The Reporter

Seeking The Truth At Stetson University Vnlume CXIX Issue 2D Wednesday, April 4,2DD7 Savas And Grauel Aim To Make Students' Voices Heard and you must know procedure and the two procedural documents, the Constitution and Robert's Rules of Order," added Grauel, who through working as the Policy Committee Chair, has submitted amendments, studied the SGA Constitution, and reviewed over specific sections of Robert's Rules of Order. In addition to handing out fliers, hanging banners, and decorating the sidewalks, the candidates hosted a barbeque, met with organizations on campus, passed out their platforms and participated in two school-wide debates. Through participation in campus events and making themselves known as candidates amongst students, the running mates have established that their main goals are to push SGA to become increasingly representative of the student body and focus on proper procedures during meetings, to ensure that productivity occurs. "We will push not only ourselves to succeed, but our cabinet, committees, and Senate," said Savas. "We will link together to make SGA truly representative of students with the continued accomplishments of initiatives." Savas and Grauel have developed new ideas in the interests of benefiting students at Stetson University and offer potential changes in policies and procedures currently in effect toward that goal. Changes such as increased healthy nutrition options, better care and quality of the Hollis Center Gym equipment, a Votran Service to allow students to travel locally on weekends and remain safe, maintenance of intramural fields, the assurance of working to keep adequate parking spots on campus, and working towards bringing a convenience store to campus that would allow for ease in shopping for basic care items. "It is a matter of knowing what the students want and need," stated Savas. "My running mate and I are always open to the students and want to listen to the students first before acting, otherwise SGA would lose sight of the reason it exists. "Many students have expressed these concerns as mentioned and we will address them. We will push to make possibilities a reality and have not, nor will not, let the challenges of By HEATHER MARTYN Fliers have been filtering around, signs have been hung, and chalk art colorfully decorates sidewalks around campus. This can mean only one thing: Student Government Association elections (SGA) are here. On April 4th, 2007 SGA elections will be held, and on the ballot will appear running mates Nina Savas and Will Grauel for President and Vice President, respectively. "Throughout this entire campaign we have focused on the issues and qualifications," said Savas. "We are qualified for these positions as evident from our past successes and our continued progress as leaders." "Dedicated to working for the students," reads signs posted around campus for their campaign that not only advertises their campaign but also urges students to vote in the 2007 SGA Elections. As their banners, fliers, and chalk art say, "It's time to make your voice heard." "It is important for students to vote," said Grauel. "SGA can help and affect the students. Anything the students would like the administration to do can be changed through SGA." Savas and Grauel have been active members of SGA since their" freshman year. Savas has served on the Residential Life and Community Relations Committees and Grauel has served as the Policy Committee Chair for the past two years. "I have leadership experience in working with large and small groups, and I have directly worked with the student body and University administration to accomplish goals to benefit the students," said Savas. "Vice President runs the Senate working with the university get in the please see NW | A2 Glasnovich and Morgan Hope To Set "Realistic" Goals In Motion By RACHEL HOLLEMAN J V Sophomore political science major Drew Glasnovich and. sophomore political science major Kristina Morgan are running for Student Government As- sociation President and Vice President for the 2007-2008 academic year. "Their main target is apathy," said the team's campaign manager, sophomore international business major Kaylyn Norvell. Glasnovich and Morgan plan to focus on "the three A's": academics, arts, and athletics to promote involvement, school spirit and a greater sense of Hatter pride. Glasnovich has been involved with the senate since his freshman year. He is the chair of the Residential Life committee and is currently on the Honors Council. He is the first chair of the First Year Studies Committee as well as one of its founding members. Glasnovich has also served on the electorate committee, which oversees the electorate process and makes sure it is fair and accurate. He also works with the prestigious organization Independent Colleges and Universities of Florida (ICUF). There are currently twenty- eight private schools involved with this group. ICUF works through universities' Student Government Associations in order to enhance each university by adopting programs that work well at one other's schools. Glasnovich has attended all ICUF conferences this past year and feels that he prepared well for next year when Stetson will'be chair of the program. Morgan has also been a senator and chair of the Financial Affairs Committee since her freshman. Morgan has run SAFAC since the spring of 2006 and was co-chair last year. She is also the founder of the Dance Arts Society. If elected Student Government Association President and Vice President, the pair "wants to maintain communication lines between the administration and the student body" said Norvell. They want to work as a mediator for students and make sure that there is an adequate response to their concerns. "Overall it's important that the administration focus on the students here and not only prospective students. This is why it's important to keep open lines of communication between students and the administration," said Morgan. As the university continues to expand, they understand that the population arid class size are most likely to increase and they want to address this area of concern. Issues such as parking will also be well represented. Glasnovich and Morgan hope to help create outdoor leisure areas outside of dormitories in order to create the feeling