EDITORIAL

Opinion of SA Presidential candidates

Student Association '08 election:
Gunio and Guarino vs. Meyers and Dhimitri

The Student Association presidential elections commenced yesterday at 8 a.m. and continued until 9 p.m. in the Williams Center. Today is the last day to vote until 9 p.m.

Running for SA president are Kelly Gunio, a junior photography major with a minor in business who has been an SA representative since the beginning of the semester and Cody Meyers, a senior political science major who has been an SA representative since the beginning of his junior year. Running for vice president with Gunio is sophomore music education major Nicole Guarino, a junior class representative who sits on the SA rules committee and with Meyers is Nick Dhimitri, a junior political science major and an SA supreme court justice. More information on candidates can be found on the front page of the last issue of The Leader or on our Web site at www.fredonia.edu/leader.

The Leader asked candidates their position on six specific issues that we feel are important to students.

LEADER: Should students be allowed to use Fred cards along with cash at the media centers on campus?

Meyers & Dhimitri: "Certainly, students should be able to use their cards at media centers. There are so many places that accept the cards now - the box office, vending machines, copy machines - and the media center services should be added as well."

Gunio & Guarino: "We feel that the use of Fred cards in the media center would be great. We know that there have been times when the both of us are in the media center and don't have more than a dollar on us; that limits what we are able to do. This is certainly something we would like to look into and hopefully have available for students."

LEADER: There have been numerous complaints that students' posters are put on boards without being properly approved and/or are covering up other peoples' flyers. Is this an issue that needs to be addressed?

M&D: "We really need to work on the posting policies on campus. We need to find a way to make groups accountable if they disregard the posting policies and we need to make the policies very clear to students at fall and spring summit."

G&G: "A lot of money is put into posters, so it is really upsetting when they are covered by other flyers. Also, people from off campus will put posters up without being approved by or following Campus Life rules. We will work with Campus Life so that groups that put more than two posters on a board, cover other posters or that don't have proper stamped approval will have their poster privileges revoked."

LEADER: Are there enough parking spaces on campus?

M&D: "It is clear that we do not need to pave any more lots; we need to preserve our green space. What we need to do is re-structure the lots that that more students can park overnight closer to campus and create designated commuter parking lots. We also need to create more awareness and effectiveness of the park and ride system."

G&G: "Parking is one of our bigger issues. As people may know, trying to park on this campus is almost impossible at times unless you park in one of the 9a-9c lots. We do not want to see any more parking spots paved. We believe that the green space on this campus is great and we do not want to take that away. We plan on fixing [the parking issue] by running a shuttle bus that runs between the changing of classes. That way if it so happens that students are not able to get the most convenient spot, they can park in the farther away lots and be guaranteed a warm, safe ride to and from the parking lot and academic buildings."

LEADER: There were many complaints about the previous meal plans from students and faculty. Is there a meal plan that all students and faculty will enjoy?

M&D: "We will work with FSA and discuss the needs of the students. The president holds a seat on the FSA board of directors and during those meetings we need to work with FSA to get things done, like getting usage of meals at Starbucks and the convenience store again. We also need to get use of our debit off campus at local businesses. Many other SUNY schools have programs like this and we feel it is very important to have it here at Fredonia as well."

G&G: "Within the past year we feel that FSA has done a good job in accommodating the proper changes to make our meal places more feasible for the students. But there are some changes that we would like to see with more options for those students who may be a vegan or vegetarian. Also, after viewing the new plan for the Williams Center, we feel that students will be very pleased with what FSA will be offering us."

LEADER: Do you believe that there is student apathy when it comes to the Student Association? If so, how do you plan to deal with this apathy?

M&D: "Certainly, it is very disheartening to see student apathy when it comes to SA elections and SA in general. We need to work with students during freshman orientation to let them know about SA and its importance on campus in providing funding to all the groups. We need to show students that SA is a great way to show you are a leader on campus and is an excellent way to get involved."

G&G: "We think that many people are intimidated at first, but that will happen with any large group. First we want to get rid of that intimidation. Second, a lot of people don't know how to get involved. We want to start talking with students at orientation about the student government as well as all groups on campus. Eventually the whole campus will get involved."

LEADER: Overall, why would you make a good team as SA President and Vice President?

M&D: "We have the experience that is necessary to run the Student Association and promote the interests of the students starting from day one. We will not need to learn how to do the job because we have both held many leadership positions here on campus and we have the skills needed to serve as president and vice president. We do have previous experience working together: we are both in the Political Science Association and have served and are currently serving on the Eboard. We have also taken many classes together."

G&G: "We worked together on Eisenhower Hall council. [Gunio] was president and [Guarino] was vice president. Also we've volunteered at many activities and attend many events together. We both have the leadership skills that can ultimately represent students and the ability to work with the administration. Plus, we already know that we work well as a team."