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Show THE li i 1 AILY Utah chronicle 1 The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice since 1890 Tuesday, January 14, 2003 VOL. 112 NO. 86- - Focuses on Campaign Finance Reform Campus Panelists Predict McCain John " ( .-- Speaks at Town Hall Meeting I ". Effects of Reform On 2004 Elections o - iX J. AARON GOLDSMITH Chronicle Staff Writer ADAM BENSON Former presidential candidate and current U.S. Sen. John McCain, visited the U Monday to discuss his views on a variety of subjects including new campaign finance laws, corporate reform and the current crises in Iraq and North When the nation hits the polls in 2004 to elect its next president, the rules governing how those campaigns arc run may have a facelift. "Many people will feel like a new voter in 2004, especially after so many votes wcrcn.'t counted in 2002," said Nancy Tate, executive director of the National League of Women Voters. Tate was one of several panelists on hand at the Hinckley Institute of Politics on Monday morning to discuss the future of fund raising and campaign finance reform and how those issues effect voters. Panelists examined how national parties raise funds and how those funds arc regulated. "In 2000, 10 groups spent a total of $20 million. ..those groups had a Chronicle Staff Writer z., Korea. The senator's visit, which was labeled a town hall meeting, was sponsored by the Office of the President, the Hinckley Institute of Politics, the Associated Students of the University of Utah and the U's campaign and media studies program. After being greeted with a standing ovation from the crowd, McCain opened the meeting by displaying his comedic skills that he apparently picked up in his recent appearance on Saturday Night Live. He asked the audience for "a little sympathy" for the state of Arizona because of the number of presidential candidates, including himself, who have unsuccessfully run for the office. "Arizona may be the only state where mothers don't tell their children that they can grow up to be president," McCain said. After warming up the crowd, he addressed political issues facing the country. He started out with the issue of campaign finance reform. He cited his record of support for reform as an influential force in the passage of the 'IN. 'V ' YiV ' S-' S Sen. John McCain signs a copy of his book for Henry Plenk paign finance reform in the Union Ballroom Monday. Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. The new law, which is considered to be the most comprehensive campaign finance reform passed by Congress since the Federal Election Campaign Act in the 1970s, will regulate the sources and sizes of political contributions in elections. The law, which will likely face constitutional challenge in the U.S. Supreme Court, specifically focuses on "soft money" contributions. It states that federal candidates, officeholders and national parties are pro- see MCCAIN, page 4 I i after speaking on the war in Iraq and his ideas for cam- The Campaign Finance Reform Act The Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act, also known as the McCain-Feingol- d Act, was signed law on March 27, 2002. into Sens. John McCain, and drafted the Russell Feingold, law as an attempt to curb and monitor fund raising and the use of campaign contributions. The paramount issue of the McCain-Feingol- d Act is the elimination of soft money contributions to political parties and political action committees that enable big donors z., s., to circumvent federal limits on direct contributions to candidates. In addition, the McCain-Feingol- d Act strengthens federal laws prohibiting foreign nationals from making any contributions in federal, state and local elections. The act also requires interest groups to notify the Federal Election Commission when they have spent $10,000 or more in an independent expenditure, primarily television As a prelude to Sen. John visit to the U, McCain's, the panel explored the intricacies and impact of the McCain-Feingol- d Act, a piece of legislation designed to limit overall campaign and personal spending. see REFORM ACT, page 4 see ELECTIONS, page 4 Mew Class Focuses May Start Up in Fa O apan Theatre Civic Duty Cmirse SADAF BAGHBANI Chronicle Staff Writer When past presidential candidate Ralph Nader gave a speech at the U in October, he stressed the importance of understanding the roles of a citizen. To do something with that concept, he suggested holding a class where students learn civic awareness. The Associated Students of the University of Utah's Special Projects Board is in charge of setting up such a class. "We'd be stupid not to listen to a speaker's idea, especially if it's good," said Emily Justice, the Special Projects Board director. The citizen skills class would teach ways to change public policies and lobby state legislatures. "We've been working on the idea since October, especially after seeing all the student interest," said Megan Risbon, the Special Projects Board member in charge of planning the class. Justice also added that after Nader's speech, hundreds of students signed a sheet showing an interest in the class. "It's a matter of following through," Justice said. Originally, organizers wanted to make the class fulfill the American Institutions requirement. But, due to difficulty convincing administration, it will be a 3000 level special topics class. But, if students show enough interest, the class may fulfill the requirement in the future. "The professors will just teach whatever they want in civic skills," Risbon said. "It's not meant to be just an activist class." Justice hopes to have the class ready by Fall Semester 2003. "People don't realize that the government and politics affects everyone in campus," Risbon said. "Everyone from the fine arts to the sciences is controlled by the government, and it's up to students to learn about what they can do as citizens and what rights they have." sbaghbanichronicle.utah.edu ZHANG Chronicle Staff Writer CHI-C- Scott Bennion's first theater class is also a new course being offered this semester by the undergraduate studies department focusing on Eastern theatre. "I took the class because I'm really interested in learning about other cultures. The curriculum and teachers have just been phenomenal since it began," said Bennion, a Russian and political science major. Glen Brown, Jerry Gardner and Richard Sacharinc are all theatre professors who were awarded a U professorship to teach the new course focusing on ancient Japanese theatre traditions. Sacharine, who will talk mostly about the structure and time period of the different forms in Japanese theatre, said the class was created to draw the interest of mainly students. "We prefer students who take this class to not have had experience with theatre, although theatre disproportionate influence in the results of those elections, and we still have no idea where that money came from," according to Paul Hcrrnson, director of the Center for American Politics and Citizenship at the University of Maryland. z., F" ""' -- "" ' . T , , v ' still are welcome," majors Sacharine said. "Although we do a lot of movement in this class, the class is all about the state of mind of a person when they are in motion." Brown and Gardner, who will teach mostly the movement aspects of the class, such as puppetry, sword work, fan work, footwork and martial arts, own the only Butoh theatre company in the Intermountain West, located in Salt Lake City. Gardner, who is a Buddhist priest, began to learn the ways of Japanese theatre under the guidance of a master in Japan. "The Japanese theatre form takes philosophies from Zen and Buddhism and applies it to the movement. It's a very meditative process for the performer and for the audience as well," Gardner said. "Students can learn from the Asian culture, from their standards of less is more, how a person fits into the context of a whole." Some students say the class has helped them gain a better perspec- - Sally Neilson and other students practice movements of ancient Japanese theatre on Monday. tivc on life in general. "I have become more focused on others' needs and more in touch with myself and my surroundings," Bennion said. "Although we've only had a few days of class, I've already begun to focus on the symbolic see THEATRE, page 4 THE DAILY UTAH CHRONICLE IS ON THE WORLD WIDE WEB AT www.DailyUtahChronicle.com |
