus. If any organization or in dividual has a concern and would like to present it to senate, please contact us. If you have any questions for this commit tee, please e-mail us at stgovem@gwm.sc.edu. - ■ Multicultural & by Charaka Cook j Student Government j The Multicultural Affairs Committee at ; USC is dedicated to * raising awareness and the promotion of di versity amongst the campus and students. We strive, in ac cordance with the Of ’ free of Multicultural Student Affairs, to expose the realities of different races and cultures, because onlv in discovering differences can we define diversity. Through knowledge of these 'dif ferences we can overcome fear of the un known world outside of our culture by ac cepting others while avoiding alienation from our respective identities. “It's the va | riety of cultures, the differences we all shy ; away from, that spices up our lives - live in it and love it, because the beauty truly does lie witliin,” said Lauren Vruglin, Mul ticultural Affairs Committee member. The committee is assisting in the plan ning for a statewide summit on diversity. The purpose of this event is to initiate an open dialogue among church, government, business, teachers, youth and citizens; pin point the issues facing our communities; and brainstorm ideas and ways to approach them. The goal of the summit is not only to bring together representatives from the public and private sector, but also to equip and inspire them to return to their com munities, providing a briefing or leading a county summit of their own. The summit is scheduled for January. Members of the Multicultural Affairs committee include Charaka C. Cook, chair woman, Wade Dean, Jessica Murphy, Trana ka Oglesby, Lauren Vauglin, and Doug Wil son. B Academics by Tyson Nettles Student Government The Academics Committee is charged with reviewing all legislation pertaining to academic work and responsibilities for students and faculty at the university and encouraging academic integrity among tne students. This session, the committee has tried to effect academic policy at the univer sity in several ways. The committee has spoken out against the petition drive to move the drop date. The committee has also begun an attempt to change the uni versity’s academic forgiveness policy. Tliis change in policy will allow students to re take classes they have done poorly in and have the lowest grade dropped from their GPA calculation. The committee believes this policy will permit students to over come the difficulties inherent with cer tain classes and professors. The possibili ty of this change in policy is probable thanks to widespread support from the students, faculty and administration. The senators encourage you to get in touch with any of them with any ideas that may help the academic life of the university. The Academics Committee is comprised of Chairman C. Tyson Nettles, Vice Chair man Sherefif El-Ibiaiy, Allison Whitworth, and Karen Nashatker. ■ Athletics by Adam Musgrave Student Government The Senate Athletic Committee is honored to be in charge of keeping the Gamecock on Greene Street in stellar con dition. The committee is in the primary stages of extending the claw and spur em blem to Williams-Brice Stadium. If any students would like to help in our paint ing endeavors, please come by Student Government or just grab a brush next time you see us painting. The committee also conducts block seating for student organizations at USC sporting events. Block seating allows you and your organization’s members to sit to gether at sporting events and cheer for the ’Cocks. With the help of the ticket of fice, we are investigating methods to streamline the block-seating system. The committee is extremely troubled by the fact that the university, which has 22,000 students, only has three full-length basketball courts. Although the outlook is dim, we are investigating the possibili ty of renovating the half-courts by Woodrow into two full-length courts. If you have any ideas as to how to im prove campus recreational facilities or boost team spirit, please contact the SG office. The members of the Athletics Com mittee are Chairman Adam Musgrave, Cliris Odom, Leigh Edmonds, Kevin Cogs dill and Rick Comisky. ■ Judiciary by Sara Mareno Student Government Each week prior to Senate meetings, Judiciary Committee meets in order to review up coming legislation. Committee members _ search for constitu tionality, well-written MARENO legislation free of loop holes and vague language, and legislation pertinent to the student body here at the university. Chairwoman Sara Mareno, Vice Chair man Brian Hunter, Michael Kozlarek, Bri an Phillips, and Jeff Kirkpatrick were cho sen by Vice President Corey Ford to carefully scrutinize each piece of legis lation and recommend to the other mem bers of senate whether a particular piece of legislation merits a