THE October 29, 1985 Vol. 84, No. 15
VISTA
Tuesday Edition
Central State University, Edmond, Oklahoma
Senate passes scholarship resolution Buttry says he'll veto bill By Debbie Martin The Student Senate passed a resolution Monday calling for the establishment of an academic scholarship, but the president of the Student Association said he would veto the bill because of its vagueness. Resolution 85-103 passed the Senate by a vote of 10-9, with two abstentions, but in an interview, Senate President John Buttry said he would veto the bill because it didn't specify from where the funds were to come. Senate resolutions must be signed by the Student Association president and CSU President Dr. Bill Lillard before they are made University policy. The Senate can override Buttry's veto with a two-thirds vote. The resolution states that all students achieving at least the "dean's honor roll" would be awarded an academic scholarship in the form of an activity fee credit for the student's following semester. This would mean that a student taking 15 hours would receive a $45 scholarship credit toward
their next semester tuition bill. Funds for the achievement perk would come from student activity fee budget. "If there is a loss of $54,000 (the estimated cost of the program)," said Buttry, "it's going to have to come from someplace and I don't want the Student Senate budget cut. "I think it's short sighted and naive for the Senate to assume that the athletic budget is going to be cut just because that is the intent of the author." Buttry said he would be "more supportive" of a resolution that specified across the board budget cuts in order to pay for the scholarships. "This is the student's money and they're paying for it," said Scott Birdwell, author of the bill, "and they should get back what they put into it. This is available to anybody who excels, not like the athletic budget which is only available to 1 or 2 perent of the student population and they (athletes) get 74 percent of the money." "I think that this academic
Other activities $274,967.33 30.5 %
Athletics $627,034 69.5 % scholarship program is something that will stress education on this campus," Birdwell argued. "I think it's necessary to show the community that we're interested in high quality education at Central State."
"Presently, we have no control over the student activity budget," said Birdwell, "74 percent of the student activity budget goes to the athletic department, yet 70 percent of students polled in the selfstudy survey just conducted, in-
dicated the most important thing to them on campus is the library." Birdwell said that the activity fee fund is student money paid by all students and it should benefit as large a portion of the student body as possible.
, , Revision to constitution submitted
By Debbie Martin Trouble may be brewing in the Student Senate. Student Association President John Buttry has proposed a resolution calling for revisions of the student body's recently revamped constitution. But, House Speaker Scott Birdwell, who holds one of the two positions that would be eliminated under the proposal, thinks the bill would "make the Senate look foolish." The new resolution states that the current Student Association constitution is not acceptable to the CSU administration in its
present form. The bill says this is due to the duplication of duties, resulting in confusion. The proposal calls for the elimination of the senate speaker and the senate deputy speaker. The speaker's and deputy speaker's duties would then be the president's. "The revisions are necessary to tighten up the loose ends to make the constitution more efficient," Buttry said. He added that the way the constitution is worded now causes inherent clashes and duplicated duties which are conducive to the confusion the Student Senate is experiencing.
Birdwell disagreed. "I think it's going to make the Student Senate look foolish to adopt a revised constitution after just submitting a new constitution and passing it by a two-thirds vote in the last meeting of Oct. 14," said Birdwell. "I see a few people wanting to change the current constitution for their own purposes." Birdwell said that if every executive that comes into office tries to change the constitution to suit his needs, then there will be no stability in the Student Senate. The Senate will vote on the proposal Nov. 11. If passed, the student body will be
asked to vote on the bill Nov. 13. In other business, the Student Senate passed several resolutions calling for more flexible meal plans for the working campus resident. These flexible meal plans would include offering a 10 to 12 meal plan, an option of a housing only/no meals plan and a more efficient and an improved menu provided for those who take a sack lunch. Also, the Student Senate filled the office of Parliamentarian by electing Nelaine Mason. The Student Senate has been functioning the past nine weeks without a parliamentarian.
'Hotline' established for students If someone wants to know what the Central State University Student Association is doing these days, the information is only a phone call away. The student group is now producing a telephone update hotline on a weekly basis, announced Student Association President John Buttry.
Buttry and Paul Wehba, director of academic affairs for Student Senate, came up with the idea for the hotline because students were interseted in the current happenings in Senate. "We were often being approached by students who were interested in what was going on," said Wehba, an Oklahoma City
In this issue. . Nigh honors Lillard...page 3 KCSC 'enhances' education...page 4 Critical issues seminar set...page 5 Tina Turner — a concert review...page 6 Bronchos buck Texas A&L..page 7 CSU thinking playoffs...page 8
sophomore. "John and I discussed the situation and felt we needed to have some kind of information source made readily available to the students." Buttry remembered that past administrations used a telephone answering machine to publicize social events. "It was a logical option," Buttry said. "By establishing the hotline, news about current happenings can be obtained with the flip of a dial or the push of a button." Before making their final decision, Buttry and Wehba talked to several students about the idea. "The result was overwhelmingly positive," Wehba noted. "The people we talked to thought it was a good idea." "Many students have indicated an interest in the service," Buttry added. "They said they would call the hotline on a regular basis."
Following their survey, Buttry
and Wehba implemented their plan. The message, which varies from 30 seconds to two minutes in length, sums up the week's happenings and projects that will happen during the coming week. "This is a unique opportunity for CSU students to get involved in the activities of the Student Association," Buttry said. Wehba pointed out that one student suggested the Senate allow students to leave a message after listening to the hotline. In this manner, it was suggested, students could air their views on the issues facing the Senate and have a direct voice in student affairs. "Both John and I felt that this was a commendable idea," Wehba said. "We realize that the Senate is the voice of the students
and this allows us to know exactly how the students feel." Callers may leave a message after the recording that does not exceed one minute. The update is recorded on Mondays immediately following the Senate meeting. The hotline is connected to the Senate extension from 5 p.m. to noon each day. "Anyone who is interested in expressing their opinions about Senate activities, has a suggestion or just wants to know, is most welcome to call," Wehba said. Students interested in hearing the message may call the University phone number (341-2980) and ask for extension 2249. "We want to encourage students to utilize this new service. This is a part of our long-range plan to better serve the students of CSU," Buttry concluded.