Since just after the Mardi Gras holidays, Student Government presidential and vice presidential candidates vying for votes have set up tents in Free Speech Alley to discuss their issues with students.
While candidates pass out push-cards outlining their issues, some University administrators have discussed the feasibility of some of the issues on each ticket. Not all of the candidates’ issues are discussed in this article.
Jay Ducote
and Collin Ford
Ducote and Ford said they are keeping it simple and to the point.
They said their number one issue is offering bus trips to sporting events other than football.
“That’s about all we have because we don’t want to make false promises, and we know we can do this,” Ducote and Ford said in an e-mail.
Brain Broussard, Manager of the Athletic Ticket Office, said the Athletics Department would be interested in doing this, but Ducote and Ford would have to talk to Athletics Director Skip Bertman.
He said if they wanted to do more bus trips, the office might have to spread out ticket allocations.
Maurice Gipson
and Lori King
Gipson and King’s campaign slogan is “Putting the Student Back into Student Government.” Many of their top issues focus solely on students.
Gipson and King said they believe the Saturday night LSU gameday experience is an important aspect of the University, but they believe traffic problems associated with the event need to change.
They said a simple solution is having the ticket office issue special maps showing the flow of traffic and road closures to ticket-holders on game days.
Broussard said the ticket office already sends similar information to season ticket holders.
He also said the information is available online and in The Advocate.
“If they are asking us to hand maps out to everyone in the stadium, Student Government needs to help us with that,” Broussard said.
Gipson and King also want to introduce a new program called “SG Wednesdays,” where they would set up a table in the middle of the Quad.
“Students will then be able to come directly to us with complaints, comments and ideas that they have,” Gipson and King said in an e-mailed statement.
Current SG President Allen Richey said he thinks anything is possible, but it would be difficult for an SG president and vice president to bring their office to the Quad every week because of the meetings and other things going on in their lives.
He also said they would spend most of their time between classes in the SG office, but it could be possible to bring SG to the Quad once a month.
Another issue Gipson and King would like to tackle is improving the dining experience for students.
David Heidke, the director of LSU Campus Dining, said Campus Dining strives every year to increase customer satisfaction.
Heidke said they are pleased with their statistics from last semester and would love to work with SG to improve campus dining satisfaction.
The pair also said they hope to create an SG message board.
According to Gipson and King, the message board will serve as a “Free Speech Alley” online, where students will be able to post questions, comments and complaints about student life on campus.
Richey said this is feasible, but they must remember to continue encouraging students to attend Student Senate meetings and visit the SG Office.
He also said the online message board could leave students feeling detached from SG.
“The more detached, the more people are less active,” Richey said.
Gipson and King said they would also like to work with the Office of Admissions to increase minority enrollment. They would like to continue working with current programs such as Minority Tiger Calls and Tiger Seek.
Regmon Chaney, assistant director of admissions, said the Office of Recruiting Services welcomes any help from SG.
Chaney said SG is already helping them with Minority Tiger Calls.
Gipson and King also said they want to work to bridge the gap between non-Greek and Greek students.
The pair said there should be some discussion about the differences and misconceptions among Greek and non-Greek students in the University community.
Victor Felts, assistant dean of students and director of Greek Affairs, said Gipson and King’s plan is feasible.
Greek Affairs would help Gipson and King do this if they are elected, Felts said. Sororities and fraternities are willing to “come to the table and talk.”
Felts also said events such as “Greek Week” and philanthropies are open to non-Greeks.
Brad Golson
and Jenny Byrd
Brad Golson and Jenny Byrd said their primary goal is to represent students. They hope to do this by establishing student representatives on Faculty Senate committees, maintaining dialogue with the chancellor and provost and putting student interest at the forefront of all decisions.
Provost Risa Palm said she is interested in continuing chats with students and conversations with SG — especially since Chats with the Chancellor has been so successful.
“We want to actively and continuously research the Flagship Agenda in order to make sure that student interests don’t get left out of this fluid document,” Golson and Byrd said in an e-mailed statement.
They said they want to allow students to decide whether the University should move ahead with the Mobile Computing Initiative, to educate students about SG online voting in the fall, and maintain student representation on the Union Renovation Committee.
Richey said Golson and Byrd could get this done if they are organized and assertive.
He said his administration has been working to get students involved with the Union renovations.
The pair also said they want to create a late-night tutoring program that gives students access to tutors after normal business hours.
It will be more convenient tutoring without additional costs to students, they said.
Golson and Byrd said they talked to Palm about this issue. But Palm said, while she remembers speaking to them about the Mobile Computing Initiative, she does not remember talking to them about a late-night tutoring program.
