WILL SEBERGER/Arizona Daily Wildcat Former ASUA senator Jason Parada and former Administrative Vice President Jennifer Reece speak during an ASUA meeting Feb. 27.

ASUA members realize campaign promises can be difficult to keep

Last Thursday a new group of ASUA officers were inaugurated, bringing a fresh set of plans and ideas to the student government. But some incoming officers will be forced to pick up where their predecessors left off.

A year ago, as with every year, the Associated Students of the University of Arizona senators ran for office, each with campaigns offering promises to UA students, faculty and staff members.

Since last March, some of those promises have materialized, but others were left on the campaign platform.

"I found out how much you really can't do," said former student senator Will Harris. "When I came I thought you could do a lot more. I found out you are only given a voice, and it isn't heard much more than a normal student's voice."

You come in and realize you are so limited as to what you can do, both by money and other leaders - ASUA Senator Scott Cheney

When Harris ran last March, he promised to increase the number of computers on campus. However, he found that to be impossible because there was no way to support the idea over an extended period of time.

Almost all the senators said that often, campaign promises are made without a clear understanding of the position.

"There's so much bureaucracy," said ASUA Senator Scott Cheney. "You come in and realize you are so limited as to what you can do, both by money and other leaders."

Last year, many campaign promises revolved around creating more school spirit, campus safety and creating more student input on tuition issues. But it wasn't until their term neared its end that senators made final pushes just to begin projects with the hopes that future senators might carry the torch.

We've got spirit, yes we do

This fall, students will be introduced to the first ever ASUA spirit director. The brainchild of a number of senators, it became a reality through the recent election of President J.P Benedict. As a member of the president's cabinet, the spirit director will act as a liaison between ASUA and the athletics department, and will oversee the Zona Zoo.

However, the Zona Zoo might not have been, had it not been for the efforts of former student senator Peter Wand, who was named Monday as the spirit director.

Wand organized the creation of the "Zona Zoo" T-shirts worn at UA basketball games.

Wand said the process took more effort than he anticipated, but after collaborating with Scott MacKenzie, director of marketing and corporate sales for athletics, they received more than $17,000 in corporate sponsorship for the production of the shirts. Although ASUA did pick up some additional costs for the 5,500 shirts, Wand said that developing more campus spirit is worth the money.

"I hope that this is just the start of spirit on campus, " he said.

Senator Stacy Nelson called the Zona Zoo the biggest accomplishment the senators made during their term.

"I looked down on it when I was campaigning," Nelson said. "But they instilled so much spirit in students."

Empty promises

Campaign objectives still not accomplished after a year of work by the student senate include Senator Andrew Hottovy's plan to create an exclusive student section at UA basketball games, a promise made often in the past, but never realized.

When Hottovy came into office, his primary objectives were to increase school spirit and improve retention rates, the latter of which, he realized, he had little control over.

"A lot of us came in with little ASUA experience. We had to talk to former ASUA officials before we realized what we were doing," Hottovy said.

That same sentiment emerged commonly at the beginning of the term. The majority of the senators said they regretted portions of their platforms because they lacked research and feasibility.

CHRYSTAL MCCONELL/Arizona Daily Wildcat Former Administrative Vice President Jered Mansell speaks at the presidential debate on March 5.

Cheney, who earlier in the week, was named co-director of the Student Health Advisory Council, hoped to bring more "universally-liked bands" to play on campus, with decreased ticket costs. As soon as he was elected, Cheney said he began making calls to the Dave Matthews Band, and coordinating with the athletics department to hold a concert in Arizona Stadium, but plans came to a halt when he learned concert planning fell under an ASUA-appointed position's responsibilities.

While some senators looked to entertainment for long-term projects, others decided to reach out to students through their stomachs.

Former Senator Travis Pritchett promised to get better food in the Student Union Memorial Center, which he quickly learned was out of ASUA's hands.

"(The union) just has really tough meat," he said.

Former student senator and recently appointed Elections Commissioner Daniel Suh aimed to create a late-night food delivery service. Orville and Wilbur's did offer a service to students in the residence halls, but Suh said he quit following up on it in September or October.

