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Show editoria Editorials editor: Patrick Parkinson Phone: 626-6358 Get your own PR agent I am a journalist. '' I love my job. The pay is ugly; many of the people I report on don't trust or like me, and the hours are unbearable. Yet still, I love my job and what I do. As campus affairs editor, I am the fourth entity of the government. Sitting in the senate meetings, although I dpnjt get a vote; I am the 1 8th senator. What I see in senate gets published in the newspaper, and the people who the senate works for read it. Arugably, I have the loudest voice. Ideally, one of two things should happen when students read about senate in the paper. The constituency cither becomes enraged and alerts their senator that they pulled another bone-headed move and demand a half-assed reason why they did it, or the students send positive feedback to The Signpost or to their senator. Unfortunately, the student body rarely contacts their senators before a vote is made, and neither do the senators contact their constituencies. Area councils were created so students would have more accessibility to their senator, and vice versa. But it has come to my attention that area councils are not effective: they are not well attended, and the views expressed by students arc not taken into consideration. This leaves the students with one source of knowledge: me. Personally, 1 have no problem with that. I report objectively, and the students can see what senate is doing at any given time with no extended effort. 1 1 Si'T I 'V Julianne Hancock Campus Affairs Edifor However, I do not believe this works in the opposite way. I work for the students, to inform them of what is going on, but in no way is The Signpost a forum for the senators to tell the students what they want to do or are planning to do, nor is it a place for senators to call for response from students. That is their job. They are supposed to find out what their constituencies want by other means than discussing it with a handful of friends. Ultimately, I am writing this column to let the students and their representatives know that I am not a PR agent, and The Signpost is not a PR agency. Period. I don't care if the senators don't like what is put into the paper. The stand that is taken in "Viewpoints" and opinion columns are written after much discussion of The Signpost staffers. The objective articles that are published report on what the students need to know about what their senators are doing. Recently, after a front-page article was printed on Sept. 1 6 regarding the failure of the two-third amendment, I ran into a certain non-traditional students senator, who made it obvious that she didn't like what I wrote about her. I have a message for all senators who don't like what they read in The Signpost. What you read about yourself is purely what happened. If you do something questionable, or say something stupid, I will print it. It is my obligation, as a journalist, to report on what happened in the meeting to let students,know what they are getting. Granted, the senator had come to our offices attempting to clear up the reason why she lead a force against the bill. Consequently, the article had already been written, and the information she gave me still did not clarify why she is so afraid of another certain black students senator and his "hidden agenda." It seemed to me that she was just trying to redeem herself after she realized what she may have done. I chose not to print the information; it did not change any of the facts in my article. I am a journalist. I am not a personal assistant, nor am I a PR agent. If you don't like what is being said in the paper about you, write a letter to the editor. Don't complain to me though; you said it; you did it; you are responsible. Better yet: don't do anything that is irresponsible from the get-go. Students, find out who your senator is, contact them, and tell them what you want. If they don't listen, you'll find out in The Signpost. The more steam you put on them, the better the chance they will listen to their constituencies, and for once, do the job they were elected to do. Today in history 1784 America's first daily paper, "The Pennsylvania Packet end Daily Advertiser" was published in Philadelphia. 1981 Sandra Day O'Connor became the first woman appointed to the United States Supreme Court. 1989 Hurricane Hugo causes $8 billion in damage in Charleston, S.C. Experiment with practicality Co-curricular and extracurricular activities are necessary if a student desires a strong chance to attend graduate school, or land a stimulating job after graduation. Practicality is many of these programs' goal. They strive to provide students a workshop where they must use the knowledge gained in the classroom to produce real-world results. Though crucial to intellectual development, the speculative and progressive nature of academia requires more than practicality. We'll have plenty of time after college to conform to policy and perpetuate status quos. Few will resist the temptations offered by beasts like corporate America, and even less will weather society's widespread, facetious need to conform. Simply, the practical will always be available. Time in school should be spent experimenting in our fields. What better way to begin critically thinking about an issue, than to explore it from as creative an angle as possible? Student government at Weber State University is a replica of the United States government A constitution has been framed, and there are bylaws which govern how each branch will operate. For years, the student body has recognized the Associated Students of WSU as its governing body. Unfortunately, maybe because many of ASWSU's decisions have seemed disconnected ftm3m from the students, the spirit of political experimentation here has fallen dormant. This is evident in the tiny amount of voters who show up for ASWSU's annual elections. Perhaps ASWSU is a perfect place to begin experimenting. Section A in Title VII of ASWSU's bylaws is called initiative legislation. Here is where you come in. For the sake of argument, you are a person who supports the abolishment of student senate. You were told by somebody in your math class that a forum could be started on WSU's homepage, a legislative forum, where every interested student could vote and propose legislation. Those not interested in getting involved in the forum, may even be enticed to do so by a lottery created by the current senators' tuition waivers and stipends. Senate abolishment is just an example. Initiative legislation could be proposed for anything. Maybe you think the $22,000 in student fees ASWSU spends each year on the Crystal Crest Awards can be better spent. Or the student fee recommendation process seems biased, and you see a better way. By proposing initiative legislation, a student can put legislation on April's election ballot. It will not be senators or any other elected officials voting on your legislation. It will be students. Your legislation must be presented to the ASWSU Elections Committee Chair accompanied by a petition signed by three percent of the student body and a cost analysis. If at least 1 3 percent of the student body votes on your legislation and three-fourths are in favor, the bill or resolution will be enacted. By Patrick Parkinson editorials editor-The Signpost r HI. win . .. a I iJ Recipient of the UFA General Excellence award Editor in chief Taylor S. Fielding 6267121 Managing editor Tyler A. Holt 6267614 News editor Kari Lynn Harland 626-7655 Campus affairs editor Julianne Hancock 6267659 Lifestyles editor Angela Wadman 6267621 A&E editor Debra Jandreau 6267624 Sports editor Joey Haws 6267983 Copy editor Angie Welling 6267507 Editorials editor Patrick Parkinson 6266358 Graphics editor Anne Gukcisen 6266358 Photo editor Graham Sykes 6267661 Advertising mngr. Rebekah Clements 6266359 Secretary Georgia Edwards 6267974 Adviser Dr. Sheree Josephson 6266164 Publisher Dr. Kalhy Edwards 6266559 Signpost fax 6267401 The Signpost is publislied Monday. Wednesday and Friday during full and spring semesters. Subscription is 59 a quaner. The Signpost is a student publication, written, edited and drafted by Weber Stale University students. Student fees fund the printing of this publication. Opinions or positions voiced are not necessarily endorsed by the university. The Signpost welcomes letters to the editor. Letters mast include name, address, telephone number, relationship to staff and the writer's signature. The Sigrqiost reserves the right loedil for reasonsof space and libel and also reserv es the right to re fuse to print any letter. Letters should not exceed 350 words. Bring letters to the editorial office in L'B 267.ormail to: The Signxnt. Weber Stale University. Ogden. Utah 84408-2 1 1 0. Alia Taylor S. Fielding. |