POLITICS

UCO junior joins the run for state representative

Nicholas Harrison By Sandi Craig StaffWrilOt

What was only a boyhood dream for Nicholas Harrison is now becoming a reality.

Harrison, a Democrat and a 21-yearold UCO junior political science major, recently announced his candidacy for state representative.

He said he decided to run for state representative when Rep. Gary Bastin retired and left an open seat in Del City.

Harrison said he thought it was interesting and humorous when he filed at the state capitol last week that The Daily Oklahoman and the Tulsa World took mug shots of the candidates holding up signs to identify themselves.

The Daily Oklahoman had the candidates pose, looking straight ahead into the camera, while the Tulsa World photographed a profile shot. "It. makes you feel like an inmate," Harrison said.

But, Harrison is no stranger to the political process.

He's president of the Residence Hall Association and a Student Association representative. He has also worked on various political campaigns.

Harrison said he lobbied to bring House Bill 1921 to within two votes of defeat last year, which would have defeated the tuition increase for higher education.

Politics is in his blood. "I guess I have probably known that I wanted to go into politics since I was about 7 years old, whenever I was growing up and in elementary school. The teachers always told me that I could do anything I wanted," Harrison said. "I decided to go into politics because I believe I can make a difference."

He said he loved history at an early age and was influenced by past presidents including Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy. "Jefferson, philosophically, always had a lot of good things to say, particularly his words from the Declaration of Independence," Harrison said.

Another president Harrison looked up to was Theodore Roosevelt. "From what I've heard of him, he was always one to go in there and to try to make a difference—to go in there and fight it out," Harrison said. "Roosevelt used to say, 'It doesn't matter whether you win or lose or whether or not you - accomplish something, if you go in there and you make that effort, you are better off than the people who just sit by the sidelines and don't do anything,"' Harrison said. "I liked what Kennedy had to say a lot of times in his speeches. Policy wise, he wasn't as great as the idealistic image. I think the Kennedyesque (image) is the ideal image that I would shoot for."

Harrison said he believes that it's more difficult to find someone to respect and admire in office these days.

But he said his mother played an important role in his success in life. "She has guided me a lot and wanted to make sure that I lived up to my potential. She helped me out considerably and always gave me financial support, emotional support and moral support in all the things I have done throughout high school and college," Harrison said. "My thing was always academics and school, primarily politics. It's one of the fields that, to me, I could spend hours with and not get bored. "Occasionally, you can get frustrated whenever you're trying to make a policy change, or trying to make an impact on the system. But, at the end of the day it's not something that you'd ever want to give up for something else—you always think that you've done something worthwhile with your day," Harrison said. "Throughout high school other students always viewed me as someone that could be president of the United States. During my high school senior year I was voted 'most political,' and I think that was something they made up primarily just for me," he said.

One experience that made an impression on Harrison was when he traveled to Washington, D. C. during his senior year in high school with a Japanese cultural exchange program. "While everyone else was sightseeing, I hung out at the Capitol. I would go through the building and see the sights there. That was really exciting. I think I probably stayed there until they actually kicked me out sometimes," he said.

Harrison said that there is an indefinable moment when he is working on a policy and he has to decide if it's worth the battle. "So, my philosophy is that I've got to take it on personally as my responsibility—if I am not happy with something, if I don't like the way things are running, the way the system operates, then I've got to be willing to get in there and voice my opinions and make a difference."

The downside of politics for Harrison is that he thinks there is a lot of people in politics who are more concerned about perception rather than policy—they don't necessarily care whether they make a difference—they just want to look good. It's more about getting there and staying there, instead of actually doing something to serve the people. "Primarily, the focus of my platform is to try to make government more accountable and make it serve the people more," he said. "The real work should be going and finding out how these departments work and how the money is spent. We have to actually go into the offices and find out what they do and how they spend the money. That takes a lot more time and money and is not as glamorous and not as easily sellable to the public. But you have to be able to put in the hours and do that," he said. "But, if you don't tell me where you are spending the money, then I would be forced to cut it."

Harrison said he would like to become speaker of the House someday because he is one of those people who likes the legislative branch, but added, "I wouldn't turn down the presidency if I had a good chance of winning it."

Student involvement in government at all-time low

By Kate O'Neill

MOM L ow voter turnout, vacant seats in the student legislature and poor attendance at town hall meetings. All are basic components of the democratic system and excellent opportunities for students to get involved. So why are so few students taking advantage of these opportunities?

A study conducted by the Higher Education Institute at the University of California-Los Angeles found that UCO is not al one,& 40

A fall 1997 survey conducted on more than 348,000 college students across the U.S., revealed that the 1997 freshman class felt less connected to politics than any other entering class in the survey's 32-year history.

As the UCO Student Association (UCOSA) Speaker of the House, Dale Archer knows first hand the apathy the study discusses. "Students on campus don't go to the polls and vote because they don't feel like their contribution is warranted enough for the change they feel is needed."

Archer said that UCOSA is taking proactive measures with other campus organizations to combat the apathy that plagues UCO.

The Public Relations Student Society of America was hired last fall by UCOSA to launch a massive public relations and communications campaign on campus. "PRSSA used the school newspaper, bulletin boards, fliers and posters to inform the student body of elections and the four town hall meetings," Archer said. "Town hail meetings were designed specifically to allow students and organizations to voice their likes and dislikes."

The survey results also indicate that today's college freshman have less desire to influence the political structure that their counterparts over the years. "I never get involved in student activities because I am a commuter but I might consider voting depending on the importance of the issue and the person running," said Kim Rolin, a UCO student.

Archer said UCOSA is specifically trying to reach more nontraditional students like Rolin, who are an average age of 27, commute and raise a family. "We're launching a webpage

that allows students to vote on the internet so they don't have to be on campus to participate," Archer said. "We're also asking the professors for help in reaching these non-traditional

students."

Many UCO students balance jobs with class work, so busy schedules often take precedence over campus activities.

UCO students Julie Brock

says she participates in elections . but because of her job, "Time is a factor so things like voting on the internet would be helpful,"