With the construction of the Student Union Memorial Center and other projects on campus, finding parking has forced a challenge on student drivers.

Last year, Adam Bronnenkant promised to improve campus transportation by redirecting CatTran shuttle routes and making garages more accessible after dark.

"That was a project designated for spring semester," he said.

Bronnenkant said that he worked with Parking and Transportation Services to develop a CatTran schedule more consistent with student schedules.

As for the garages, Bronnenkant said that many are now significantly cheaper in the evening.

However, Director of Parking and Transportation Services Patrick Kass, has said that neither Bronnenkant, nor any other ASUA senators, had any involvement in the decision to change parking garage fees or extend hours. Although he was contacted about changing the CatTran schedule, Kass said PTS was already in the process of doing so, in addition to redesigning the routes.

"That was all on our own," Kass said.

Nelson also aimed to change the parking situation on campus. When she ran, she vowed to take an active role in making parking more accessible and easier for all students, again, a situation outside of ASUA's grasp.

But Nelson said she had prepared herself for the possibility of failure.

"It's like anything in life when you shoot for something so high," she said. "You realize there's not a lot you can do."

Under Bronnenkant's direction, ASUA enacted the Lifeline cab service. Originally, ASUA formed a contract with a national company that promised to provide cab rides to students late at night. However, after the student officers handed out 1,800 cards ensuring a ride in emergency situations, the company began refusing to pick students up, former senator and recently inaugurated Administrative Vice President Victoria Ruan said.

Since then, Lifeline use has dwindled.

"There was a lot of miscommunication between Bronnenkant and the program," Ruan said.

Jason Poreda had to learn that at a state campus, communication is essential, especially when it comes to money.

Poreda extended his efforts beyond what many senators had in previous years, however, he quickly learned that money talks.

He initially hoped to make campus advising more visible and rewarding for students.

In 1999, ASUA and the University Professional Advising Council made three proposals regarding bettering campus advising, however, despite the proposal's intentions, Poreda said students are still not aware of advising opportunities, and because of budget cuts, he couldn't do anything to change that.

"I don't think we've failed," said former ASUA President Doug Hartz. "We've created some momentum on all we've intended."

Hartz, with the senators and the Arizona Student's Association, proposed a tuition plan that countered President Likins', although the Board of Regents did not approve it. Hartz also generated a fall break plan, which met resistance from faculty, but still needs to be reviewed by the regents.

"It takes time and we've known that since the beginning," he said. "We couldn't do it in a year, but we knew that it was something we could keep working on," Hartz said.

Although the fall break, a weeklong Thanksgiving vacation, appealed to students, it was the first time many students had been exposed to ASUA operations.

"I think a lot of students think that we didn't do anything," Cheney said. "I'm sure ASUA seems like an elitist group."

Each of the 10 senators touched upon improving the relationship among ASUA, ASA and the UA community, during their run for election. But now that their run has reached the finish line, students are left questioning whether that was ever accomplished.

Aaron Black, who ran against Hartz last year, said he saw no improvement in the ASUA senate's relationship with the UA community during the past year.

"No one knows who they are. No one cares, they are doing the same things they did before," Black said.

"I don't know what they do, who they are or any of the activities they've done," said Courtney Krier, a business freshman.

Freshman education major Sarah Krouse remembered seeing various ASUA sponsored events on the UA Mall. But other than that, she knew nothing else about the association.

"ASUA has an ego," said former Administrative Vice President Jered Mansell, citing ASUA's persona as the reason many students aren't interested in voting.

This year, less than 15 percent of the undergraduate population voted in the ASUA election. Although there was an increase from last year, Nelson advises future administrations to devise procedures for increasing voter turnout, not only at the university level, but in local elections as well.

This year during state elections, Nelson hired shuttles to take students to their individual voter precincts.

"It's about making people aware of the student voice in the legislature," she said.

Success comes from setbacks

Despite the negative feedback that comes from being in a political office, most of the senators said they believed the year was a success, as their accomplishments outweighed broken campaign promises. While other projects saw the first signs of action, they just need a little more time or reevaluation.

