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Show THE FORUM - AUGUST 3 20, 2011 President ASWC tables transparency resolution Continued from Page 2 quired laptop and a parking permit fee that will be enforced for the first time this year. To give some context, Westminsters tuition has increased 83.9 over the past 10 years. Westminster College, to its credit, remains one of the most affordable options for a liberal arts education in the United States. With its proximity to the ski slopes and a beautiful Sugar House location, its no wonder that enrollment has continued to expand. Our school has boasted accurately that it provides its students with exceptional value for their educational dollar. Part of the value at Westminster is the diversity in the stu- dent body and faculty. This unique aspect of our community is being threatened by the continued rise of cost of attendance. Its not just tuition and fees that are the major source of student financial hardship, but also the reduction in publicly funded aid. One of the major casualties of the debt deal reached in Washington earlier this month was the student loan program for graduate students. Students are being squeezed on one side by increases in tuition and on the other side by decreases in aid. I fear that we, as an institution, may have reached the edge of what most families would consider affordable. Westminster College is the sum of all students that have received and will receive a degree. The true value and strength of the institution is not only the instruction but also the community to which everyone belongs. It is in our interest as individuals and the interest of the college to provide an affordable education to those individuals that have demonstrated the desire and ability to succeed, regardless of their background. In that spirit, I call on the senior administrative team and the board of trustees to show maximum restraint in setting the tuition rate for the 2012-201- 3 academic year. Any increase should be matched with a proportional and apneed-basstudent propriate increase of financial aid. The board should consider Westminsters diverse community of paramount importance to the college. I would encourage you to contact your ASWC senator and ask him or her to support tfie resolution on tuition that mil be addressed at the senate meeting on Aug. 29 at 8:30 p.m. in Malouf 201. You can find your senators contact information at myaswc.com and, as always, public comment is welcome at any senate session. ed I'VE GOT SOMETHING to say m write a letter to the editor forumeditorwestminstercollege.edu Students encouraged to demand transparent government Nick Kuzmack Contributing Writer I wish to raise awareness with the student population regarding a transparency act that was brought before the Associated Students of Westminster College senate on the same evening as the budget proposal. The resolution named A Resolution Concerning Relations between the ASWC Student Government and its Constituency did not pass into law. Though not killed, the resolution was tabled to allow more time for the budget proposal to be examined. The budget, which is comprised of over $300,000 of student money, was passed. It is alarming though that the priority of the senate was to pass a budget of such a large sum of money into law and not a transparency act that would allow the student body to be made aware of the fact. Though to be fair, ASWC does have a website on which the budget may be viewed. However, how many will actually go out of their way to seek the information on a website? As a government we cannot be content to think that a website is enough to inform the student body on our dealings. It is our job to engage proactively with those we represent. The job of a senator is to ensure that our constituencys interests are represented on the senate floor. For example, I along with four others represent the students in the social sciences; this includes majors from political studies to psychology. Whatever it may concern, be it speakers or gigs, it is the priority of the senate to get input from students go that their concerns and wellbeing are addressed. But how will students know that the senate is indeed working on their behalf? Will the website insure that they are informed of our actions? I reckon, probably not, and because of this unawareness the ASWC senate is able to spend money allocated from the students at our discretion, not theirs. I do article? A Resolution Concerning Relations between the ASWC Student Government and its Constituency if passed in the senate, would provide greater engagement and transparency from ASWC. The benefit of this resolution would be that it requires ASWC to come down to the student bodys level. The resolution would require ASWC to publish our minutes, post them on our door, and even send these minutes to the student body via email. Further actions dictated from the resolution would require senators to go out and meet their constituents and even meet with heads of departments. This would provide better communication between the student body and sennot think that my fellow ASWC repreate, thus allowing senators to have a betsentatives have ill intentions toward the ter idea of the students needs. By doing student body, but the way things stand, this, ASWC will be extending a hand we are not fully accountable for our acto offer a better government to the students because they deserve as much. tions, and may have conflicting priorities other than the wellbeing of those we I ask readers of this article to seek out represent. The action of putting aside a your senators and, if necessary, pressure resolution that would have brought them to provide a fully accountable stutransparent government is proof of this. dent government by passing this legislaSo, what of the resolution that is tion for your benefit. constantly mentioned throughout this Fans upset about biracial Spiderman An avid comic book reader evaluates the situation Laura Ward Assistant Editor This summer was pretty active for comic book fans. Movies like The Green Lantern and Captain America: The First Avenger were all over the media. Plus, the official trailers for next summers superhero explosions were released. Let the waiting begin for The Dark Knight Rises, Tie Avengers and The Amazing Spiderman. However, for once an actual comic has been hitting the news. Spiderman is dead, or Peter Parker is dead in Marvels Ultimate Spiderman series. However, the people of New York City have nothing to fear; Miles Morales is taking his place. The teen is stepping rs shoes. into the Ultimate The thing I find most interesting isnt the character swap; its everyones reaction to it. The first medium to break the story was USA Today. The online comments go for pages, and most are pretty brutal. One online commenter writes, Enough of this politically correct, racist nonsense. Another simply states, Multicultural lameness. Time Magazine held a poll asking readers what they thought about the change. Rene Centeno wrote to the magazine, I believe the race issue is sooo long overdue, its not even really an issue anymore. web-slinge- I dont know what makes me angrier: the blatant refusal to accept something new or the extreme lack of comic knowledge. The Ultimate Comics line is an offshoot of Marvel Comics. It started in 2000 as a way to recreate classic stories from the beginning and hopefully gain new readers in the process. It worked, or at least, it worked on me. I joined the Ultimate universe a little late, but quickly caught up on the few issues of Ultimate that Id missed. It was easier than even thinking about tackling the decades worth of storytelling involved in the regular Marvel universe. The Ultimate comics acted as a weaning tool that slowly grafted me onto regular and eventually, all comics. The point is, Ultimate Comics doesnt follow the regular stories. Peter Parker may be dead there, but hes still swinging in any other comic a reader would happen to pick up. I dont understand all the fuss. The Ultimate universe can do whatever it wants, and the rest of Marvel will survive perfectly fine. The Ultimate universe also includes a black Nick Fury, and nobody has written news articles or nasty comments about that. Of course, that might have to do with Samuel L. Jackson getting the movie role. A friend of mine mentioned that the X-M- en X-M- en, whole reason people connect with Spiderman is that hes a regular guy trying to do homework and date people and have friends and save lives (insert breath here) all at the same time. Its a comic about not having enough time for anything, which is something incredibly relatable. This idea is universal, so why not broaden it a bit more? My biggest worry is that Marvel wont give a realistic portrayal of our new hero. I worry that hell just end up a tool without much development. However, I have to remember that writer Brian Michael Bendis is penning the series, as he has since its launch in 2000. Bendis created this exciting new character, and I think he can pull-i- t off. Im excited about Miles Morales. Hes a completely new character, and the possibilities seem endless. Peter Parker is wonderful, but hes been around since 1962. Im ready for some exciting new stories in a universe Ive grown to love. No matter what the outcome, this should be interesting. A first look at the new Spiderman is available now. The next Ultimate Spi- derman issue starring Miles Morales is on sale this September. I definitely recommend Black Cat Comics on 2261 Highland Drive if youre looking to pick up an issue. |