rage - The Behrend College Collegian Thursday, November 14, 1996
Letters to the Editor:
Amendments to SGA constitution
Dear Editor,
I am writing to you concerning
the new constitution of the Student
Government Association. While
the constitution has yet to be
publicly posted and reviewed, I
would like to voice my dissent
regarding a clause which changes
the status of the Multi-Cultural
Council, The Panhellenic
Council, Interfraternal Council, and
The Student Programming Council
from voting bodies to non-voting,
ex-official members.
Currently, the representatives of
these councils have a vote in the
Student Government Association.
The new constitutional amendment
takes that vote away. Some argue
that allowing these groups to vote
makes the process of creating
policy unwieldy by increasing the
size of the bureaucratic presence
within the body. Furthermore, they
argue that by having the vote, these
councils are given more power in
SGA than the size of their
constituency justifies. In other
words, the councils are "special
interests" who have more pull than
they deserve.
I fear that the interest in getting
rid of the councils' votes is
symptomatic of the general shift to
the right we have seen all over the
country.' I am particularly
Dear Editor,
I am writing to inform you that I
am protesting the new
constitutional amendment which
was proposed at last Wednesday's
Student Government meeting. It is
my impression that the
Multi Cultural Council, along with
other campus councils, will lose its
seat on the SGA budget committee.
There is a question that these
groups do not "deserve" a seat on
the Budget Committee because they
represent "special interests." Other
concerns of people who are
connected with SGA include the
council's wrangling over
appropriating money to student
organizations. This makes the
budget process too long. Other
complaints are that the council
members do not "do anything" and
do not attend SGA meetings so
they should not have a seat on the
Budget Committee.
I feel that just because the budget
meetings drag on and on and on that
the members of the Budget
Committee should set a limit to
how much time should be spent on
debate instead of eliminating seats
because the committee is becoming
too unwieldy and can not work
efficiently. Streamlining the
budget process and setting time
limits would help solve the
problem also.
The problem that members do
not "do anything" or are lax in
attending SGA meetings should be
addressed by the rule that any
member who has more than two
unexcused absences at a SGA
meeting loses his or her seat on
SGA.
SGA
by Jan Rossomando
Collegian Columnist
Currently SGA is in the process
of rewriting its Constitution. So
we are engaged in a Philadelphia
experiment of sorts. SGA is
considering several reforms that
would streamline how SGA
operates. As a Senator I believe that
it is my duty to inform my
constituents concerning what we are
now doing.
Under the old Constitution,
Councils such as the Joint
Residence Council, Multi-Cultural
Council, Student Programming
Council, The Commuter Council,
IFC, and Panhellenic Council
wielded much of the power in
SGA. Each Council has had a vote
on SGA, and in my experience has
been able to block any initiative
that would change the current
system. . .
One major concern of mine is
how these Councils have been able
to extract the bulk of SGA funding
during the Student Organizational
Budgeting process. The ability for
concerned about the Multi-Cultural
Council, which has under its
auspices groups like NSBE,
Women Today, Trigon, RASO, and
others. These organizations have
within their ranks under-represented
groups on campus. Taking away
their vote, I believe, makes it
possible for SGA to eliminate these
groups by denying funding for their
projects. Many of these
organizations attempt to open the
minds of the campus community
and promote diversity. If this
seems like an idea that has run its
course, an idea that is the product of
a now-cliched era of political
correctness, then please look at the
Behrend community. How many
people of various ethnicities do you
see? Do Gays and Lesbians have a
concrete presence other than signs
which appear on and mysteriously
disappear from campus bulletin
boards? And worst of all, how
many of you remember last year's
male to female ratio?
I believe that the potential exists
for minority groups to altogether
disappear from campus activities if
they do not have an advocate on
SGA. Ido not mean to suggest
that the current Student
Government is racist; I just think
that it is quite possible for certain
segments to be overlooked if they
do not have concrete, effective
As far as councils being "special
interests," I agree. What makes
that a problem? Everyone who sits
on SGA has a "special interest."
SGA Senators are elected by the
general student population.
believe that approximately 200
students in a total student
population of approximately 3400
actually voted in the last SGA
election for the SGA Senators.
This number is low enough (in my
opinion) to consider SGA Senators
as members of SGA who represent
"special interests!"
The SGA "special interests" are
trying to impose their will on the
rest of the members of SGA. By
doing this, these "special interests"
are advocating the unequal
distribution of power in the SGA
and the councils will be the losers
in this bid for power. This should
not be permitted.
I belong to a student organization
which is a member of MCC. I feel
that MCC looks out for its
members' welfare and tries to do as
good a job as it can to c •
members. MCC is comp _o of
eight organizations which are under
represented on campus. These
organizations are composed of
students who are considered
minorities. I feel that MCC is
aware of its members' concerns. I
do not believe that the
representatives on SGA know or
care about the problems that
concern the MCC umbrella
organizations.
I am worried about the lack of
communication between SGA and
the general student body. I found
out about the proposed amendment
to SGA's constitution by word of
reforms defended
these groups to vote on and
influence the budgeting process has
given them an unfair advantage for
allocations. Several Senators
including myself have introduced
reforms that essentially limit or end
the ability of any Council or
student organization to influence
the budgeting process.