of a community. They would also like to increase the number of places on campus that are open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. "The spaces that are here on campus can be utilized," said Morgan. Places like the academic computer lab are open, but they feel that more of a variety is needed. Social spaces are needed as well. They would like to plan SGA sponsored events as alternative Thursday night options, rather than students having few options other than the bar scene. A cyber cafe in the Lynn Business Center is also in the works, which they would like to help push that into a reality as well as a convenience store located on campus. Architects have come to the university and looked at options for a plan to build a convenience store and it is now in the hands ofthe administration. Glasnovich and Morgan want to set this plan in motion as well. They, would also like to reorganize meal-plans so that it would include a rollover plan with meals and points as well as make other items available with points. "We're looking at realistic things, things that we've researched and we know are possible," said Glasnovich. When asked why they feel they would make the best candidates in the election, Morgan said, "I've been more active with SGA since the beginning. Also, I'm fun. Senate needs to be serious, but at the same time people should want to be there." "Being President requires more than please see DK | A2 Groups Discuss Changes To Athlete Registration By MIKE RIGGS The Campus Life Committee ofthe SGA and the Student Athlete Advisory Committee are negotiating a proposal which would call for registration advantages for student athletes. If approved by the Council of Deans, the resolution would allow athletes to choose a class schedule that would help them meet the NCAA's satisfactory progress-toward-degree requirements as well as miss as few classes as possible. , Resolution S.41, proposed by Sen. Matthew Snyder, calls for first year student athletes to register for classes with the last group of sophomores; sophomore student athletes to register with the last group of juniors; and junior student athletes to register with the last group of seniors. Senior student athletes would "not be granted advanced registration since they already receive priority due to their class standing," the proposal states. According to John Tichenor, the Registrar, this is not the first time ath letes have lobbied for changes in the registration process. "The issue of early registration of athletes has come up before and the Council of Deans has said 'no, that's not something we're going to support.' The Office of the Registrar does not do anything, without the Council's approval," Tichenor "said. "It's very important to look at what comparable schools do. My general understanding is that some Division I schools do have such policies in place. That kind of research is where we should start," Tichenor said. Jessily Ramirez, the chair of the Campus Life Committee, is opposed to Snyder's proposal. "It raises the question, are we valuing an athlete over a music student or leaders on campus who also have conflicting schedules? We also have to ask, is this proposal representing the needs of all student athletes, or only a select few?" Ramirez suggested to the Student Athlete Advisory Committee that instead of being allowed to register in advance, student athletes be assigned advisors who are willing to act on their behalf to obtain overrides for the classes that best fit their schedules. "An athlete would meet with his or her advisor with a letter from a coach detailing the game schedule," Ramirez said. . The faculty advisor could then help that student assemble a class schedule that would allow them to miss the least amount of classes. Sen. Snyder, who was chair of the Athletics Committee in SGA last semester, is skeptical of the override proposal but conceded that some compromise is necessary. "There are problems with both proposals. My bill put a strain on the rest of the student body, but with the override system, there needs to be someone monitoring coaches to make sure that they don't request unnecessary overrides just for the sake of doing so," Snyder said. Ramirez said that the "flip-side of concerns about unnecessary overrides is that the "university is small enough and the override system already works really well." In addition, Ramirez said that the Student Athlete Advisory Committee is "very excited" about the override compromise. Injuries Sustained During Alumni Weekend By LAUREN SICILIA This past alumni weekend, the football challenge games became very competitive which resulted in injuries for the older alumni "All the games overall ran very smoothly," said Melissa Carroll, an intramural supervisor for the football challenge. "But as the teams started getting competitive, the number of injuries increased." During the Phi Sigma Kappa verses Delta Sigma Phi game a man in his 40s was elbowed in the eyebrow. It resulted in a trip to the hospital and about 13 stitches, according to Melissa Carroll. She also said as he was walking off the field "he was pulsing blood onto me when he let go of holding onto his eyebrow." He refused to receive medical atten tion from' the intramural staff and insisted on being driven to the hospital. Another injury was to the knee of a Pi Kappa Phi alumnus. Chris Beauchemin "was going after the quarterback, but stopped abruptly and he heard a pop" said his girlfriend Lacy Nobles. Nobles said he is worried about it being a torn ACL and is currently waiting to get an MRI. The third serious injury resulted in the forfeit for the Delta Sigma phi's during the championship game verses the Alpha Tao Omega. Carroll said "an older alumnus was going off the line and his ACL tore right off his ankle." This resulted in Delta Sigma Phi's first ever loss with" that team. The Football challenge took place Saturday,- March 24th, was set up in order to honor 50 years since Hatter football. Conact Lauren Sicilia at lsicilia@stetson. edu. »WEATHER THURSDAY FRIDAY High 82 High 78 Low 53 Low 52 SATURDAY High 78 Low 51 -■p:r\f SUNDAY High 75 Low 53 »LIFE Natalie Wearstler reports, on this past weekend's concert of Jack's Mannequin. PAGE C2 OPINIONS Community Forum on SGA elections. PAGE B2 »SPDRTS Mike Hodges questions NASCAR. PAGE D1