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Show OPINIONS www.uvureview.corn MARCH 7, 2011 VOL L ISSUE 26 Concerning Elections A letter from 2011-2012 President of Student Council By Christopher Loumeau President Elect of Student Council, VP of Academics In writing, I hope to clear up some misconceptions. I feel that UVUSA has been somewhat misrepresented in the UVU Review. Two weeks ago, it was implied that the elections committee was inherently nepotistic because there are members of UVUSA on the committee. Those who have been through the election process know this could not be further from the truth. Extremely rigid rules were enforced this year, and I feel as though the rules are stricter with teams comprised of current UVUSA members than teams without. A lot of questions have been asked by members of the UVU Review, students, and teachers about how the election process may be flawed because in recent years it seems that only a team comprised of incumbents wins. Allow me to ask a question in response. How is this different from any other election in our country? Think about it for a moment. If I were to try to run for Congress against Jason Chaffetz, how do you suppose I would fare? Most likely, I would be easily defeated. You could argue that it is not fair or that we have a corrupt system, but I would counter that if anyone wants to get involved in politics on any level, they need to start from the bottom and work up. Wouldn't we prefer leaders who have worked their way up the ladder to ensure they have the necessary experience? Similarly, most who have applied for the Editorin-Chief of the UVU Review for the upcoming year have significant experience writing or editing for the paper. Isn't this ideal? Unfortunately, team Innovate was the only team that ran this year for the student body elections. This has not happened in over 20 years. All four candidates running wish we had faced an opposing team. Healthy competition can bring out the best in people and generally, the more choices students have in an election, the better. Next year I plan on being more proactive in advertising how to run for office so that more people apply. However, I do not feel that this should take away from the months of hard work and planning our team put into this election and the coming year. The fact that only 6 percent of the students voted in this year's election is discouraging. Last year, with two teams running, we had roughly a 10 percent voting turnout. This begs the question, why are students so apathetic? I feel there are too many variables that come into play to try to pinpoint only a few specific causes. It should be understood that this behavior is not necessarily unusual. Vice President of Administration Val Peterson was recently elected into Utah's House District 59 with a voting turnout almost as paltry as a typical UVU student body election. I wish more students cared enough to participate. I hope students will stop me in the halls and ask me tough questions because they care about our school. I hope next year we have 50 percent or more of the students voting for the student body elections. That would be a tremendous achievement for our school. Like most everything in life, the student body elections at UVU are what you make them. I hope we can look back on this year's Did you vote in this year's student government elections? What did you think about it? "No. I saw signs and stuff, but I don't know too many people running." Bridgette Womack Freshman, Behavioral Science No. I haven't followed it at all. I've just seen the posters and that's about it. Jeremy Richmond Junior, Economics No. I'm not even going to lie; I don't know any- thing about it. Lynsey Buell All four candidates running wish we had faced an opposing team. Healthy competition can bring out the best in people and generally, the more choices students have in an election, the better. Sophomore, Dance Studies Yes. There wasn't anyone else running... There wasn't too much advertising. Jake Jorgensen Freshman, undecided Courtesy of Christopher Loumeau Currently the VP of Academics, Christopher Loumeau will be the President of Student Council next year. To read more, go to "Election Results" terest in our school and everything that happens on our campus. UVU is an amazing institution and deserves that respect. election and learn from what did and did not work. Most impor- tantly, I hope we, as students, can develop increased passion and in- on Al Testing Services: testing students patience By Brianna Bailey Opinions Writer "We administer 250,000 tests a year. Weber gives about 200,000 and the others are all far left than a hundred thousand. For a state school, we give the most tests." - Colleen Sorensen, Director of Testing Services Celeste Tholen Rosenlof/UVU Review Currently located inside the Student Service Center, Testing Services needs to be updated to accommodate the growing student population. Leiter to the Editor The Testing Services center has become one of the least popular places to be on campus. Most students dread taking tests there because of the stressful environment it creates. The center was created with a great concept in mind and has positive qualities. These include unlimited or extended time on tests and giving students flexibility to choose when to take them. "We adopted a classroom testing center because there are great advantages for students having more time and [teachers having] more time in class to teach," said Colleen Sorenson, Director of Testing Services. Although these benefits are helpful for students, there seem to be more negatives that bring discomfort. Anyone who has ever used the center may be perplexed by its small size, especially as it is supposed to accommodate our increasing student population. "One of the things we're working towards is offering more sites and availability to students," Sorenson said. "During heavy usage As the legislative session nears its closure in the next couple of days, I would like to inform you of what Utah Valley University is facing in terms of receiving state funding. As many students know, due to the current "structural imbalance" of $313 million dollars, the Utah Legislature was recently looking at passing a budget in which all institutions of higher education would receive a 7 percent cut from last year's budget. Although there is much speculation that cuts will not be as deep as initially proposed, we are still likely to face a substantial loss of funding. This budget cut could not have come at a worse time. UVU currently receives the least amount of its budget from tax dollars in the Utah System of Higher Education. With state support sitting at 42 percent, all other institutions are enjoying a subsidy rate at much higher percentages. In addition, UVU has grown by 9,365 students in the last four years. This represents a 40 percent increase. We are essentially running on the bare minimum needed to run an institution of our caliber; further cuts would most likely affect the quality of our education and the resources available to us. periods, such as weekends, stu- day proctored, they are charged a dents will have more options to go $3 fee, which is inconvenient for to a testing center in a couple of full-time students with part-time different locations." jobs. This fee goes toward paying The small center does not get for testing center staff salaries and much better when a student takes wages. their first step inside. After the Aside from the discomfort of student waits their turn in line and the center, tests administered there is able to take their test, the class- have one large academic disadvanrooms available for test taking are tage: students are not provided the small, crammed and muggy. In opportunity to ask for clarification spite of these circumstances, the on a question during their test, as center still runs thousands of tests they would be able to if it was in per year. class with the professor present. "We administer 250,000 tests This could cause lower than nora year," Sorenson said. "Weber mal test scores compared with ingives about 200,000 and the others class tests and can become quite are all far less than a hundred thou- frustrating to students. sand. For a state school, we give The testing center might not be the most tests." ideal for most students but there Natural distractions in the test- are advantages. ing rooms are not the only ones Additionally, the classroom students face while attempting to testing center staff is well aware concentrate. Employees constantly of the discomforts students often walk down the rows eyeing stu- feel. Because of this, they are dodents as they monitor cheating. ing their best to provide the best in This constant movement increases academic testing all around camthe difficulty to focus. pus. These good qualities should Not only is it stressful to take be recognized, but some things in tests in the center, there is also a the center must change to accomprice to pay for procrastination or modate changing circumstances in conflicts in scheduling. If a stu- the school as a whole. dents schedule does not permit them to take a test until the last For students, however, the impact that a budget cut could have will be on our wallets. As communicated in the recent tuition proposal, we could be seeing tuition increases from four to nine percent ($73-$165 per semester). In an effort to achieve better funding for UVU, I encourage students to write or email their representatives. How can we expect our legislators to represent us when they don't hear from us? We can make a difference if we let our voices be heard. I urge each and every student to participate in this movement. Nefi Acosta, UVUSA Chief Justice For more information, go to the Facebook page titled "Less Budget Cuts and More Funding For UVU! Let Your Voice Be Heard", or contact Nefi at neeftime@gmail.com |