Golson and Byrd also want to expand the Residential Life roommate pre-registration process online.
Debora Baker, the Residential Life director, said if Golson and Byrd are elected, Residential Life would be willing to look at this issue.
It is a complicated issue, Baker said. The department will have to do more research and look at it from a technological standpoint, and look at the ramifications and how long it would take to implement.
Another goal for Golson and Byrd is to find permanent funding for the newspaper distribution program, which provides students with free copies of The New York Times and Wall Street Journals. They also want to switch the Pajama Game to the first football game of the semester, instead of the second game.
Richey said research will have to be done to find funding for the newspaper distribution because resources are limited.
The Pajama Game can be done, especially since there was a great demand for the pajamas that SG sold last year, he said.
The pair also said they will have a commitment to the University and students when Chancellor Mark Emmert leaves.
“We would strongly encourage a national search for someone that would agree to adhere to the Flagship Agenda, work to place the students first and strive to make LSU a top-tier institution of learning,” they said in an e-mailed statement.
SG has held positions on the search committees for University administrators in the past.
Brandon Smith
and Pete Schneider
Smith and Schneider want to bring “CHANGE” to campus, and many of their issues reflect this.
The pair said they want to create an SG Contracted Services Oversight Committee to collaborate with Contracted Auxiliary Services.
The committee will emphasize consumer concerns of students and bring information back to students, they said.
Smith said they contacted Jason Tolliver, the assistant director of CAS, to discuss their idea for the committee.
Tolliver informed him a student advisory committee is already set up for Contracted Auxiliary Services, Smith said.
After considering this, they decided to move ahead with this plan because their committee would be structured similarly to the Student Tech Oversight Committee.
“It will play an actual role in the decision-making programs as opposed to an advising capacity,” Smith said.
Mark Kraner, CAS director, said he did not personally speak with Smith and Schneider, but he also said they already have a committee with students appointed by SG.
Kraner said the committee meets and talks about the different issues concerning the Bookstore, Tiger Card Office and other related groups.
Smith and Schneider also said they want to gather feedback from students and apply it to the upcoming Capital Transportation Corporation re-negotiations. They would get feedback to and from students by sending SG e-mails, and sending surveys through e-mail and around campus to random students.
They also said they want to create a system of maps showing bus routes and times buses would arrive at their stops.
Gray Graham, director of Parking, Traffic and Transportation, said Smith and Schneider’s plan is feasible.
Graham said his office currently is in the process of getting maps and schedules made for the bus stops on campus.
He also said they would take any student feedback before they will re-negotiate with CTC.
If elected, Smith and Schneider also want to encourage legislation requiring the Mobile Computing Initiative to be placed on the ballot for students to vote.
Richey said he thinks putting the initiative on a referendum is a great idea because it is important to get student sentiment and support.
Smith and Schneider also said they want to create GradTRAK, a program that will create a PAWS link where students can receive information from the departments in which they will graduate, Smith said.
According to the their push-card, GradTrak will offer scheduling tips, degree audit updates and limited class offerings.
Bradford Edwards, associate registrar for technical services, said he talked to Smith and told him GradTrak is an idea that can be done, but it would require extensive programming.
Robert Doolos, the University registrar, said it already is possible for departments to work with Computing Services. It also is possible for computing services to create e-mail groups.
Smith and Schneider also said they want to have an explanation of the fee bill sent to students so they will know where their money is going and how it will be spent.
Larry Butcher, the Bursar’s Office treasurer, said the only problem with sending each student a description is that the fee bill breaks down into at least 25 different categories.
He said the Bursar’s Office is moving into an electronic age and they are moving towards not sending printed fee bills to students.
Butcher said information concerning the breakdown of tuition and student fees can be found on the Office of Budget and Planning’s Web site.
Smith and Schneider also want to work to realign the sidewalks on Fieldhouse Drive to enable people with physical handicaps to gain better access to the Office of Disability Services in Johnston Hall.
He also said they want to develop a strategy for “total equal” disability access by 2015.
“Total equal access means structurally, we are disability compliant and are not making makeshift decisions that will not curtail [program access],” Smith said.
However, Emmert David, director of facility development for facility services, said Smith and Schneider are a little late on this issue.
The University has a long-term plan in which they spend about $350,000 a year to enhance disability access, David said. The University already is compliant with ADA guidelines.
He also said the Campus Access Site Team, which was created about two years ago, is working to enhance disability access in five zones of campus.
By August, CAST will spend at least $300,000 for revamping sidewalks and crosswalks on campus, David said. They already have completed one zone on campus.