Sagebrush Proves Ignorance

I don’t intend this to be an indictment of Carmen, but an assault on the editorial integrity and quality of the Sagebrush endorsement column. I would ask students to consider what they actually learned from this poorly executed rhetorical exercise.

The Sagebrush has once again proved it doesn't seem to give a shit about reality. With their endorsement of Carmen Gilbert, the Sagebrush editorial staff seems to have created their own reality. I'm not saying I disagree with their endorsement, nor do I agree -- I'm still undecided -- but several things stand out as interesting?

The staff sites communication issues as the primary reason for endorsing Carmen Gilbert. Where in her platform, or Eli's for that matter, is improving communication between the branches discussed? I'll save you some time, it's not. However, both candidates have expressed concerns during debates on improving communication between the branches.

"she’s shown her leadership by holding others accountable for their actions throughout the years"

Again, what is the substance that precipitated this statement? Was it her involvement with the impeachment hearings concerning President Ragsdale?

“The students will need a leader who won’t succumb to administrative pressure. They need a representative to speak for them to the university’s administration, the Board of Regents and the Nevada Legislature.”

Thanks for quoting her platform for us. As journalists, did it occur to you to inquire as to how she might accomplish this? Because this is already what ASUN kind of does, and did successfully this year and last without her.

This editorial, in its lack of depth and ignorance of reality, does nothing to educate students and detracts from a legitimate analytical comparison of the two candidates and their platforms. More disappointing and ill-informed coverage of ASUN, but it’s close enough for the news media I suppose.

Drop the "N" Word

Allegedly, Mr. Reilly had the "N" word on his MySpace page. As it turns out, BSO isn't so happy about that one. Brilliant, really.

Follow-up
This post was meant to show the sentiments expressed by some members of BSO who have been stating that they saw it on his page. Mark Felt is a fucking idiot.

Results

President
Matt Fries-15
Carmen Gilbert- 580
Adam Hunt-101
Eli Reilly-517
Justin Shane-206

Vice President
Michael Cabrera-395
Gabriel Matute-376
Ian McMenemy-295
Jeremiah Todd-330

Let the disappointment begin

Polls are open. Vote today and/or tomorrow at Getchell and/or the JCSU. Nobody will know the difference.

I'm voting for this guy...

Eli v Carmen (Accomplishments and Student Gov. Experience)

Entirety of Student Government Experience for Carmen Gilbert and Eli Reilly

When discussing the accomplishments of Eli Reilly and Carmen Gilbert, Eli wins handily. Eli has been an extremely successful Director of Programming, taking former Vice President for Programming Lauren Obrien’s accomplishments and growing them as well as managing a team that has deployed several new, great programs. Carmen has been a good voice at the table, but her legislative and out of office accomplishments (where ASUN is concerned) are almost non-existent. However, she did have a good run as Vice President of Programming in the Residence Hall Association (RHA).

Eli Reilly’s career in student government has been in the executive branch exclusively. He held the position of Public Relations Director for RHA his freshman year. The position was elected and he showed great initiative in pursuing it. He took a mediocre and undefined position and made it his own, refining the responsibilities and duties. His performance and interaction with others was juvenile at times, but this was an arena for him to grow and mature in, and he did. This is also where he started working for Lauren Obrien (who’s unique management style you can sometimes see emerging in Eli).*

He continued the following year as the Travel and Recreation Chair for Flipside programming under Vice President for Programming Lauren Obrien. In this position Eli planned and executed two fantastically successful events, which whetted his appetite for success.

After that, Eli won the VP for Programming seat and came into this year where he saw his job transformed into that of a Director, immediately subordinate to Sarah Ragsdale (the mediocre). We’ve covered his accomplishments in this position quite a bit, so I won’t bore you.

Carmen Gilbert’s career started the same year in the same place as Eli Reilly’s. She was a member of the General Council (GC) of RHA (same as the Senate of ASUN kind of). She also held a position in the executive council of Manzanita. Her interaction in the GC wasn’t something to write home about, but neither was what the GC did, so no harm no foul. Manzanita had a stellar year as far as programming goes, engaging residents continually and across a broad spectrum of events.

The next year Carmen became the Vice President of Programming of RHA. In this position she took what had succeeded the previous year and did it better and did it more. However, she didn’t bring a whole lot new to the position.

Coming into this year, Carmen campaigned for a College of Liberal Arts (COLA) Senate seat and won. She won a committee chairmanship, but hasn’t done much beyond that. She does speak up at the table, but doesn’t present legislation or new ideas.

