Campus safety is high priority for ASUA officers

Sen. Ryan Anderson

Undergraduate Senate Vice Chairman Ryan Anderson ran on the issue of improving campus roads, an issue Sens. David Kramer and Gilbert Davidson also said is important.

Anderson said that he, along with Davidson, met with Albert Tarcola, the director of Facilities Management, and the improvements were a collective effort by the Senate as a whole.

Anderson also wanted to improve campus safety by securing funds for ASUA's Escort Services, increase better internship opportunities for students, and improve campus pride.

"Escort Service was made the priority of ASUA this year. Mindy McCollum (vice president of programs and services) took the ball on that one," Anderson said.

He said he is working with Sen. Kim Montanaro on an internship forum which will give students an opportunity to meet with perspective employers to find summer internships.

"The focus is getting a job," Anderson said.

Anderson's action on improving campus pride was bringing in speakers with broader appeal and revitalizing ASUA concerts.

Anderson said McCollum worked effectively on bringing speakers to campus as a part of the Speaker's Board.

He said he would like to see a partnership in the future with the University Activities Board and the Senate to bring more concerts to the UA, but the partnership has not happened yet.

"We have all the money and UAB (University Activities Board) has all the talent," he said.

Sen. J.J. Rico

Sen. J.J. Rico ran on six issues in the spring, including student/campus climate forums.

Rico held two "open mic" events on the Mall last semester for minority organizations to express their concerns, but he said the forums never really panned out.

Fai Mo, president of the Asian American Cultural Association, said that Rico spoke on the Mall about the campus climate during one "open mic" event.

He said communication between groups on campus is "not just the responsibility of Rico, being a senator, but it's the responsibility of everybody."

Rico said he would like to create an electronic mail listserv that opens up communication between students.

"It isn't limited to just cultural resource centers. I'd like it expanded to include the Residence Hall Association, Panhellenic Council and Interfraternity Council," he said.

Rico also wanted to increase and equalize club funding. He said he was part of the selection committee for appropriation board members and club advocates.

During his campaign, Rico said he wanted to improve campus safety and wanted to add more emergency blue light phones to the campus. He said he hasn't touched on the issue because Sen. Casey Cuny worked on it.

"His feedback was that it cost a lot of money," Rico said.

Rico also wanted to help improve the UA's Reservation System Via Phone because last year he heard about a new system being created.

Rico said the new system is in the planning stages and the administration said it did not need student input at the present time.

Rico said he also could not continue an under-21 club event in the Memorial Student Union because of a decrease in the Senate budget.

Rico's last issue was increasing awareness of pertinent issues affecting the campus.

At the beginning of the semester, Rico spoke to RHA about ASUA and the upcoming campaign, he said.

"There's a lot of good leadership within the residence halls and in other organizations," Rico said.

Sen. David Kramer

Sen. David Kramer ran on three issues. In the spring, he promised to work with Career Services to ensure better jobs for students, work with the vice president of clubs and organizations on club funding and improve campus road conditions.

Kramer said Montanaro also ran on improving Career Services and he decided to let her work on the issue instead.

"She had a better understanding of it," Kramer said.

Kramer said he worked with ASUA's vice president of clubs and organizations, Erin Russell, at the beginning of the year to make changes in the club funding guidelines.

"When I was a club advocate we had so many problems with funding," he said.

Kramer said he wanted to improve the roads as part of his promise to beautify the campus. He said he assisted Anderson, who also listed campus roads as one of his priorities, with that issue.

Sen. Maile Weigele

Sen. Maile Weigele's most extensive issue took off this weekend. Weigele promised to serve as the commissioner of the ASUA-University Learning Center Basketball League.

The league targets at-risk fifth- to eighth- graders and acclimates them to the university setting, Weigele said. It runs for four weekends and is subsidized by the Senate and donations, Weigele said.

"I've gotten really positive feedback from the parents," she said.

Weigele also promised to serve on Tucson Mayor George Miller's task force on youth violence and educate university students in health and wellness issues.

Weigele said she served on the task force last semester until it submitted its recommendations to the mayor.

Last semester, Weigele spoke to groups on campus about rape awareness as part of Campus Acquaintance Rape Educators, a division of ASUA.

"My job was to promote it within the Senate," she said.

Weigele was the director of CARE last year.

Sen. Kim Montanaro

Sen. Kim Montanaro, who ran on the campaign slogan, "A little woman with big ideas," is on two committees to implement her ideas by the end of the term.

Montanaro promised to work on getting computer access to instructor evaluations, career services improvements, a student mentor program and evaluation and enforcement of the university finals policy.

Montanaro said she is on the committee in charge of implementing the publication of teacher evaluations.

Two students, two faculty members and Jennifer Franklin, director of the office of instructional assessment and evaluation, sit on the committee, she said.

Montanaro said she wants the evaluations placed on a closed World Wide Web page that can only be accessed by administration, faculty and students.

A point of clarification at the next Faculty Senate meeting is needed to allow the office of instructional assessment and evaluation to publish the evaluations electronically, she said.

Legislation passed last year by the Faculty Senate stated that publication would be made as a booklet, Montanaro said.

Franklin said that Montanaro surveyed a large sample of universities last year about their teacher evaluations.

"That study she did was very important and very helpful in showing how other colleges are dealing with this," Franklin said.

"Montanaro has taken this further than any other student government officer has," she said.

Another committee Montanaro is on is the career services planning team.

Montanaro brought the idea of Career Boosters to the director of Career Services, Marie Rozenblit.

Montanaro said she wanted to train six students about the co-ops, internships and scholarships that Career Services has available. Those students would then be responsible for meeting with groups on campus to disseminate the information.

Montanaro said she hasn't started working on the student mentor program.

She said the program will pair up juniors and seniors with freshman and sophomores to help them get their feet off the ground.

"This was something (former) ASUA President Ben Driggs and I tried to do last year and there was some interest department wide," Montanaro said.

For Montanaro's issue on the finals policy, she said she has talked to the administration because students had complained that it was difficult to attend finals that were scheduled at night.

"There's no way I can change it," she said.