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Debates display campaign goals

Posted by :jprokop On : March 5, 2011
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ASLC presidential candidate junior Katie Patterson (center) responds to a question at the first election debate Feb. 28. Her opponent, junior Rachel Coffey, and vice presidential candidate Bradley Keliinoi listen to her reply. Photo by Christine Fujiki, for the Review

The three Associated Students of Linfield College presidential and vice presidential candidates relayed their campaign goals during an elections debate on Feb. 28 in the Fred Meyer Lounge. The hour-long debate was open to all, but only a few students outside of Senate attended the event.

A panel of judges comprising ASLC President senior Colin Jones, Secretary senior Sophie Larson and Dan Fergueson, director of college activities, asked questions pertaining to the candidates’ goals and presented hypothetical situations for the candidates to analyze. The judges also read written questions from the audience. The candidates had one minute to formulate their answers.

After a brief introduction by each candidate, presidential candidate junior Katie Patterson began the debate by stating her goals for the year if elected to office.

She said that she wants to work toward getting a student center, add more intramural sports and possibly establish a Cabinet radio show on Linfield’s student radio station, KSLC 90.3 FM, so that officers are more widely known and recognized.

Vice presidential candidate Bradley Keliinoi said that he wants to increase Senate representation and communication. One way he said he would do this is by sending out a single constituency report to the entire campus.

“Even though I am running unopposed, I want students to know that they still have a choice,” Keliinoi said. “But I would have loved to run against someone else, and I am just as motivated and dedicated.”

Presidential candidate junior Rachel Coffey said that she wants to improve communication between faculty, students and administration. She also said that a monthly report to students from Senate would help set the Linfield community’s tone.

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Coffey said that she felt her goals are the most important because they are broad and encompass many of Patterson’s goals. She said she wants to keep everyone in the loop.

“I think I have shown students that I want to represent them and get things done for them,” Coffey said. “All of the candidates are talented, but I think I can do better [than Patterson] because I am well-rounded and have the capability to give a good reflection of the student body.”

Patterson responded by saying that a good president requires good communication skills like herself. And she said that she is already involved in a committee that is working toward a student center. Other goals are to include Cabinet notes in The Linfield Review and work to improve Homecoming.

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Next, the candidates were asked about their positions on Greek Life and campus relations.

Keliinoi said that he plans to reach groups that are not always represented through Senate, such as Greek Life.

Patterson, who had a role in a recent ASLC bylaws proposal, said that if passed, the new proposal will formally include Greek Life in Senate. She said that she wants everyone to have the opportunity to be heard.

Coffey said that as a member of Greek Life, she wants to help merge the two bodies so they can work together to help build a feeling of community.

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Another question that the candidates answered was about their positions on the new ASLC bylaws proposal.

Patterson said that she supports part of the proposal. She said that she agrees with the reorganization of Senate but does not agree with the Cabinet proposal and urged students not to vote for it.

Keliinoi said he thought the proposals were too rushed and that more time is necessary to reach a decision. Coffey said that she supports the restructuring of Senate and that the Cabinet restructure is a good idea in theory. But it needs to be worked on more, she said.

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Other questions asked of the candidates included theoretical situations with faculty and students, including factors that come into play with committee and Senate chairs, what they would have done differently from the current president and vice president and what they view as the best and worst parts of the positions.

“I think it [the debate] went really well — smoother than I expected,” Patterson said. “No one froze up, and everyone had solid answers and was obviously prepared.”

The next ASLC election debate, or “Fireside Chats,” will take place March 7 after the Senate meeting. The general election will take place online March 8.

For the full list of campaigning events, visit www.linfield.edu/aslc/elections.html.

Jessica Prokop, news editor linfieldreview@gmail.com

President aims to revamp Senate, Cabinet

Posted by :jprokop On : February 26, 2011
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Associated Students of Linfield College President senior Colin Jones proposed major ASLC bylaw changes at the Feb. 21 Senate meeting.

The changes would significantly reorganize the Senate and Cabinet. If approved by the Senate, the bylaw changes will be voted on by the student body on the March 8 ASLC election ballot.

Jones said he has noticed flaws in ASLC structure, in the Senate in particular, but it’s taken four years of involvement in ASLC to identify what he thinks are feasible solutions.

“This [proposal] is based on my personal experience and the positions I’ve held with ASLC and my discussion with Cabinet members,” he said. “What I’ve proposed isn’t necessarily even the best option, and I hope that senators will think about it and provide feedback on how to improve it.”

Here’s a look at the main changes presented in Jones’ proposal:

Senate reorganization:

The most significant reorganization suggested under Jones’ plan regarding Senate is a cut in the group’s size. Jones said Senate comprises up to 90 senators (although not exactly 90 because of unfilled seats). His proposal would reduce the maximum to about 26 senators.

“It makes each senator role a little bit more significant,” Jones said.

The reduction would also enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of Senate because fewer members leads to increased discussion, he said. Jones likened the change to a class of 100 students versus a class of 25 students; the latter group would have more meaningful conversations.

ASLC bylaws currently require every ASLC-charted club to have a senator; clubs without senators are subject to the dechartering process. Jones’ proposal would change this, too.