What does all this crap mean?

Eli shows a lot of initiative and has never not succeeded at what he has attempted to do. He has extensive experience working in an “executive” environment, but has no legislative experience. He has in fact been pretty much insulated from the legislative branch for all three years. He doesn’t have a good track record of working well with them he has though (maybe that’s just Sean McDonald’s fault though). He has a year on Carmen in working with the entire campus as an executive.

Carmen has always worked very well in successful teams, but when in a leadership position doesn’t seem to innovate as much as Eli. She doesn’t like legislative “crap” as much as executive “crap” but does have a better understanding of how it works than Eli, which may help foster a good relationship between the two branches.

Conclusion

Another very hard choice, but on experience and accomplishment I have to give it to Eli. He has a proven track record, but he better be aware he needs to work with (not work against like Ragsdale or ignore like Champagne) to make his presidency an extraordinary success. Carmen doesn’t lose by much, but I fear that she might not bring as many new ideas as Eli and she lacks the experience of working with administration and other campus groups – in the context of ASUN politics and programs – that Eli has.

* - Lauren Obrien school of management: I don’t like you and I don’t like what you’re doing and I’m in a bad mood so I’m going to pout and treat you like shit. Maybe you’ll be lucky tomorrow and I’ll like you.

Gilbert v Reilly (Communication)

We haven't done a whole lot on this blog about what people should watch out for in a Carmen Gilbert presidency and we've done quite a bit of analysis on why Eli wouldn't be quite as good as Carmen. There will be a series of pieces attempting to compare the two level by level, issue by issue. We start with communication.

The biggest discussion of these two has surrounded communication and leadership styles. Some praise has fallen on Carmen and a lot of criticism has befallen Eli. This isn't without cause. Carmen, while a less aggressive than Eli, has shown herself to be a confidant, powerful speaker in the past month. At the same time Eli hasn't tempered his forceful communication style. An important question is this: which style is going to be best for president?

The answer isn’t clear. Eli made an interesting comment in the primary debate. He stated that he knows he has a particular style, but those that don’t have a problem with work very well with him. He furthered it by saying that when he gets along with those he’s working with, eh does really great things. And his experience and accomplishments tend to back this statement up.

At first this appears to be a “duh, really” statement, but let’s take it a little deeper. Is Eli saying he isn’t going to change his style and plans on surrounding himself with only people who get along with him? Or, is he saying that he understands there is an issue and plans to work on it but he also knows why he is succeeding and plans to exploit it.

The statement is a little ambiguous, but I would lean towards the second option. Having witnessed Eli during most of his experience in ASUN and RHA I’ve seen him grow and mature. He hates failing and is going to do what he needs to do to succeed. He is smart enough to know he needs people with diverse ideas around him to change the way things are done. That doesn’t mean it won’t be hard to get people who think he is “fake” or a “frat boy” to work for him, but if he can bring people together, he has shown a propensity to do very well.

Carmen is hands down, perceived to be a better communicator than Eli. People naturally like her, but at the same time, does she have the force of will to stand up to Sandy and Shannon Ellis? I don’t have an answer because I haven’t seen her in that context. I have worked with her in the past and was never incredibly impressed with her volume and command of a group. But she could have changed, and many suggest her composure during campaigning is indicative of that.

Eli versus Carmen. She is liked by almost all but is sometimes quiet and doesn’t have the experience Eli does with dealing with administration. Eli is liked by some and disliked by some but has proven himself able and willing to stand up to Sandy and Shannon, among others. He says what is on his mind and fights for it. This isn’t as black and white of an issue as many have suggested. There is a real choice to make in communication styles. You lose and gain very valuable things with both of the candidates.

Tell me something I don't know...

Lee Massey was expelled from the office of TMCC student body President. Now he is running for ASUN Senate.

Why is he no longer the TMCC President you may ask?

According to the Reno News and Review, Lee allegedly:

"Lee [Massey, candidate for ASUN Senate] simulated sexual actions with writing utensils on two occasions."
"Lee [Massey, candidate for ASUN Senate] told me that he 'gets aroused when I adjust my armrests on my chair'."
"Lee [Massey, candidate for ASUN Senate] told me that he 'sniffs my chair after I sit on it'."
"Lee [Massey, candidate for ASUN Senate] 'talked about having a threesome with a former student government officer and myself.' During that same incident he said he wanted to 'ride' me. He also 'proceeded to rub my shoulders in a sexual way' saying 'You know you want me'."
"Lee [Massey, candidate for ASUN Senate] has said that he loves my 'sweet ass'."
"Lee [Massey, candidate for ASUN Senate] 'implied that he had done something sexual with an oversized pen in his office'."
"Lee [Massey, candidate for ASUN Senate] has constantly said how much he wants me."