vote in Senate. If necessary, tlie juarcrary committee also serves as the Court of Impeachment. Oftentimes, the author of the piece of legislation and/or other senators heed the advice of an unfavorable recommen dation and amend the legislation in or der to gamer enough votes. Other times, such legislation never comes to the floor for a vote. A favorable recommendation does not necessarily reflect how members of Judiciary will vote in senate, but rather whether or not the legislation meets the above criteria. On such legislation, fellow senators vote as representatives of their individual colleges. As members of an oversight com mittee, Judiciary Committee members continue reviewing legislation and will begin to review the already existing Con stitution and Constitutional Codes in or der to suggest revisions where deemed necessary. ■ Powers and Responsibilities by Chrissy Stauffer Student Government The Pow ers and Responsibili ties Committee is working on several key projects during this term. Not only is the committee plan ning the exciting "Meet Your Student STAUFFER Government Day," but it is also working hard to ensure the Senate is filled with competent and hardworking senators. It has appointed more than five senators to fill vacated seats since April. We are very proud of the new senators and their work. The committee conisists of Chair woman Chrissy Stauffer, Rebecca Payne, Elise Tyndall, Tiffany Elser, Jeb Bush and James Shennan. Each brings a linimiP norcnopfivo anrl facr'inotincr iHoac to the table. P&R has several new projects that will be started in January. Current ly, the committee is working on Meet Your Student Government Day. MYSGD is a celebration of Student Government and a way for students to see what SG does, doesn't do, and needs to do. Meet Your Student Government Day is today, Nov. 15, on Greene Street from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. P&R is also planning a College Fo rum for each academic college in the uni versity. Students will have the opportu nity to talk to deans, department heads and their senators in the fomi of town hall meetings. The forums are planned for late January. The Powers and Responsibilities Com mittee is also working on outreach with student organizations. The P&R Com mittee is the committee that interacts with students and brings their needs to the Sen ate's attention. B Rules by Melissa Fletcher Student Government The Rules Committee is composed of chairpersons of each senate commit tee and is chaired by the President Pro Tempore of student Senate. During these meetings, each chair gives a report of what his or her committee lias been work ing on. Rules Committee is in charge of keeping track of senate absences. Sena tors are allowed to turn in absence ex cuse forms, and Rules Committee deter mines whether or not the absence is excusable. If it becomes necessary, the Rules Committee has the duty of notify ing senators who have missed four meet ings that they are subject to involuntary resignation. The Rules Committee is a flexible committee that acts as a home base for the committee chairpersons. It gives them a chance to discuss the issues and opinions of their committees and pro vides another channel of communication between the chairpersons and Senate. Since Rules Committee is largely an administrative body, it can work on projects with any committees and spon sor any legislation it deems necessary. The Rules Committee serves to lead the senate so that it runs smoothly in and out of the Senate Chamber. Rules Committee meets each Wednes day before senate at 4:15 p.m. Executive cabinet: All the president’s men and women Staff Reports Student Government Manasi Sinha Community Affairs Director (Service 101) As director of community affairs, my main objective is to implement a service-learning course in the curricu lum. Tliis course will be available to all students interested in earning volunteer hours, while learning about service in the community as well as obtaining cred it hours. So far, the course has gotten support from the College of Social Wbrk and should be in the Curriculum Fall 2001. Brooke Vickery Chaplain 1 am planning an Interfaith Ser vice to be held in the spring at Rutledge Chapel along with a roundtable with all the religious organizations on campus. I am the liaison for DanCe Marathon for SG, and we are working on raising mon ey for a SG team of twenty or more. Lorie Tolbert Housing Director * As housing director, I act as a liai son between the Residence Hall Asso ciation, the USC Department of Housing, and SG. My goal is to promote higher scholastic achievement and per sonal growth through a better living and learning environment. My biggest pro ject now is planning Fire Safety Aware ness week. The purpose of Fue Safety Awareness Week is to educate stu dents on the dangers of not evacuating the residence