Buller/Lay e-mail is active campaigning
This is written in response to the [letter] “Election Board decision ridiculous” written by Mr. Justin Germany.
Mr. Germany first states it is not a violation to send out an organizing letter to people you know, and Mr. Lay from the Buller/Lay ticket knew the people in question. For hypothetical reasons let’s say that he did. What Mr. Germany forgot to say was that Mr. Buller and Mr. Lay also asked for these people to broadcast this information to all of the members in their organizations.
Mr. Germany next says Mr. Buller and Mr. Lay never said they were running for President and Vice President. I agree with him on this point, but they did however use the phrase “the Buller/Lay ticket.” This is the same way last year’s Student Government president/vice president, Broussard/Higgins, ran their ticket, and is the same way Bush/Cheney and most other president/vice president candidates run their tickets.
The last thing Mr. Germany states is what perplexes me the most. He says, “for those who filed, their timing was perfectly insidious.” The reason this bothers me is because Mr. Germany claims he “came to know the election code better than any commissioner or election board member.” If this is true, Mr Germany knows any infraction that occurs must be reported within two days of the violation, and that is what was done.
Hundreds of people have invested plenty of time and money into this election. All anyone wants is a fair election and an even playing field. A violation occurred, it was reported and turned over to the Election Board. They had the final say on the punishment and thought disqualifying the Buller/Lay ticket to be appropriate.
Priscilla Hebert
Senior — Kinesiology
Election board made good decision
I am writing in response to a letter by Justin G. Germany, an LSU alumnus, concerning the recent disqualification of a ticket for the upcoming Student Government elections.
Mr. Germany referred to the election board decision as ridiculous. I, personally, do not find the enforcement of rules absurd. In his eight [campaigns] in Student Government, Mr. Germany, according to himself, came to know the election code better than ANY member of the current election board. It truly is amazing that not a single person on the election board felt the same way. That’s right, Mr. Germany, the election board unanimously voted to disqualify the campaign ticket in violation. If only you could have graced them with your all-knowing presence.
The election rules are simple. The election board was put into place to enforce these simple regulations and to help make our LSU election fair. A rule was broken, and a decision was made.
In defense of Kyle Wilkinson and Allen Richey, I must say that these two students have done nothing but serve LSU. Attacking them for attempting to keep our system fair is childish.
Mr. Germany, you are an alumnus. Donate money. Get married. Move on. Though I hate to break it to you, your days in “SG” are over. Most importantly, if you believe blatantly overlooking basic election rules is an acceptable practice, then I for one am happy your days in Student Government are finished.
Zachary Broussard
Sophomore — Journalism
A modest proposal about Emmert’s pay
Your March 12 cover story has an LSU Foundation official pleading that poor investment returns have kept them from paying the promised $5,000 supplements to certain distinguished professors. The story also makes clear that there was no problem in coming up with $ 100,000 as an interest-free loan to the Chancellor. And we hear, the Chancellor, the President and the Chairman of the Board of Supervisors claim money was not the issue, the “pay raise (being only) to support LSU.” I make, therefore, a modest proposal.
Let The Foundation loan the Chancellor 10 times that amount, a cool million dollars. Invested in long-term certificates of deposit, that will generate annually $50,000, enough for 10 professors’ supplements. Will this not also have the added benefit of “further bonding Emmert to the university” and supporting him in his own words of “continuing to make faculty salary one of the highest priorities?”
The next steps are also clear. Why not go to loans of $10 million and use the interest for graduate student stipends and many other needs at LSU (40 percent of our employees have no health insurance coverage). Why not even more? Perhaps this in itself might go a long way to elevating us to flagship status. No doubt such creative ideas for actually helping LSU got shunted aside as the Chancellor and the Board concentrated from April to July on his huge salary raise and creative ways of funding it.
Ravi Rau
Professor — Physics and Astronomy
National media ignoring serial killer
If in the last year you’ve flipped your TV over to FOX News Channel or CNN you’ve undoubtedly heard continuing stories about girls disappearing from western cities. Do I even have to ask why this is being carried on national news sources? Baton Rouge is plagued by a serial killer and we recently had yet another young lady disappear and there was no national outcry for either. Sure it was nice of John Walsh to bring America’s Most Wanted here. How about some equal time?
Kids and women disappear in the rest of the country all the time. It seems more and more that if the news isn’t from the West or the East then it doesn’t matter. This is a very disturbing trend and should send a message to the rest of the country. Seeing stories like this irks me to no end. Furthermore, these kids are always white girls. Why are they so special? Every week in my mailbox I receive a flyer with two or three children on it that haven’t been seen for months or years. All I ask is where is their spot on FOX?
Keegan Clanton
Junior — Sociology
People must take safety into own hands
I would like to address the concerns that Ms. Cummings presented in her letter on March 12. I understand that the presence of a serial killer in Baton Rouge is a scary matter. I fear for many of my friends, but complaining about the already overworked police force is not at all productive. Modern police forces are not and cannot be protection forces; their real purpose is investigation. Surely you wouldn’t question the resolve of those who may some day protect you with their life.
Short of a police officer stationed at every corner, response times simply can’t be shortened as much as they would need to be to stop most crimes. This is why it is so important for people to know their rights and local laws as they pertain to defense of life and property. Your roommate was absolutely right to call the police, but might I ask what time she was coming home alone? And why alone? It is every individual’s personal responsibility to protect themselves. What if she had not been able to make it to a phone to call the police? Would you still blame them? I should hope not. I certainly hope you reconsider who you depend on to protect yourself in light of the instantaneous nature of violent crimes.
Chris Collins
Sophomore — Sociology