Diversity

Diversity is a popular buzz word. This year's senate has done a few things involving diversity. Every time a new seat opens up and a diverse candidate (i.e., minority, gender) applies. Race and gender are touted as reasons to appoint them. Fair enough; racial and gender diversity are forms of diversity, but the discussions are so shallow -- literally not going beyond a physical appreciation of diversity -- that it actually serves as a disservice to the concept of diversity. This is one reason why Michael (all the other candidates are guilty too, but it’s one of Michael’s issues) pays lip service to diversity.

Also, the issue of Diversity Week is an interesting case of more lip service. How does a week help us accomplish more diversity? I liken it to black history month. It’s nice that we all feel real good about celebrating black history, but then it becomes easy to not worry about it when March 1st rolls around. Diversity Week: we did our part; we had a week, right; a real good “feel good” exercise. More lip service.

I don’t have an answer for how to address diversity in a meaningful way, but I’m not running for VP. I hope all candidates start distinguishing between “feel good” and “do good.”

Esoteric Qualities

The ability to work well with others is what sets Carmen above individuals like Sarah Ragsdale and Lauren Obrien (and according to some even Eli). Carmen doesn't piss people off, turn people off, or annoy people. Therefore, it will be easier for her to develop working relationships with a broad range of people -- with respect to personality.

This is something Eli is going to have to struggle with. Some people love the guy, some people think he's fake. That isn't going to work well for him and it is probably his biggest weakness, and it is a weakness Carmen doesn't have.

As for Justin Shane and Ian McMenemy. Shane doesn't talk so who knows, but he hasn't been impressive to date. And Ian, well, he seems not the brightest.

Expect more

While our disdain for Jeremiah is obvious, our appreciation for Eli's hard work and passion should not go overlooked. In fact, some of us have/had been leaning towards Eli--weird, huh?

Nevertheless, the bitching and moaning coming from Camp Reilly (yes, we know it's you) isn't helping your cause. Mainly, it's just making you look insecure and volatile.

Relax and stay focused on your campaign.

Your Camp is My Camp

Since Camp Reilly is complaining this blog is pro Camp Carmen I'd like to add a few lines about why each camp is retarded.

First, if it's one thing I've noticed listening to all of these candidates speak its that they love to take credit for shit they haven't done. The audience may not know any better while you're speaking, but you're pissing people off and they are letting students know afterwards.

Second, stop making blanket promisses to students about decisions that aren't even made by the President or VP. Students don't need to know every detail, but you're not going to put in the blue lights by yourself. Tell students why you have the ability to work with others to get your ideas accomplished. Otherwise, it sounds like you don't know shit about how the system works.

Lastly, nobody has shown why their team of candidates is going to represent students better than any of the others. Tickets have the potential to make a positive difference within ASUN, but they mean jack if there is no reasoning behind them. Bring together a team of students with different skills and tell students the varying strengths of each member.

There are two things that candidates need to show students:
1. You have good ideas that resonate
2. You have the ability and means to get them done

Aside from the fact that the elections rules aren't being followed by ANYONE including the Elections staff, the campaigns are barely scratching the surface on what they need to show students.

Oh, the brilliance of it all

The ASUN Elections are an absolute debacle.

The elections board still believes they have the ability to censure people.

The judicial board doesn't know which end is up, much less that they are expected to hear cases of misconduct and divvy out punishment.

And, as always, the attorney general is dragging her feet on getting things done.

Can't wait to see how it all pans out, but my guess is that it's not going to be pretty.

What are you doing Eli Reilly?

A source of significant confusion for me has been why Eli Reilly would put Jeremiah Todd on his "ticket." Todd, while being a great Greek leader, hasn't shown much desire or initiative within ASUN (not that I can blame him).

This is nearly completely opposite of Eli, who has thrown himself completely into making ASUN better. Eli was a great chair with great ideas on last years Flipside and this year he is doing a fantastic job of keeping great programs going and a decent job of finding some new ones (Howl at the Moon, the Speakers Series).

