By Jennifer Amsler and Anthony D. Ávila
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Monday, February 28, 2005
Print this
Nathan Bell has Associated Students of the University of Arizona leadership experience on his side.
As a member of the Residence Hall Association for two years and a current ASUA senator, Bell said he has the knowledge and background to serve students better than the other candidates.
"I'm more abreast on recent issues," said Bell, a computer science senior.
Working beside President Alistair Chapman, Bell has had a direct role in tackling commencement issues, establishing late nights on campus as an alternative to drinking alcohol and opening lines of communication between students and ASUA.
Two of Bell's major platforms are increasing class availability and putting a hold on a mandatory meal plan for on-campus freshmen. Bell said he has heard from too many students about how they are not able to take certain courses there is no space, leaving many unable to graduate when they planned to.
Bell has worked closely with Student Union Director Dan Adams about the mandatory meal plan proposal, but said there are still many issues that need to be addressed before regents should vote on it.
"We've forced it underground for the time being," he said.
Bell has created many relationships with the administration and said he understands the UA well because he has been to Arizona Board of Regents, Faculty Senate and state Legislature meetings.
The other four candidates may all have good hearts, but Cade Bernsen said none of them will work harder than him.
"I grew up with the philosophy given to me by my family to go early, stay late, and outwork anybody else," Bernsen said.
Bernsen was a legislative aid for the Texas Senate during his two years at the University of Texas, and said his experience gives him a major advantage over his opponents because he knows how all the components of the system work.
Besides promising a strong relationship with state legislators and congressmen, Bernsen said there are vital issues on campus needing to be addressed, such as child care and private resources for student mothers and a safer environment in general.
"Every single person has the right to an affordable education on a safe campus," Bernsen said.
Bernsen said he wants to have a bigger vision and would want his presidency to focus on the most pressing issues for students before any new monuments or plazas are built.
"The people who say what I'm doing is impossible, they've already given up," Bernsen said. "For the people who are hurting, and need a safe education, these issues are too important to give up now."
Although he has no previous ASUA experience, Michael Franklin has been innovative in creating social outlets for students outside of student government.
A former high school athlete, Frankin realized many other students did not want to stop playing a sport just because they were in college. Franklin, a secondary education junior, co-founded a program called Showtime, which prepares athletes for intramural sports such as football, softball and basketball. Showtime holds study tables and training programs so students can compete against other schools.
"It creates a social network for people interested in sports," he said.
Franklin said his major platform is to increase the social atmosphere and improve retention rates. He thinks the campus needs more activities and students need social alternatives to their academic lives on campus.
Franklin said the UA has more then 500 clubs, but many students don't not know about them, how to get funding or how easy it is to start a new club.
As ASUA president, Franklin said he would support a fall break where it gave students a week off in the middle of the semester, rather than before Thanksgiving.
Franklin said he would make a good president because he is a very "visible" person who would stay in touch with student needs.
"I'm not doing this for political aspirations," Franklin said. "I am genuinely concerned about the voice of the students."
Instead of promising to start new "wishy-washy" programs as ASUA president, candidate Jacob Hill said he intends to unify the programs that are already in place.
"ASUA is not as visible as it should be," Hill said. "There are a lot of other outstanding services at the UA, and students should first be aware of what is being offered to them."
The first thing Hill said he will do to increase safety is to make sure there are security cameras in the parking garages, and to facilitate a stronger dialogue between students, UAPD and Tucson Police Department.
Since losing students and high-profile faculty is a major problem for the whole university, Hill has created the idea for the Students Fund for Professional Recruitment and Retainment.
The fund will be supported by an intense letter-writing campaign to acquire private donations through corporations, parents and alumni, Hill said.
Part of the money will go toward immediate needs of the students, such as opening new student sections for required classes, and the rest will go toward an endowment fund for future UA generations, Hill said.
Hill, who is an ASUA club advocate and nutritional science junior, said his leadership experience includes being class vice president three years in high school and captain of his high school's basketball, track and soccer teams.
"That experience set me up to want to lead and make a change this year," Hill said.
Jacob Reuben considers himself a candidate who thinks outside the box.
"I'm a problem solver," said Reuben, a business economic junior. "My vision is to see the big picture."
As ASUA president, Reuben wants to represent everyone at UA including graduate students, honor students and greek students, by giving them all an equal voice.
Creating a fall break, improving class registration technology, and increasing safety on campus are Reuben's three major platforms.
Reuben spoke to former ASUA President Doug Hartz about his failed proposal to eliminate the three days of classes before Thanksgiving Break. The Faculty Senate voted down Hartz's plan unanimously so Reuben wants to eliminate only the classes on Wednesday before the break with hopes faculty will appreciate the compromise. Reuben pointed out most students skip class that Wednesday or their instructors cancel the entire class.
Reuben wants to create a liaison between ASUA and UAPD, TPD, Risk Management and university administration. Already getting a jumpstart on this project before elections, Reuben said he has spoken with representatives in each organization to ensure feasibility. Improvements to course registration technology need to be improved, Reuben said, and wants to propose WebReg updates including an online waiting list for classes that are filled up.
"If students could predict their class schedule it would improve class availability."
