EDITORIAL Endorsements inelevant given flawed government Oihi* again spring has rolled around and lli<’ I • v student imdv is faced w «>ti another election 111 choose i aildldales till I tie A SI I) lv\ecutive. Ini nlenl.il I ei < ommillee and Student Sen.lle And om •• again the Inwr.ild is faced ysith endorsing a handful of ( .imliilales In fill various positions Hut this year, the paper will take a different apprnat h this year the lutwrmd will en dorse no one It's not lieialise the candidates the I nwr.ild editorial board interviewed over the past four days lacked merit Many wen* well-qualified and pre sented favorahle ideas and polit ins Hut given the present structure of the ASUO Kxei titive and IIT. and these Imdles inability to put petty internal polite s aside these candi dates would not flourish llus year lie liiirnihl yyill en tloise letorin not |tis! for |i(diliial ideals, hut lot the |H>litn al slim lure itself Pile III utldei the guise of an apolitical hods has year in and veal out played lie- polite al game le gardless ol who is in nltice Hoard memlints use lie- forum lo aflat k out another or lo forward personal agen das against spet if it groups The re still is a disruptive process dial moots often, accomplishes tittle and ends in |><>1 ■ t it al infighting Kt*t ends lie- (lap over who tam pered with the minutes from the Ill' s fan II meeting did not pro dm e a guilty parly Instead, the tarn Irosersy served to show the political divisions among those sen mg on an apolitical hotly The old ananihist bumper sticker says it best: “Nobody for Presi dent.” We'll add our own slogan: “Nobodv for IFC. ” Ironically. the i anses fm mm h of this infighting are the constraints placed upon tlic body ilst'lf IIC uirmln’ts are not permitted lo lake the tvpi* of political stances lli.il an* HM|uired when dealing with lough issues suc:h .is budget i ills or deter mining whether .1 group is actoalK serving the campus l or a glimpse ot these constraints one need only look, at what the can didates thinnselves say During en dorsement interviews, tire ()/)/•.' edi torial tMianl fai ed a broken record ot responses as to the ll-'C's stated neu trality. hath candidate said political views should not he a part of the IIX process Two problems exist with that argument l ust, it is impossible for members of a governing body to put biases aside Second, students are unable to distinguish between candidates w ho spout identical mes sages thus stilling the democratic process Ml the candidates did spout the same basic, politically correct mes sage All. that is. ext ept one One candidate proposed zero funding ga\ and lesbian and pro abortion groups because they did not promote ''family and communi ty values " He was too outlandish to even consider, but he was dead-on when he said the li t' is a political body and should la* treated as sui h That's how bad the interviews were I hr 1)1)1 hoard agreed that the Ilf is and should l><‘ .1 |M*t it itill boilv and lli.il (.til slioidd not Ih* hidden Iteliind o allow ed to debate -i group s merits ,«nd numbers should he allowed to tut hide politi cal ideology in the deh.lte lough (let Isious sut ii .is budget < lilting i nil tilth lie m.ide though ioleitse deh.lte Mould memliers t.imiol do so uii tier the i niton! stilling svslem I hetefore the si stem must he i hanged to i leute u tree muikeljil.u e of itleas where critical mul t ontro vclsiel issues < .to lie deflated and tie t.idetl As it IIC endoisemenls weren't difficult enough, inlet viewing ASt’O presidential candidates wasn't much better I he editorial board heard mam buzzwords (stil dent empowerment, diversity at i es sihililv). hut levs solutions to cam pus problems .Students should ash themselves just as the editorial hoard dot w hat student government has done tor them I’rohablv not a whole lot \l though executive oftli ers walk into I \tt Suite I even June with won derful and innovative ideas a veai later thev turn the job over to then sin l essors having accomplished lit tie in terms ol benefiting students Perhaps the problem is that \sl () oflicers part it ularly the president and v it e president put much ol their tune into things they i an t con trol The state legislature higliei i-dui ation tumliug and diversity di versitv. diversity llovv mui Ii imp.u t does a six or seven or 10 month old student administration have on legislative dei isions' Does anyone really believe the ASt'O president tan swav votes on budget cuts one way or another’' And what the his k is diversity anyway? fvrrvone works lor creating it. everyone wants to celebrate it hilt beyond a few symposiums and workshops has anyone tried to find out what it is? Nope Student government could Irenetit its constituents t>\ t