Instead, clubs would be grouped together, and each cluster would be responsible for choosing a senator to represent the group. Jones suggested clubs be grouped by type. For instance, one group might be activist and political clubs, such as Greenfield, Fusion and Model United Nations; another might be arts and culture, such as Hawaiian Club and Linfield Literary Arts Club (LiLAC); and another might be club sports, such as tennis and rugby.

Senators raised concerns at the Feb. 21 meeting about the size difference between these groups. One senator may represent a group of 50 students while another only represents 20. Jones said this was just a proposal, and clubs could be grouped by size, too. He said senators should consider pitfalls such as this and fix them before voting to pass the proposal.

The proposal also affects Residence Life representation in Senate. Right now, residence halls are allocated to senators by size, a system similar to the U.S. House of Representatives, and suburb residents and off-campus students can fill at-large senator positions.

But large residence halls, which can have two or three senators, are sending only one. Jones proposed that each residence hall and each suburb have one senator.

“The reality is if you’re an upper classman, you’re less likely to have Senate representation,” Jones said, explaining his reasoning for including formal representation of suburb residents.

Off-campus students can still fill at-large Senate seats, which Jones proposes are reduced from five to four. These seats will be available to individuals who represent non-ASLC organizations.

Greek organizations will also receive Senate seats under the proposal. Currently, they are allowed to fill at-large seats, but not all fraternities and sororities have chosen to do so. Jones proposed that the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council should each get one seat.

However, ASLC cannot force Greek organizations or Residence Life to have senators, so the seats are offered in an effort to make Senate representative of the whole campus and not just club members, Jones said.

And keeping the Senate representative is key to discussions about the proposal.

“I think the big question is how do you make it a more manageable, interactive, engaged body and still represent the general population,” Director of College Activities Dan Fergueson said.

Jones said a significant drawback of the proposal is that it reduces the number of leadership roles offered on campus. Fergueson agrees but said that a smaller Senate could mean increased effectiveness if it can remain representative.

“I think it really enriches the experience of the individual senators and in some way enforces them to be engaged,” he said.

Cabinet proposal:

“I was less certain that Cabinet needed to be changed, while with Senate, it was very clear to me that it was dysfunctional in some ways,” Jones said. “But at the same time I thought there were ways [Cabinet] could possibly run better and be more in tune with student needs and interests.”

To increase Cabinet effectiveness, Jones’ proposal reallocates duties and reduces the number of members from nine to eight.

In the proposal, Jones eliminated the secretary position, combined club director and student center director, renamed most of the rest and added a position: vice president of community & sustainability affairs.

The secretary’s task of taking Senate meeting minutes would fall to an ASLC office helper, Jones said. Clubs, Activities Council, the CIC and the Game Room fall under the command of the vice president of student interests. The Bike Co-Op and Sustainability Council move to the community affairs position’s responsibility.

“That position is an effort to respond to rapidly growing student interest in community service, civic engagement, environmental sustainability,” Jones said.

The vice president of community & sustainability affairs would also be in charge of planning community service outings for the ASLC Cabinet.

Other proposed changes to Cabinet roles include moving elections management from the responsibility of the secretary to the vice president, and making the vice president’s representation on the board of trustees a duty of the president.

Again, the reduction in leadership roles on campus is a drawback, but Fergueson said he’s also concerned about having eight Cabinet members.

“I personally don’t like groups in an even number,” he said.

His unease comes from the fact that even-numbered groups can vote in a tie; an odd number allows for more efficient decision making.

Concerns and hopes:

Jones and Fergueson both expressed hope that senators will seriously consider this proposal and talk about it with their constituents.

“The fear is that there won’t be any serious dialogue about it in the Senate, and it will get rubber stamped and people will just vote yes when it’s in front of them,” Fergueson said about the proposal.

Senators will discuss the proposal in depth at their Feb. 28 meeting, during which they can propose changes to the original draft before voting to pass the proposal. Jones said he encourages senators to modify his original proposal.

“I feel that we will have a thorough discussion on Monday about these proposals before any decisions are made,” junior Katie Patterson, ASLC vice president and 2011 ASLC presidential candidate, said in an e-mail. “It is important for students to understand exactly what each proposal means and how it will affect the way that ASLC is run.”

If senators approve the proposal, then it will appear on the March 8 ASLC elections ballot for approval of the student body. If they don’t approve it, then the proposal will die.

But if discussion runs too long, senators can also choose to defer the vote until the March 7 meeting, but that will leave only a single day for the student body to review the proposal before it goes to ballot the next day.

Students can read Jones’ proposal at http://www.linfield.edu/aslc/elections.html.

Kelley Hungerford/Editor-in-chief
Kelley Hungerford can be reached at linfieldrevieweditor@gmail.com.

Meet the ASLC candidates

Posted by :jprokop On : February 26, 2011
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Katie Patterson

Running for: President
Age: 20
Year: Junior
Major: Communication arts
Hometown: Sherwood, Ore.

Extracurriculars: ASLC Vice President; during her freshman year, she was a member of the women’s tennis team, and during her sophomore year she served as a resident advisor.