"Some ideas are feasible and good ideas," Cheney said. "But they are out of our hands because of time."

Hottovy produced the "Buffet by the Bay" at the Student Rec Center, a weekly "mixer" that Hottovy said helped get ASUA's name "out there." However, the activity was put to a halt after a neighbor complained about the noise.

Under the direction of Alexis Coury, the former Outreach and Development Director, ASUA instituted "ASUA Days on the Mall," another attempt to get the student population acquainted with the officers. However, both Hottovy and Cheney said that organizing the event took more effort than anticipated, and will require a "redesign" before it is fully effective.

"I think the word spread," Hottovy said.

Wand, as assistant vice chair of ASUA, attended ASUA Days on the Mall, passed out surveys regarding ASUA's progress and accessibility on campus. However, the results of those surveys were not available at the time of publication.

Poreda opened the lines of communication between ASUA and students through "town meetings," which were instituted this year. The meetings acted as a forum for tuition and budget discussions.

"People are welcome to voice their opinion any time," Poreda said.

Senators began work on a plan to reach out to international students. Through a new program, the student officers will give out of state and international students the opportunity to see Arizona outside of campus.

"We'll take students to the Grand Canyon or a Diamondbacks game, it will be a good chance to see Arizona," Wand said, adding that much of the program will be dependent on money.

Funding has been an issue within ASUA all year. Looming budget cuts coupled with a tuition hike have forced ASUA officers to cuts corners and crunch numbers to save money.

ASUA Executive Vice President Jennifer Reece's campaign promised to protect club funding and institute a council for club presidents to ensure that club events don't conflict.

Last September, ASUA approved more than $3,850, more than $100 less than the previous year, worth of funding to 55 student clubs. Presidents from UA clubs also met in March to discuss events and philanthropies.

Even Mansell's SafeRide Express Shuttle was hindered by budget restrictions, as ASUA was forced to rent a shuttle rather than buying one for the service.

The idea for the shuttle, which went on its first run in March, was born soon after the Park Student Union shut down for construction. Mansell wanted to ensure that students living on the south side of campus would have accessibility to food late at night and into the morning, without having to walk across campus.

"I am so excited to see it around," Mansell said.

Although Mansell will not be involved in ASUA in the fall after losing the presidential election, his running mate Victoria Ruan is already carrying over many of her accomplishments as a senator to her new position, administrative vice president.

Ruan joined forces with the Women's Resource Center to present students with a self-defense class, in addition to other women's issues, as part of an effort to educate women about resources available to them on campus.

"That I had a part in (educating women) is something that I feel I accomplished," Ruan said. "They were fairly effective events and they did help educate women."

Now, Ruan's experience with programs and services, such as the WRC, Pride Alliance and Disability Resource Center, will serve as a foundation for the goals she plans to accomplish in the upcoming year.

In addition, Ruan helped Pritchett prepare the blueprints for a Safety Advisory Council, which was recently approved. The Council will focus on collaborating with various groups to make campus safer.

Safety was deemed a key term in Pritchett's original campaign, and extended throughout his term. He labored all year in collaboration with Facilities Management to increase the exterior lighting on campus.

The lighting will cost more than $22,000, an investment that Chris Kopach, associate director of Facilities Management, said is well worth that amount.

And now it's time to say goodbye

As many of the former student officers face graduation, others are preparing for another term in ASUA and a select few have completely detached themselves from the association. However, they all looked back on the semester with a sense of relief, citing their accomplishments and legacies left for future officers.

"We've done a wonderful job as a whole senate, passing money for certain groups and organizations," Harris said. "We've done a lot of good for exposing UA, but you can always do more."

Former UAPD Commander Brian Seastone, who also held a position within ASUA, said one of the best parts of this year's senate is how well they worked together.

"I'll miss the unity and the way they have worked together so nicely," Seastone said.

In the face of issues such as Focused Excellence, tuitions cuts and the nursing shootings, Hartz has only positive regards for the term, the officers and their projects.

"I think we've done very well," Hartz said. "I think we've accomplished a lot and I'm very proud."

÷ Stephanie Schwartz contributed to this report.