Todd has shown a propensity to not give a flying fuck what is going on in ASUN (again, not that I can blame him), which means he probably won't have the drive to be a good VP. The VP is such an open ended position with no real obligation laid upon. Therefore, a VP with initiative could really accomplish some shit. Todd is not the man for the job.

On a complete tangent, neither is Michael Cabrera. I'm really tired of hearing diversity repeated every five minutes. We all get it; you're gay and like minority issues. How about you start doing something about diversity and stop paying it lip service (more to come on this)?

Leaders

This post will be updated over the next few weeks. The entries can be seen as strengths and/or weaknesses depending on your point of view.

Eli Reilly
Strengths

• Executive Experience
• Successful year leading Flipside
• Greek support/experience
• Passion for University and tradition
• Assertive

Weaknesses

• Unreserved (often too assertive)
• Jeremiah Todd

Carmen Gilbert
Strengths

• Legislative Experience
• Successful year as Committee Chair
• Club support/experience
• Passion for clubs and students
• Ability to work with a wide range of people

Weaknesses

• Reserved
  

Justin Shane
Strengths

• Legislative Experience
• Successful year as Committee Chair
• Showed leadership within COBA

Weaknesses

• Thinking that TOT is going to solve the University's textbook woes
• Ian McMenemy
• Reserved

Adam Hunt
Strengths

• No ASUN Experience

Weaknesses

• Reserved
• No ASUN Experience
• Sign on Hilliard Plaza

A Real Leader

I would like to commend Carmen Gilbert for: one, having convictions; and two, for backing them up in public in the face of a puerile, petty retaliation by Maria Urbina and Sarah Ragsdale.

Last night Ragsdale missed being censured by a mere twelve votes. Carmen was one of three who voted to censure her last night. What’s odd is that her colleagues Justin Shane and Michael Cabrera both voted for a resolution of impeachment in committee and then voted to kill the resolution at last night’s meeting.

Is it that they weren't able to muster enough courage to say and fight for what they believed while in committee, or is it was that they had no opinion at all. Either way, they both showed a serious failing. Good leaders need be able to take stances, and good leaders need to be able to defend their stances. More importantly -- Justin Shane -- good leaders need to give a shit/understand enough to make a stand.

Convictions and courage of convictions are two things Carmen isn't lacking, and she proved it last night.

Tell me something I don't know...

Prom is over and the queen made it through the gauntlet without even picking up a yeast infection. Apparently, her bad press and a botched preliminary was enough for senators to vote down any kind of additional punishment. Score another bullet dodged by her majesty. Well done.

Thank God For Justin Shane

I was awed and amazed today when I learned presidential candidate Justin Shane and his committee had solved the textbook price issue today by reintroducing an idea long dead. ASUN will now be using student money to fund a luncheon to encourage professors to order their books early. Apparently the idea worked years ago, but I’m not sure I understand why student fee money is being used instead of going to the hundreds of thousands of dollars in profits made each year by the bookstore for funding.

I can’t wait to see what other new and brilliant ideas Justin Shane comes up with. The critique of his platform revealed a candidate so knowledgeable on the issues I don’t know how Gilbert and Reilly hope to compete.

Kudos, Shane on saving students from the impending doom caused by overpriced textbooks.

Matt Fries is out

That is all.

Jeremiah was a...

Lazy, apathetic, ineffective...leader? Kudos to the Conduct Committee for yet another excellent decision.

Jeremiah has got to go. It isn't often you find someone who is more incompetent when it comes to agendas than Michelle Barthuly. And even then, Michelle's blunders were not a result of sheer laziness as in the case of Jeremiah.

The job description for the VP may not say much, but that doesn't mean that a prerequisite for the position is laziness and apathy...it means exactly the opposite. Why do we keep getting these douche bags running for, and getting elected to, this position?

Shame, shame, I know your name

Regardless of whether or not Ms. Gilbert is the best person for the job, I've been a little dismayed to see the heat she has taken for her decision last week to send Her Majesty's impeachment to the Senate as a whole.

Convenient for Reilly, really. While Gilbert is out making tough decisions, Reilly is deciding between jimmy johns and pizza for an event. That's not to say that Eli hasn't done an excellent job as VP for Programming--he has, but the point is, it's easy not to piss people off when that's as rough as it gets.

Not to mention, Shane, Cabrera, Anderson, and McDonald voted the same way Gilbert did...why is she the only one that's taking shit for it? Is it because she is supposed to look out for her fellow women?

