Wednesday, December 5, 2012 // Issue 56, Volume 78 /////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
THE DAILY COUGAR
T H E
O F F I C I A L
S T U D E N T
N E W S P A P E R
O F T H E
U N I V E R S I T Y
O F
H O U S T O N
Election reform passes Senate
S I N C E
1 9 3 4
OPINION
Kathleen Murrill Contributing writer
Student Government Association president Cedric Bandoh said he hopes the SGA’s broken system will be fixed by the the passing of the election system bylaw reform. Approved in the last senate meeting of the semester, the reform aims to eliminate the use of online voting, define election violations and associated penalties Bandoh is the and establish Student Governthe Election ment Association Trial Board President and amongst reform-bill author other things. After seeing the previous two election cycles involved in scandal, Bandoh said he decided to form an election reform task force. “You know enough was enough.
We needed to overhaul our election system and reform it from the inside out,” Bandoh said. The task force reportedly spent hours researching and looking at election systems adopted by other schools in order to find a better system that gave every student a fair and equal opportunity to vote, Bandoh said. One of the major changes to the election system involves transitioning back to physical polling locations around campus. Despite the campus changing to online voting, Bandoh said that the number of people voting had not changed significantly. “I looked at polling data from elections all the way back to 2004, and I noticed the needle hadn’t moved,” Bandoh said. “Voter turnout is not tied to the method of voting but how the campaign is marketed.” Voting will now resemble the United States presidential election voting, Bandoh said. Students will go to one of the
several polling locations including Lynn B. Eusan Park, M.D. Anderson Memorial Library, Science and Engineering Research Classroom Building, Philip Guthrie Hoffman Hall, the University Center, the UC Satellite, the Campus Recreation and
Wellness Center rotunda and the UH Fine Arts Building quad to cast their vote electronically. Each polling location will be run by faculty and staff volunteers. REFORM continues on page 3
UHPD deserves more respect LIFE+ARTS
VOTING VIOLATIONS The classes of violations are broken up into three categories: Class A violations: Any violation of the Student Code of Conduct, local, state or federal laws such as election fraud, falsified campaign documents or identity theft Will result in disqualification and an automatic referral to the Dean of Student’s Office Class B violations: Deliberately defacing or destroying the campaign material of another candidate, the obstruction of the Election Commission in executing their official duties, exceeding campaign spending limits or failure to appear for a hearing Will result in a temporary suspension of campaigning
Fraternity fights for a cause SPORTS
Class C violations: Minor offenses such as pre-campaigning, failure to submit required campaign documents or failure to attend mandatory meetings Will result in a written warning and suspended from campaigning for 24 hours
QUADRANGLE
Overheated motor sets off fire alarm in Bates Hall Julie Heffler News editor
The UH Fire Marshal’s Office, security officers and emergency management personnel responded at 8:56 a.m. yesterday to a fire alarm in the Bates residence hall in the Quadrangle. “At approximately 8:45 a.m. this morning, a security officer responded to a fire alarm call at
Bates Residential Hall. Upon arrival he saw visible smoke and notified the UHDPS dispatcher to call Houston Fire Department. HFD responded to the location within two minutes of the call,” said Joe Tremont, the interim director of the UH Fire Marshal’s Office, in an email. “HFD conducted a search for the smoke and along with UH Fire Marshal’s Office and determined
that an Air Handler Unit Motor was the cause of the smoke. There were never any visible flames on the Air Handler Unit. The building was cleared by UH Fire Marshal’s Office at 10:15 a.m. for students to return.” Nobody was injured, according to the email released by the FMO. However, there was damage sustained to the air handler unit, Tremont said. “The Air Handler Unit’s motor
overheated and caused the smoke,” Tremont said. “The state-of-the-art fire alarm systems that are installed in the residential dorms helped with an early warning to evacuate the residents in a timely manner. The Residential Life RAs did an excellent job at helping with the evacuation of all residents to help prevent any injuries.” news@thedailycougar.com
C-USA awards for 13 Cougars GET SOME DAILY
thedailycougar.com
ONLINE XTRA The U.S. ambassador to Nigeria gave a lecture at UH.
DONATION
TOMORROW
Blaffer receives $75,000 to open studio for program
SGA wants to end UH’s relationship with Higher One.
Rebecca Hennes Staff writer
The co-founder and CEO of Houston-based Quantum Reservoir Impact, Nansen Saleri, donated $75,000 to the UH Blaffer Art Museum’s Young Artist Apprenticeship
Program, giving it a permanent studio space within the museum. Saleri made the donation to remember and honor his mother, Kristin Saleri, a prominent 20thcentury artist. “I had a personal pledge to her in 2006 — the year she died — that her
works will not be forgotten,” Saleri said. “Apart from being a prolific artist, she was a mentor to countless artists. It makes sense to continue her legacy through a program so well oriented to young artists in Houston.” QRI representative Debra Church said the summer renovation of the
Blaffer Museum, which included the addition of the Kristin Saleri Studio, was defining of its mission and vision. The renovated museum opened Oct. 12. “Previously, the studio for the YAAP continues on page 3
COUNTDOWN
1
Day until the last day of class.
Yes, you still need to go to class the last day.