THE 132-YEAR-OLD AWARD-WINNING INDEPENDENT STUDENT-RUN NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI
The News Record THURSDAY | FEBRUARY 21 | 2013
VOL. CXXXIII ISSUE LVVVVVVVV
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UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT GOVERNMENT ELECTION ISSUE
JOE BLIZZARD
SLATE 53
WHAT ARE YOUR QUALIFICATIONS?
Joe Blizzard: I’m a fourth-year chemical engineering student at UC. I’ve been involved with Student Government for the past four years. I started in the first year leadership program and I was elected twice as an at-large senator. Then I was elected internally as the speaker of the senate. I’ve worked with Lane and Maesa very closely over the past year on their initiatives as well as some of the general happenings of student government. Jaclyn Hyde: I’m a third-year finance and professional sales student. I started in the first year leadership program and then as a member of cabinet. Outside of Student Government I’ve gotten involved in a number of different organizations. I’m also in a social sorority and served on the executive board for the vice president of education and I also served as the service chair so I planned all our philanthropy events. I think that Joe’s and my experience together is a good combination of different leadership and passion for the university.
BIG TICKET ITEMS
Blizzard: I think a big one is the landlordaccreditation program. What we want to do is create a partnership between the city of Cincinnati, the university and the landlords in the Clifton area to ensure that all student housing, and all the rental properties are up to code. We want to work with those groups and the university to educate our students so they know what they need to look for when they’re looking at rental properties, and create a walk through system that is free of charge to the landlords and to the students to make sure that these houses are up to code and that our students are safe. Hyde: Something that we’re excited about that applies to all students is our e-textbooks. Obviously students spend way too much every year on textbooks, astronomical amounts. Working with every college in order to encourage more use of e-textbooks is important to us because students shouldn’t need to spend that much, and with the increase of e-textbooks it will definitely decrease the amount students are spending on those. We are running on the platform of access and we chose that because a big focus of our platform is making sure that all students have access to the best possible services and the best possible opportunities. Blizzard: One other big one that is going to affect students now and the university in the long run has to do with some of our spirit initiatives. We want to work with the athletic department and some student spirit groups on campus to hold pep rallies at the beginning of each semester. Providing those opportunities for students will increase the passion for the university as a whole and when students graduate they’re going to be better alumni.
JACLYN HYDE
ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE OR IMPROVE ON?
KATHLEEN HURLEY
SLATE 71
WHAT ARE YOUR QUALIFICATIONS?
Kathleen Hurley: I’m a junior in the food nutrition program in the college of Allied health Sciences. I’m not a Cincinnati native. I’m from a small town outside of Columbus. I came to college and joined student government pretty much on day one. Currently I’m serving as chief of staff where it’s my job to manage all the cabinet members and make sure all their goals and projects are being accomplished and they have the right resources to do that. I’ve also served as an at large senator and served as the director for women’s affairs. I’m involved in undergraduate research. I’m part of a social sorority, the honors program and I’ve studied abroad, but back to student government I’ve been involved for a very long time, it’s the group I WHY DO YOU call home. DESERVE James Avant: I am a Cincinnati STUDENT’S native. I’m a VOTES? second-year Blizzard: I neurobiology and think we have Spanish student. had a wide range Candidates for the Undergraduate I, like Kathleen, have of experiences on Student Government president and vice been involved in campus. Being here president seats introduce themselves student government for almost seven and what they’re all about. since day one. I years between the actually called the two of us, we’ve had director of the firstthe opportunity to year leadership program before I got here. get involved in a lot of different student I really wanted to get my hands dirty and groups and see a lot of different sides of get involved in student government because I campus and we can bring a lot of unique like making a difference and I like to be able perspectives to the position. to have a say in the things that are affecting I’ve had the opportunity to work with me as a student. I’m currently an at-large administrators on different committees senator, and I was in the first-year leadership and I’ve seen how the behind the scenes program my freshman year. things work and that is something were I I’m also involved in undergraduate can jump in right away and be an advocate research. I’m a base mentor out of the African for students but at the same time being American Cultural Research Center and I involved on campus; I think I really embody really love UC. what it means to be a passionate Bearcat. I guess one of the things that I believe Combining my experiences with that qualifies me is, as Kathleen said, we both come passion really puts me in a good position from very diverse groups on campus. Having to lead the student body and represent that perspective and being able to challenge students on their behalf. each other to think differently, I think that is Hyde: I would say our passion because I come from a family of Bearcats, I’m the very beneficial when your representing 24,000 plus students. youngest of four and we’re all Bearcats and Blizzard: I think something that hasn’t been done as well as it could be, is a continuation of the previous administration’s projects. A lot of the time things are started and we spend some money on them, but when the new administration comes in there is no follow through, and it’s a waste not only of student government’s time but also student’s money. I think working with [the previous administration] to make sure there is a seamless transition and that we’re following up on the commitments they made is really important to students and to the fiscal responsibility that we would like to see out of student government.
[ ] THE RACE IS ON TO LEAD THE STUDENT BODY
Joe bleeds red and black. We just really really love the university and everything it stands for. We know we’re in a phenomenal place right now, we know that out passion mixed with the great place we are is going to take us to the next level next year. I just think we’re ready to take UC on and make every students’ experience the best it can be.
GOV. JOHN KASICH ADDRESSES HIGHER EDUCATION IN STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS
BIG TICKET ITEMS
Avant: We want to implement a UC “Rate my Professor.”It would take the current course evaluations that students have to fill out and put them to use. Not all professors use those actively and are able to see them. We want to make faculty accountable for the work they’re doing in the classroom and we want to encourage students to give good
JAMES AVANT
reviews. Hurley: James and I are very focused on the experience. We think if students know what the faculty and graduate students that are teaching them are really like, and students know they can be part of that feedback, that’s a huge process. We hope to utilize that feedback in the tenure process and we think getting more student involvement in the tenure process would be a huge shift to making this an even more student-focused university. Avant: One of the important things for Kathleen and I is to make sure that our UC brand is everywhere on campus, whether that be a wall skin in a college that tells the history of that college or banners lining Main Street. If we can add some kind of addition to let students know that they are here at UC or even people visiting, we think that is very crucial.
ANYTHING YOU WOULD CHANGE OR IMPROVE ON?
Hurley: Being a member of the executive office and having a say in a lot of things I don’t think there was one thing that Lane and Maesa and I just fought on and didn’t agree with. Avant: I think in terms of education it’s not that the university may not offer something, it may be more of an issue that students don’t know or they might not be easily accessible. So it would be mine and Kathleen’s job to promote those things, we don’t want to keep reinventing the wheel. We have over 300 student organizations at this campus and I think that there is something to get your hands dirty in, we don’t have to keep coming up with more groups.
WHY DO YOU DESERVE STUDENT’S VOTES?
Hurley: I know how the processes works and how to make them better for students, but I also have a very diverse background and experience here at the university and I think having that diverse experience make me open to all students experiences and makes it easier to connect with those students. At the end of the day, we’re the most unique, diverse and experienced candidates. We’re just different. We’re different from each other physically, mentally and socially. We’re going to be different from other students and we get that. We want to support the unique experiences students are having. Avant: We’re on a campus with 24,000 plus students, so if our different perspectives can come together and foster a positive environment for students we want to do that. Students come from many different walks of life and the more different perspectives we add to each other and the better we work together with each other, the better we’ll be able to serve students.
FORMER UC EMPLOYEE CHARGED WITH WIRE FRAUD, RESIGNS FROM UNIVERSITY POSITION
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