What I find even more disconcerting are the scare tactics being employed by she-who-must-not-be-named and her posse (i.e. the VPCO). The Senator's are smart enough to make a decision on their own. Trying to coerce and pressure them into not impeaching your "girl" only shows how scared you all are of this very unlikely outcome.

Have some faith in the process and the Senate. Ragsdale's behavior should not go unpunished, but no one is going to impeach her.

Ante up senators

Senators...don't think that your platforms won't go without critique.

In due time we'll analyze your platforms as well--better come up with something other than campus safety, club funding, and textbooks.

In many respects, you have way more power to do good things than the wanna-be executives who are currently promising the student body the world and then some. All of their extravagant promises have to come through you first.

Think outside the box, and don't underestimate the power of the legislative branch.

Tell me something I don't know...

If you happen by the Joe at 5:00pm tomorrow night, make sure to stop by the Senate workroom as senators decide whether or not Ragsdale should continue to hold office. A few questions you may want to ask them:

How do you spell malfeasance?
If you could tack on five senators to the impeachment, who would they be and why?
If the Sagebrush told you to remove Sarah or they wouldn't endorse your candidacy, would you do it?
If you were graduating and had two months left in office, wouldn't you violate the constitution?
Do you really want Trillo to be Queen?

President Candidate Platforms

Carmen Gilbert

• Work towards creating a campus environment that makes students feel connected and comfortable.
o Make safety a priority by collaborating with University and City officials to improve lighting conditions surrounding campus, coordinating efforts and funding towards installation of the emergency blue light system, and working towards expansion or creation of new safety programs to promote safety on campus.

I'd like to hear more about the programs. If safety is so important, however, why aren’t you throwing money at the blue light system right now?

o With the creation of the Department of Homecoming the student government is well poised to make the strength of the Pack even stronger. Homecoming is on its way to becoming bigger and better than ever and the new Department allows for the creation of a different, further reaching Flipside Chair for the development of programs aimed at spreading and upholding University of Nevada traditions.

Agreed. What does this have to do with what you want to do next year?

o Work with other University entities to encourage more business development around the campus. There are currently a great number of eateries and convenience stores on or near campus but the University would greatly benefit from the kind of “college community” that surrounds other Universities. These normally include boutiques, coffee shops, bookstores, and a wide variety of restaurants all within walking distance and prove to greatly add to the campus experience. A student voice in this endeavor is crucial to its success.

A student voice in this matter will fall on deaf ears. Surrounding land owners are currently holding out for large payoffs from the University as it expands. Millions of dollars have already been offered to some of the run down businesses, and the President of ASUN isn’t going to change any of this. The expansion plan has been around for years, and it’s getting to the point where the only option is through acquiring this land by eminent domain.

• Help make ASUN programs and services more relevant and responsive to student interests and needs.
o Expand the scope and scale of club support and make these resources easier to obtain by providing more funding to clubs and to existing programs like Inkblot and ASUN Sound and Lights, actively seeking out opportunities for different club services, reworking club allocations timetables to better fit club needs, and updating the ASUN website to better serve the needs of student organizations.

Each year club funding goes up. Nothing new here. More funding for Inkblot isn’t going to make them work any more for clubs considering they are only allowed to promote joint ventures with Flipside. The club timetables need to be changed and it’s good that you recognize this. The website needs to be completely redone. (Side note: thanks for wasting thousands of dollars of student fees on the current design!)

o Make the student voice truly heard by enabling polling and discussion boards on the ASUN website, holding town halls on important student issues, implementing regular open lunches with student leadership and utilizing other new and innovative methods of communication between students and their representatives.

Well, you'll have to fix the website first, but okay. Students don't show up to town halls. This isn't a new idea, and it just doesn't work. Open lunches may attract students, but not because students care to listen to the ASUN President. It would be interesting to hear the other innovative methods.

o Work towards the creation of a Campus Camera program that would allow students to quickly and easily check crowd levels at various campus locations like Lombardi Recreation Center, campus libraries or the Crowley Student Union.

Interesting idea, but wouldn't a better idea be to have a website with numbers of individuals instead of screen shots of students on elliptical machines?

o Help make Flipside programs even better attended and received by listening to the students and giving them what they want. Great strides have been made in regards to speaker series, concerts and late night programming this year and it is vital that this is continued and built upon.

Flipside does listen to students and they already work to give them what they want. How would you do this any better?

