Some senators have met campaign promises while others have new priorities

A midyear glimpse of ASUA progress finds some officers running full speed to fulfill their campaign promises, while others are moving at a crawl.

The officers and senators of the student government body have actively pursued issues that they say are of importance to their constituents, but some of them have altered their agendas to reflect changing priorities.

Ray Quintero, president of the Associated Students of the University of Arizona, said he would start a spring event for the campus similar to CatFest to improve academic advising and keep tuition low.

CatKraze, an event for students featuring a comedian and a concert, is scheduled for Jan. 27.

However, Quintero said he cannot begin reforming teacher-student advising - one of his other campaigning issues - until December, when an advising task force issues a report suggesting what changes should be made.

Changes to the advising system are not likely to come until the fall of 2002, Quintero said.

He put maintaining low tuition "on the back burner," and said he is more concerned with preventing large tuition increases next fall that could come as a result of budget cuts from the Arizona Legislature.

Administrative vice president Tricia Williams, who oversees program directors for SafeRide, Minority Action Council and Spring Fling, said she brought more accountability to the programs and services that ASUA offers by requiring program directors to report their activities and plans regularly both to her and the ASUA senate.

Williams also pledged to start a fall fair, where students could visit tables on the Mall and learn about the different services that ASUA offers. That fair took place on Oct. 3.

Executive Vice President Sam Chang is responsible for helping student organizations get funding and chairing ASUA senate meetings.

Chang fulfilled a campaign promise to survey students on their ideas for potential ASUA projects.

"It seems like every year, people (campaign) on stuff and do it whether the students want it or not," Chang said. "These surveys ask if (a senator's campaign proposal) is something students really want."

Chang also proposed creating a grant that could be used for philanthropic causes and has designated a director to start the grant.

ASUA senators have had varied success in meeting the goals they set during the elections last spring. Popular projects that senators campaigned on include: a student section at basketball games, campus safety and transportation.

Sen. Sarah Calvert set out to expand transportation for students who do not have cars and create an online calendar of events for all University of Arizona clubs.

Calvert is meeting with UA administrators this week to get SafeRide boundaries extended and has posted the calendar.

Sen. Eric Chambers set out to increase student awareness of ASUA and wanted to see more UA students voting in ASUA elections. Chambers also proposed that the UA be divided up into different areas, like districts, where each senator would be responsible for representing a certain population instead of the student body at large.

While Chambers said he has done nothing to meet either of his proposals, he has been applying for corporate sponsorships for a fund-raiser that involves dribbling a basketball from Arizona State University to UA next semester.

Sen. Scott Harris said he would extend student union hours so that they are both open until 11 p.m., make a dorm questionnaire that would be used to match up compatible roommates and bring concerts or barbecues to the UA Mall.

Harris has not organized any concerts or barbecues thus far but has tried to contact a former senator regarding the roommate questionnaire, he said.

Both student unions are now open until 11 p.m., due to a decision made by student union management, said David Galbraith, director of Dining Services.

"It was kind of already done for me," Harris said.

Sen. Doug Hartz campaigned on bringing commuter students onto campus through socials, activities and concerts and making elected officials, faculty and administrators more accessible to students.

Hartz said little about what he is doing to bring off-campus students back on to campus, but he has made himself regularly accessible to students.

Hartz said he distributes student surveys in clubs, on the Mall and in residence halls on a weekly basis.

"The goal is to make people feel that their student government is doing something for them," Hartz said.

Sen. Allison Jones campaigned on creating a center where students could look up old tests, updating an apartment guide for students to reflect tenants' attitudes and providing transportation for students who do not have cars.

No progress has been made on the apartment guide or test center.

"SafeRide is taking all my time," Jones said.

Extending transportation to areas further from campus is priority number one, Jones said.

Sen. Gloria Macias campaigned on increasing student awareness of ASUA, keeping campus lawns healthy and better campus lighting.

Macias' biggest priority is campus lighting. Budget allowing, she wants to install more blue lights on campus so that students can alert police when in an emergency situation.

She also wants to arrange for outings with Facilities Management staff one night per month to ensure that all lights on campus are working, but she has not scheduled any appointments yet, she said. There has also been no progress in ASUA awareness or improving campus lawns.

Sen. Jered Mansell campaigned on extending the hours of SafeRide until 4 a.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, free Internet access for off-campus students, making it easier to break housing contracts and creating a student section for basketball games.

Mansell has researched the possibility of free off-campus Internet access and is waiting for phone calls, he said.

This year, students who wanted to move out of their residence halls needed only to sign a contract release form to get out of housing contracts, due to overcrowding. Mansell would like students to have the option of using the release forms in the future, including years when overcrowding in residence halls is not a problem.

Mansell has not done work on getting a student section at basketball games, and has mixed feelings about whether getting such a section is possible.

Sen. Josh Maxwell is working on getting cab service that would supplement SafeRide and operate at all hours.

Maxwell also campaigned on the creation of a student section at basketball games and a ride service that would operate on weekend nights, as well as a simpler application process for clubs applying for funding.

Thus far, Maxwell has organized a committee to get student input about a student section at basketball games.

Maxwell expects to have a contract regarding a free emergency ride service to present to the senate within the next two weeks, but has done nothing to simplify the club funding process.

Sen. Jessica Patze also proposed changes in the club funding process. She proposed setting aside 15 minutes for clubs to ask questions about getting funding, but has since withdrawn the idea because meetings would become too long.

Patze campaigned on promoting free self-defense classes for female students. On Oct. 15, she launched the first-ever "Women's Week," which promoted self defense classes offered through the Women's Resource Center.

Sen. Jessica Reece also pledged to make it easier for clubs to apply for funding, and to make clubs aware of the funding that exists in her campaign. Reece has been visiting clubs and going to meetings where clubs apply for funding to make the meetings less intimidating

The next ASUA meeting is Wednesday at 6 p.m. in Modern Languages, Room 411.