oiu.enliatmg its commendable energy and effort into projects more tangible and i losri to home We do not suggest student leaders tgnoie funding problems oi the budget Inn k test through wliiih we .ire now suffering Send up < ar loads of student lobbyists Write let ters Sign petitions But student gm - eminent should pull more weight on i uuipns Members of the e\e< utive and the II f should use their time working to tin.I out exactly where the $-i t mil lion 111 student mi identul tees goes evorv year instead ot finding the (rest strategies to lohh\ state legislators from Bend Maylie the Student Sen ate could he brought in to the stu dent government process to do more than just rubber-stamp administra live decisions. Maybe the senate could work with the I Ft to decide wtin h groups get funded The old anari In si bumper stu kei sa\s it best \obodv tor Presi dent We ll add our own slogan Nohod\ tor lit! That's not il wavs the best solution, hut talented presidents, committee members and candidates are becoming useless and irrelevant under the current svstem B\ voting, the tew students who do care to vote would again he par ticipating in an exert ise ot tutilitv Radical reform is needed I he slriu lure of student government must In fixed soon Iv — i ’ooK 1 V By Somone. eo>E. What to do? Change system, focus on University problems ( tiIii ism is worthless unless solutions •ire offered With th.it in mind, the F.mrr .ilil will not end I In* issue of reform on .1 nihilistic note The lot ideiltal Fee ( ommittee should her nine ,01 adv isor\ board to the Student Senate whirl) would allow the 111 to openly bee ome the political bod\ it has t overt I \ been lor sears The III would debate funding student groups but be limited to making funding ret ommenda lions to the lull senate File senate would he responsible tor voting to approve funds whir h would be the lust prar tii .< 1 dots the senate has had in years II I i andidates would be tree to make their political ideas known to students instead of concealing them until alter elet lions The 1 andidates would far e the marketplare ot ideas being accepted or reps ted based on who the students want to represent them Although the III s political whims would be healthv and useful when de bating .1 student group's merits the\ would be tempered b\ putting the der 1 sion making power in the hands of a larger group of student senators I he II I A opinion would be |ust tli.it an opinion with students from .1 variety ot 1 ampus communities making actual, more balanc eel. dec tsions Think of it: IFC' candi dates could campaign and be elected on their honest political viewpoints, not beliefs hidden behind the shroud of political correct ness. real or imagined. 1 tllllk ol it lit i andtdates ( ould ( «ii]i paign .uitl lx- c!ci ti'ii on their honest po litical viewpoints not lari lets hidden be hind the shroud ot political correctness, real or imagined lire power ol allot at mg S-l t million would no from a sewn member group ol olten hii kering stu dents to the Student Senate, protei ting those funds from volatile political teni pests in the li t Also it would give the student sena tors something to do As it is the\ make S t i a month to pass einpt\ resolutions and approve ai ademu polit ies that are passed In llie t Diversity Senate anywav The dist ussions and tlehates that would follow su< h a structure change would promote effet live student govern menl and energi/e students to partit i pate in the elections process. Issues, and not just pleas, would prompt students In vote However, some safeguards should re main in the ASl'() ( ^institution to guard against groups being zero-funded at the drop ot passed More budget i uts are pending It's painful to say. hut perhaps \\e should resign ourselves to the fat t that this problem IS too big tin us to i untrol Hie problem is the K\e< utive basil t done enough to energize an apathetii student body here at home By uniting the student bod\ by holding student groups accountable for their own spend mg. perhaps we i ould show the slate its legislators, our administration and the voters we are worthy of their attention their consideration and their money Students will make up their own minds as to whether they want to part 11 t pate in the system by voting in this yveek s elections (although judging from recent voter turnout figures many may dei ide to do other things y\ilh their time | It you do go to the polls Wednesday and Thursday , at least tell your leaders you yyanl a government that spends your money responsibly that has its attention focused here, and that works Write on your ballot. I want a government that works for me," and press our future leaders for i hange It's not |ust worth thinking about It's worth doing