• Ensure that ASUN firmly establishes student perspective and constantly serves as a student advocate at the University, Nevada System of Higher Education, and State Legislature levels.
o ASUN exists within a sensitive and ever changing set of circumstances. If the student government is not attentive and student representatives not active, the student voice goes unheard. Current budgetary turmoil, the metamorphosis of the campus dynamic with the opening of new buildings and the upcoming legislative session require constant conversation and activism on the part of your student government. Student leaders must be willing and able to collaborate with other bodies, but also be able to stand up to these other entities when necessary.

Sounds good, but this is very abstract. How and what do you want to do to make this happen? Every candidate that has ever run for ASUN office has wanted to make things better in one way or another, but few ever come in with a realistic plan. You have been a senator for a year now, and you should know what will work and what will not. Be specific.

Eli Reilly

See Mr. Reilly's follow-up comment at the end of this post.

I. Campus Safety

Our university has one of the lowest crime rates in the nation, but the recent wave of unusually violent crime that has hit our community has reminded us of how susceptible we are to crime. Unfortunately, our safety on campus cannot be guaranteed, but there are many initiatives that ASUN can undertake that would help make our campus a safer environment.

Problem: Our campus (particularly at night) is not as safe as it could potentially be, as shown by the recent increase in violent crime.

Solution:
- Complete and fulfill the Campus Blue Light Project
- Expand Campus Escort to reduce wait times

Details: For quite some time now, administrators, University Police, and ASUN officials have discussed implementing the Campus Blue Light Project. The time to see this through is now. This Project would install large pillars on campus, each with a blue light at the top (to help in quickly locating one when you need to). The pillar will have one button that contacts 911, and another that calls campus escort. So if at any time you feel threatened while you are on campus at night, you can easily find one of these Blue Lights and call for emergency assistance or for a ride out of there. The entire project (24 Blue Light installations) will cost around $223,000 ($100,000 of which has already been funded by the University). If I am elected your President, I will make a commitment from ASUN that will assist in funding this project (most likely over the course of a few years) and help in finding donors to complete the project. I strongly feel that by installing these Blue Lights that we will return to a much safer atmosphere on campus.

Finally, someone has done some homework. You're still not saying how much you are willing to put towards this project, though. Phrases like "most likely", "will assist", and "help in finding" are not specific, and do not give any of us warm fuzzies when we're walking home at night.

Another issue is the wait time for Campus Escort
(particularly when it is cold outside). As more and more students are using Campus Escort, we have sometimes been forced to wait upwards of 30 minutes for a ride. By making students wait much longer for rides, we are exposing them to significantly more danger than if we were able to respond much faster. By increasing funding to Campus Escort (especially in the winter when more students use the service) we will be able to purchase more vans and hire more employees to ensure that wait times are as low as can be.

Funding was recently increased for Campus Escort. How much more do you want to put into this? A lack of money isn't always the problem. What about the issue of not being able to find students willing to work late hours?

II. The College Experience

What I like to call, “The College Experience,” is the feeling of a traditional campus atmosphere among students at the University. A traditional campus atmosphere includes having many large events put on by ASUN as well as hundreds of extremely active clubs.

Problem: Apathy is very prevalent on our campus.

Solution:

-Increase funding for Flipside Programming to create a year of series-oriented programming on almost every night of the week

Give the newly created Department of Homecoming the funding and resources it needs to plan the best Homecoming the University has seen in many years

Okay, everyone seems to be on the same page here.

Increase funding to Clubs and Organizations to give them the opportunity to hold better events and better themselves and their members

Everyone wants to do this. What makes you different? Clubs and Orgs are a huge part of this campus. Is this all you have to say about them?

Details: By increasing funding to Flipside Programming, we will see the fulfillment of my vision for on-campus events. By focusing on series-oriented events, we can see a semester with an event for virtually every night of the week. For instance: Monday nights would host an Independent/Foreign Movie Series, Tuesday nights would be the Nevada Speaker Series, Wednesday nights could be the Coffee and a Concert Series, and Thursday nights would remain the Thursday Night Movie Series, showing newer films. By increasing the funding for Flipside, we could easily see a year of this sort of schedule. Events like these give students a great venue to meet new people and have a good time. I would like to increase the Flipside budget to $175,000 in the coming year.

Take note: this is the kind of detail you (and everyone else here) needs to have on all of your platform issues. It's no surprise that you would be able to state exactly what you want to do with Flipside, but that is just one of the ASUN Departments.

III. 24-Hour Campus

The needs of our student body have expanded and we need a campus that can meet our demands.