Interests: Jogging, listening to the Top 40 countdown on the radio and watching reality television.

Favorites: Class: Public Speaking; TV show: “Glee”; musician: John Mayer.

Rachel Coffey

Running for: President
Age: 20
Year: Junior
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Salt Lake City, Utah

Extracurriculars: Special Events Chair for the Linfield Activities Board, member of Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, 2010 Philanthropy Chair for Zeta Tau Alpha Sorority, Activities Council Member and an active participant in community service.

Interests: Baking and cooking, watching romantic comedies and being around children. “I am a five-year old at heart,” she said.

Favorites: Movie: “Zoolander;” Classes: Human Sexuality, Moral Problems and Biopsychology.
“I am also a closet comic book geek; I grew up with two older brothers,” Coffey said. “My favorites are Spiderman, Batman and X-Men.”

Bradley Keliinoi

Running for: Vice President
Age: 20
Year: Junior
Major: Political science
Hometown: Kaneohe, Hawaii

Extracurriculars: ASLC Senate; Service, Patriotism, Understanding, Responsibility, Sacrifice (SPURS) and Alpha Lambda Delta honor societies. He has served on the Curriculum and Academic Integrity committees, has been a Linfield mentor, co-chair for the 2010 Lu’au and a student orientation leader.

Interests: Politics, reading the news, and checking up on CNN, the Whitehouse website and local news stations in his hometown.

Favorites: Classes: Comparative Politics and Energy and the Environment. In his spare time, Keliinoi likes to shop, try new local restaurants and have deep conversations with friends.

Check out more 2011 ASLC election coverage here.

VP hopeful drops from ASLC race after one day

Posted by :jprokop On : February 26, 2011
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Presidential and vice presidential candidates for the 2011-12 Associated Students of Linfield College were announced Feb. 21, but one candidate has already withdrawn from the race. Vice presidential candidate junior Sean Boedeker decided to withdraw from the election because of an extensive academic course load.

Boedeker recently decided to change to an independent major, which requires much ardor to organize.

“I underestimated my class load, and I didn’t want to take on more than I could handle,” Boedeker said. “I know Bradley [Keliinoi] will do a good job.”

The three remaining candidates are vice presidential candidate junior Bradley Keliinoi and presidential candidates juniors Rachel Coffey and Katie Patterson.

Each candidate has established platform goals for his or her position.

• Candidate Coffey wants to increase communication between administration, students and faculty to aid in situations similar to the diploma debate. She also wants to improve ASLC publicity. One way Coffey plans to do this is by having a Cabinet report sent out once a month, possibly in the Wildcat Weekly e-mail. She also wants to revisit the idea of revamping the Fred Meyer Lounge, an idea that was proposed a few years ago.

“I feel like I’m a pretty well-rounded student and that I’m not pegged in a certain area around campus,” Coffey said. “I’m a team player and an approachable person, and students should be able to come to me with any concerns.”

• Presidential candidate Patterson, currently vice president of ASLC, plans to advocate for students and non-student groups by being involved on various committees, such as the budget committee. She wants to focus on areas such as spending student body fees more effectively, representing the student voice and improving publicity tactics.

“I considered not running, but this is such an interest of mine, and it feels like my responsibility to help try to better the student interest, which I enjoy doing,” she said.

Patterson became involved with ASLC after checking out its website; it sparked her interest to run for vice president in 2010.

“Thankfully, it worked out for me,” she said. “I feel like there should be an extra element of stress, but there’s not because I know what to expect.”

• Vice presidential candidate Keliinoi said he wants the opportunity to be the person who implements the changes that students suggest.

“I have filled various leadership roles on campus, and I feel I have demonstrated my ability to help students,” he said.

Keliinoi said he would try to improve Senate representation since some constituent students are not equally represented. He also wants to improve Senate communication by sending one Senate report to the entire campus. Encouraging senator and constituent interaction and beginning the process of creating a student union are other goals of Keliinoi’s. He also hopes to increase ASLC’s accessibility and visibility by holding some office hours in Dillin Hall where he can interact with students.
“I wanted to run because I feel like I have the experience to do the job, and I have been involved in Senate since freshman year,” Keliinoi said. “It’s the next step, and I want to encourage people to become leaders.”

• ASLC President senior Colin Jones said that he was happy with all of the candidates, especially since they all have experience with senate and working closely with the ASLC cabinet. He also said that no one is unqualified for the positions that he or she is running for.

“The president needs to represent all students equally, which is really hard to do and really important,” Jones said. “The president needs to be calm and diplomatic but stand up for students even to administration.”

Jones said that good qualities of a vice president are strong public speaking and communication skills as well as the ability to encourage people to do the most and best that they can.

“I hope students take the time to learn about each candidate and vote intelligently,” Jones said.

Election debates will take place after Senate meetings on Feb. 28 and March 7 at about 7:30 p.m. The general election will take place online March 8.

For the full list of campaigning events, visit http://www.linfield.edu/aslc/elections.html.

Jessica Prokop/News editor
Jessica Prokop can be reached at linfieldreviewnews@gmail.com.