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Show --------------·-----·- - · ll® Michon Ott is the L-egacy Party candidate for SUUSA activities vice pruident. Spencer Luth is the Reach Party candidate for ~ SUVSA activities vice president. -- .. T HE UNIVERSITY JOURNAL • SOUTHERN UTAH UNIVERSITY• MONDAY, APRIL 20, 1998 Ott likes opportunity Michon Ott said she feels like she's up to the rigors of t he job of activities vice president because of the opportunities she's had to be involved at SUU thus far in her collegiate-career. " I love being involved with activities, and I think my ideas and platform will work for SUU," said Ott, a junior business major from Tropic. She said she's learned a lot about planning activities by being an activities committee volunteer, an SUUSA senator, and a member of SIFE. "My freshman year, I didn't know how to get involved. I went to activities, and participated, but I wasn't organizing or planning them," Ott said. " My sophomore year, I got involved in committees, and in planing activities, which I really liked." Ott, who is running with the Legacy Party, said she wants to create a "quality circle" where a group of some 15 students representing all the different areas on campus have meetings to discuss not only potential activities but past activities and what made those success£ ul or otherwise. The goal of the quality circle, she said, would be to create activities that have a larger appeal to students, and increase attendance to school activities. "f can't, as one person, plan activities that will appeal to everybody," Ott said. "The quality circle will be able to create a wide range of diverse activities." Ott also said she would like to institute a program for increasing involvement that specifically targets freshman, who, she said, often seem to get a quick start in the social aspects of collegiate life. The program would help freshmen learn how to get involved with helping to organized and set up activities to benefit all students at SUU. Part of Ott's goals in her wish to create more diverse activities is the creation of focus weeks for "charities," such as daycare. "Rather than have !these organizations] come in and get the senate to allocate money, all the proceeds from a certain week's activities could go towards that program," Ott said. She also said students would be able to show their support coward a certain charity by simply attending a dance. Ott said she would like LO sec a tbe communication link established between athletics and s mdent government at SUU, by creating a position of athletic liaison . "I think it will help op en the lines of communication and it will help us to know what we need to do as student government to help support athletics," said Ott. She said her involvement in SIFE has helped her in learning about communit y projects. " It's important to help the communi ty, because it's such a large supporter of the university," s he said. Ott said she likes to hear what people have to say about activities that she has helped plan. " I like to hear input and feedback, even if it's negative. If something sa id is negative, then it is something that needs to be looked at." Luth cites positivity "I feel I could bring a lot of positive energy to the office of activities vice president," said Spencer Luth, a junior zoology major from Garland, Texas. He said he has seen how essential it is to be positive in student activities as well as in all things in life. Luth, running with the Reach Party, said he also brings a lot of experience with him. Luth currently works in the office of student activities, and has been involved with planning activities for various organizations on campus. He was also the committee chair for Welcome Week this year. "It's going to be important to have experience in planning activities, because next year all of our activity dates will be changed due to the semester conversion," said Luth. He said his plans include resurrecting the "old school spirit," for athletic events, and instituting "SUU Thanksgiving" and "SUU Christmas" for students who can't go home during holiday breaks. "I had the opportunity last year to bring an exchange student home with me for Christmas, and it was a wonderful experience," said Luth. "It will be universally beneficial for anyone who participates. " He said he wants to help unify the ELSC students by having SUU holidays. The program will be done on a volunteer basis, wherein a famjly or student signs up to host a person who can't travel home during the long holidays. "I want everybody on campus to have someplace to go," Luth said. The athletic programs at SUU need a lot more publicity, according the Luth. He said he wants to see them become more visible to t he students, and increase attendance and school support of athletic activities for the benefit of all. "I'd like to sec bonfires and pep rallies again. These are things that help people be aware of what the athletic teams arc doing, and they can have a fun time at them too," Luth said. Luth said he would also like to increase the prominence of student government on c&mpus. "I think we can accomplish a lot by going out and being proactive," he said. There is a lot of hard work involved in the office of activities vice president, according ~o ~uth. Planning an activity is just the first c:tep. "I'm willing to take care of the l a.m. clean ups; staying until after the party's over is all part of the job," said Luth. Luth also said he wants to make sure students feel that they know what they are getting for their money. His plan for making sure students know what their activity fees go toward is to post all purchases over $500 in the SUUSA office, and allow anyone with questions or comments to come in and discuss their concerns about where activity fees go. " I want to be a good steward in how I deal with their money, because it is their money, and they deserve to know what it's going toward, " said Luth. |