Problem: There is no place on campus anyone can go on a weeknight past 12am to study or socialize.

Solution:

-Work with University administration to secure a 24-Hour Student Union and/or a 24-Hour Library

A problem that has been around for a while. Is there a reason nobody else has been able to solve this?

Details: We have all had to pull an all-nighter to study for a test or finish a project. We have all had roommates who played their music too loud or played video games at the highest volume so we couldn’t study at home. In this case we turn to the Student Union or the library for a place to study late on a weeknight. The problem is that we are all kicked out at midnight. If the Student Union is supposed to be the “living room” of campus, why can’t we be in it past midnight? If I am elected your President, I will work with University administrators in order to get these buildings open twenty four hours a day, seven days a week, so there will always be somewhere on campus where students can go to study.

Additionally, I know there are a lot of us out there who have class from 7:00-9:45pm and can’t make it to Lombardi after class (or before, as most students work during the day) because it closes at 11:00pm. I would like to work to have Lombardi expand its hours at least until 2am (ideally also 24-hours) so that we can accommodate for students who are busy during the day and forced to work out at night.

This is a great goal, but "working with the administration" doesn't always pan out. The demand must be shown to prove to building managers that it's worth their money to keep these buildings open. What are you willing to give them from ASUN to make this happen other than simply stating that this is what students want?

Vice President Candidate Platforms

Michael Cabrera

Michael’s priorities have always been to place an emphasis on programming, clubs and organizations and student publications.

Okay, but what does a priority on student publications really mean? Sounds like every other candidate that has ever run for ASUN VP.

Next year’s budget increase will allow for increased budgets for those ASUN departments and Michael will make sure to see it happens. With the opening of the Joe Crowley Student Union, it is time that ASUN put on events this University has never seen.

To see it happens? Big events are great, but what are some events this University has never seen?

Another important role of the Vice President is to work with student publications. This year the Artemisia and the Brushfire have been incredibly popular, and Michael believes he can help to make next year’s issues better publicized, more well read, and more well distributed.

HOW?? Why is this the job of the VP, or any elected official any longer?

With his important role in the creation of Diversity Week, Michael is dedicated to seeing the campus community as a whole come together like has never been seen on this campus.

Sounds good. Again, HOW??

Multicultural, spiritual, and Greek organizations should be able to work with pre-professional, service, and sporting organizations. Michael is committed to bridging the gap between all facets of the University and he will make that a priority as Vice President.

In what venue would these organizations need to work together? HOW??

CAMPUS SAFETY - This semester, Michael has been very concerned with campus safety and has taken the initiative to create the Campus Safety Walk Series, which has already produced tremendous results and looks to be very promising in the future. University across the country have implemented a "Blue Light Call Box" system which would allow students to immediately call for help. This is a project Michael is committed to finishing as Vice President, with the proposed call boxes having options to call for police or for campus escort.

You didn't create campus safety walks! They have been around for years. Everyone supports the blue light system. What kind of support do you plan on giving it to make it happen?

STICKY CAMPUS - With the opening of the Joe Crowley Student Union, Starbucks, Keva Juice, Port of Subs, and soon all of the other vendors, students want to spend more time on campus. Michael recognizes the need for bigger, better, and more events on campus. If students want to be on campus, they should be accomodated!

Straight from Milt Glick's box of tricks. Nothing new here.

MATHEWSON-IGT KNOWLEDGE CENTER - Michael is committed to having the new Knowledge center open on time. As Vice President, Michael will meet with campus leaders to ensure the new facility is able to open on time.

It already is going to open on time, and there is nothing you could have done about it. Are you going to take credit for it?

SCHOLARSHIPS - Michael realizes there is a serious discrepancy between scholarships given out in the first two years of college and the years that follow. ASUN already gives out a lot of scholarships, but they are small and just not enough. ASUN has a budget entirely separate from the University, and in light of the budget cuts which will inevitably hurt scholarships, there is a lot of need for a lot more scholarships. What it comes down to is that the Nevada System of Higher Education expects to only pay for scholarships for the first two years of college and then past that they expect the individual colleges to pick up the slack. For a lot of the colleges and schools here at the University, it is impossible to fund such large volumes of scholarships.
- As Vice President, Michael will create additional scholarships for the different schools and colleges, for students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds, and for students who do not come from wealthy.

Small scholarships for many or large scholarships for a few? What is the priority here, and what percentage of the ASUN annual revenue are you looking at here? PS. Proof read this before you send it to print.