halls when the fire alarm goes off, lighting candles in their rooms, overloading electrical outlets, and many other things that we just don’t think twice about. Candice Braddock Director of Safety Safety on campus continues to be an important issue at USC. Be sure to protect yourself by using night shut tles and staying with a group. Look for lighting and grounds improvements, as well as new information on personal safety with Night Out on Thursday, Nov. 16. Thanks to everyone who partici pated in Safety Whlk 2000. Kathleen Young South Carolina Student As sociation Liason l he purpose or the S.C.S.A. hason this year is to coordinate the establish ment of a state-wide organization that incorporates all public college's student governments. S.C.S.A. is currently working on a student government Pres ident's Forum and getting in contact with the Commission on Higher Edu cation. OUSMANE T. SECK International Student Af fairs Director % Mission Statement: The director of international student affairs addresses issues affecting International Students and serves as a liaison to International Student Organizations. Goal: To serve as a bridge between the international community at USC and the student body through activities such as Internation al Orientation, Thinking Globally Ses sions, Study Abroad Fairs, Interna tional Treasurer workshop, and International Week. John Dixon and Bobby Tran Special Projects The Sixth Man Club. The Incuba tor Program. These are some of the pro grams Special Projects are working on. We are also working with the Bicen tennial Student Events Committee for the upcoming bicentennial celebration. Future projects are always brewing: one being getting USC-Columbia into the Guinness Book of World Records. Laura-Kaye Hartsell and Josh-Pruitt Mayfield Research and Development The Research and Development de partment of Student Government has just completed and compiled research on the recent “Extend the Drop Date”project. Laura-Kaye Hartsell and Josh-Pruitt Mayfield are head of a re search team that assists all Cabinet pro jects with research. Future projects con sist of researching the history of USC’s student government, dorm fire safety, beginning a S.C.S.A. club at USC and the history of USC as a whole for the Bicentennial Student Kickoff. The Research and Development department of Student Government is the first of its kind at USC. It is very impqrtant to the accuracy and validity of each project Cabinet is involved in. Tom Winslow Director of Community Af fairs The position of director of com munity affairs gives all members of SG Cabinet a chance to do community ser vice. Cabinet members are required to participate in two service events each month, and the community service di rector is responsible for providing these opportunities and keeping track of all community service done inside and out side of SG. Nithya Bala and Jim MacBride Freshman Council Co-Advi sors When Jim MacBride and myself, Nithya Bala, thought about where we wanted to spend our third year in SG, the position of Freshman Council Co advisers did not take long to pop into our heads. Looking around the Car olina Community, a majority of our lead ers had their beginnings in Freshman Council. What better an opportunity than to serve as the co-advisors for a group where innovation, enthusiasm and a desire for a change are apparent in all? When we leave Carolina next year, he and I will know that we have left be hind 36 students who can take this Uni versity by the reigns and steer it in the right direction. mm__■_ ITIHHUHnCI LCWIO Director of Organizational Affairs My plan as director of organizational affairs is to make the organizations here on campus more aware of each other. I hope to publish a monthly organization newsletter highlighting the accom plishments of different organizations as well as install a student’s “hotline” so that the students can call one number and know which activities are happen ing on any given day. SG President from page 6 next semester. Fufilling the “Contract for Car olina” is not the only project Student Government has been working to ac complish. We are also working to create a Student Business Incubator Center that will give student the opportuni ty and environment to create their own businesses. In order to encour age involvement with student ac tivities, we are working to create a student activity hotline that will give students an opportunity to access events via phone. In closing I remind you that every student is a member of Student Gov ernment. You are the very reason that I hold this office. Without your con tinued support, Student Government can’t be effective. I encourage you to stop by our office and continue to hold your elected officials account able for our actions and your con cerns. Please feel free to stop by my office at anytime or email me at jlead dy@gwm.sc.edu. i