VANGUARD
THE apr. 2, 2012
Special Edition vol. 50, no. 11
“If it matters to the USA family, it matters to us.”
SGA Elections 2012-2013: Who will speak for you?
Jessica byrd Presidential Candidate
Parker chastain Presidential Candidate
Troy shephard Presidential Candidate
Zain Husain Presidential Candidate
rachel Wyers Presidential Candidate
Turn to page 4 for a comprehensive guide to the candidates running -Voting starts Monday, April 2 via survey in Jaguar 1 email accounts
Also inside: Annual “The Van Guard” April Fool’s section -page 13
hot issue this election: Could USa be a ‘wet’ campus? PR Director Keith Ayers says the issue of alcohol on campus comes up every few years, and the policy has yet to change by carey coX Copy Editor SGA elections are coming up soon, and many candidates have been spreading their campaigns. Presidential candidate Rachel Wyers and vice presidential candidate Jeff Gill both claim that if they were elected, they will try to make South a wet campus. Some areas on campus are already allowed to serve alcohol, such as the faculty club, the Mitchell Center and Stanky Field. Fraternities and sororities also get exemptions.
According to Vice President of Student Affairs Dr. John Smith, there would have to be a policy change to make South Alabama a wet campus. In order to change the University policy, SGA would have to make a recommendation to the president of the University, Gordon Moulton, and in turn, Moulton would have to approve that recommendation and then present it to the Board of Trustees. Dr. Smith said that it is very unlikely the dry campus policy will change because the change would affect very few students. As of March 29, over 77 percent of students living on campus are 20 and under,
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according to Mike Havard, business manager of Housing and Residence Life. This number fluctuates daily because of students’ birthdays. Dr. Smith also said that most of the behavioral problems in the residence halls are alcohol-related. USAPD Chief Zeke Aull also echoed this statement. “At different times we have the underage drinking scene, but that is very rare, if ever, at the sporting events. Other places around campus we’ll encounter the underage drinking. The law is 21 and we’re going to enforce that law,” Aull said. If the policy were to change, Aull said the police department would have no trou-
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ble keeping up with the changes. “I worked at LSU. It’s a wet campus, and I moved to Centenary College (of Louisiana), which is a dry campus. We’re going to adjust and adapt to whatever the rules are. It’s not a USAPD decision. It‘s whatever is decided, and we’re going to make sure we keep everyone safe,” Aull said. “If everybody could drink socially that would be one thing, but that’s not really the way it works. “There’s people that tend to be drinking to get drunk and that’s where the problems come in – DUIs, vehicle accidents, there’s a whole lot of things that come into play when you change,” Aull said.
in this issue (pg 15): Life (pg 19): Opinion (pg 17): Sports