Gabriel Matute

- Work with university administrators, community members, and city officials to make our campus and its neighboring community more safe:
- Funding for the delayed installment of the blue light emergency system
- Re-instate Safe Ride
- Improve and increase lighting on and around campus

Good job on being specific. How much funding should ASUN put towards the blue light system?

- Establish a university-wide computer & printing system in which all computer and printing labs on campus will be accessible to all students, regardless of the college he or she is enrolled in. This will enable students to interact more with others, enrich the University as a community, and promote safety by not imposing the inconvenience of having to go to a non-restricted computer lab.

Nearly all computer labs allow access with a NetID. Those that don't are that way for a reason. Saying that this will make anyone more safe or create a greater sense of community is really a stretch. This sounds like a lot of work with no real payoff.

- Continue to discuss alternatives with the ASUN Bookstore and the libraries to lower textbook and printing costs. Also, Gabriel will follow up with Textbooks on Time, a program established by legislation that he co-authored. This program encourages the faculty to re-use textbooks and order textbooks on time, thus reducing prices overall.

Another idea that everyone runs on. Faculty are already encouraged to reuse and order textbooks on time. A resolution from the Senate isn't going to change their expediency.

These issues may be difficult to accomplish, but together we can overcome any obstacle—achieve any goal. Please join Gabriel in saying, “YOU ASK. I LISTEN. AND TOGETHER, WE ACHIEVE.”

Ain't no mountain high enough. Aint no valley low enough. Nice tagline.

Jeremiah Todd

My goal as Vice President will to; Improve student safety both on and off campus with looking into bringing back the Safe Ride program as well as making sure the Blue Light program on campus is completed. I also want to improve campus life for students and turn UNR into a true 24 hour campus. Finally I want to improve communication between our executive and legislative branches of government so as to better serve the students.

My goal as Vice President will to??? Looking into bringing Safe Ride back? How do you plan on improving campus life or making Nevada a 24 hour campus? How do you plan on improving communication?? How do you plan on doing any of these things without posting an agenda?

Ian McMenemy

?

Get your shit together.

Candidates and Tickets

This post will be continually updated as more information becomes available.

Eli Reilly Ticket
VP: Jeremiah Todd
Dir Programming: ?
Dir Clubs and Orgs: ?
Dir Diversity: ?
Dir Homecoming: ?
Attorney General: ?
Chief of Staff: ?

Justin Shane Ticket
VP: Ian McMenemy
Dir Programming: ?
Dir Clubs and Orgs: Maritza Perez
Dir Diversity: ?
Dir Homecoming: ?
Attorney General: ?
Chief of Staff: ?

Carmen Gilbert Ticket
VP: Michael Cabrera / Gabriel Matute
Dir Programming: ?
Dir Clubs and Orgs: ?
Dir Diversity: ?
Dir Homecoming: ?
Attorney General: ?
Chief of Staff: ?

NOTE: Hunt and Fries are not included in this list as it is unclear as to whether or not they are running on a ticket. They are not considered viable candidates at this point.

Senator for the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology, and Natural Resources
Daniel Hansen
Sean Hostmeyer
J Malikowski
Matthew Murphy

Senator for the College of Business Administration
Tony Moore
Jennifer Richards
Patrick Sergott
Ettienne Shuda
Casey Stiteler

Senator for the College of Education
Jessica Purney

Senator for the College of Engineering
Erich Beyer
Tyler Kenney
Allan Tan

Senator for the College of Health and Human Sciences
Priscilla Acosta
Renee Freeman
Amanda Kesjaral
Melinda Rienau

Senator for the College of Liberal Arts
Taylor Anderson
Taylor Anderson
Nicholas Blevins
Brice Esplin
Gracie Geremia
Kyle Hill
Charlie Jose
Patrick Kealy
Lee Massey
Titus Roberson
Anna Ziegler

Senator for the College of Science
Brandyn Herman
Shaquenta Perkins
Jennie Verkuyl

Senator for the School of Journalism
John Kim
Whitney Lee
Jennie Miller

Senator for the School of Medicine
Elizabeth Jensen

So it begins

Over the next few weeks ASUN candidates will attempt to garnish votes through promises, platforms, and platitudes. We will analyze their positions in an effort to give you a better understanding of who knows best how to represent students on our campus. Bringing together a combined twenty-two years of ASUN experience and a diverse range of viewpoints, we hope to give you an unbiased look at Mail Stop 58.