The Councils maintain that they
should retain full voting powers on
SGA because they represent certain
key groups on this campus. Yet, if
we consider this argument then, it
is easy to conclude that not all
groups on this campus are
represented on SGA. For example,
the religious organizations on
campus constitute almost 100
students and yet they have no
council of their own, nor cia
honors students, engineering
students, science students, business
students, humanities students, or
even The Collegian. If we are to
understand that the Multi-Cultural
Council and the Greek Councils
should have votes on account of
their particular interests, so should
every other identifiable group on
presence in the body-politic.
Therefore, I am calling upon the
presidents of these councils to (k)
their jobs and attend SGA
meetings. You must understand
that when you skip meetings,
people begin to perceive your vote
as unnecessary. When you do not
attend meetings, give your reports,
and vote on resolutions, your
fellow members think that you
don't "do" anything.
Moreover, I am calling upon
SGA to make itself more
accessible. Open meetings are not
enough. The body must publish
reports in The Collegian every
week. Even better, why not
publish the minutes? Dear Editor,
if this is not possible, you must
send a representative to Student
Government meetings. The
function of The Collegian is to
inform. It is inconceivable that
people should hear about things
like this proposal through word of
mouth and rumor. The
repercussions of this proposal could
become quite destructive, and I
think it would be a shame to allow
the disintegration of an attempt to
produce a heterogeneous college
community.
Respectfully Submitted,
Brian Kitchen
07, English
mouth. I read The Collegian every
week and I did not notice any
mention of this proposed
amendment in its pages. SGA
should make an effort to publicize
these proposed changes. I have not
noticed any notices posted on
campus which notify students of
the proposed change either. This
lack of communication should be
addressed by SGA immediately.
I also heard a rumor that
removing the councils from the
Budget Committee is not good
enough for some members of SGA.
These members will not stop until
they try to take away the council's
voting rights by introducing
another proposed amendment to the
Constitution.
I agree with the complaint that
other groups on campus do not
have representation in a council. I
am not aware of any rule which
prohibits other groups with related
interests from forming a council to
represent their interests. Why not
form a Humanities Council, a
Science Council, or a Religious
Affairs Council? That is a
reasonable path to take rather than
to try to destroy a council which
already exists.
I apologize if there are any
inaccuracies in this letter; I have
been hampered by lack of
information and a preponderance of
rumors. I would like to receive a
reply from the SGA to clear up any
misconceptions I may hold about
SGA's behavior.
Sincerely,
Colleen Fromknecht
Semester 06, History
campus. We must have checks and
balances so that no one group of
students on this campus can
prevail.
I suggest that the Councils elect
permanent delegates to SGA who
would then have the right to vote in
committees and on certain
procedural matters in the general
SGA meetings. This would then
allow the Councils to voice their
opinions to SGA, but would limit
their power to obstruct or control
the business of SGA. While it is
true that the Councils represent
certain particular interests that the
Senators do not, it is also true that
these Councils are special interest
groups. To give them full voting
rights is akin to giving the
Christian Coalition or ACLU
voting rights in Congress or in the
General Assembly. The SGA
Senators are the sole elected
representatives of the students of
Behrend, and each Senator equally
represents all groups that exist on
campus. We were elected by you
the Students of Behrend to be ydur
Opinio
Notice the byline above, friends!
No more Guest Columnist for me!
It gives me a warm, satisfying
feeling, kind of like when you get a
raise and can now afford the two
ply, wonder-butt soft bathroom
tissue. No more Breaking &
Entering with the cheap one-ply!
Speaking of raises, my last raise
was completely consumed by the
New and Improved PSU Computer
Fee. There has been a lot of hype
lately about this fee, so I thought I
better put my 70-dollars-worth in.
Yes, the computer fee this
semester was $7O. And here's what
I want to know: since everyone
must pay this fee, why isn't it
simply included within tuition? Is
the reason so PSU can advertise as
low a tuition as possible, thereby
attracting more students who are
unaware of this outrageous fee? It's
sort of like spending the night in an
expensive hotel and then
discovering you are being charged
an extra $7O because you wore the
fabulous terry-cloth robe after
getting friendly with your date.
I tried to get out of the computer
fee. I went to the business office a
few years ago and explained that I
had been mistakenly charged for
something I did not request and do
not use.
"Oh?" replied the desk lady,
batting her eyelashes.
I explained that it was the
computer fee, and told her I owned
my own PC and never set foot into
the Computer Control Center.
"Oh," replied the desk lady.
I further explained that I never
log on to the PSU mega-master
server, as I use another on-line
service for my email needs.
"Oh."
Pleased by her inspiring answers,
I asked if I may please have my
money back. I was shocked to
learn she possessed within her
vocabulary arsenal yet another
word.
"No."
Since I am limited to a certain
amount of space, I shall jump to
the end of the story. I ended up
with no refund, of course.
Apparently, one of the Computer
Control Overlords took a moment
from his or her (or their) daily
duties of taking bets on which
printer the document will come out
representatives. The Councils were
not.
We as Senators represent every
minority and majority student as
well as students from every single
division on this campus. SGA has
not always been very responsible to
the student body so students have
come to regard SGA as irrelevant.
This has to change and one way
of accomplishing this is to
establish town meetings where
students can voice their concerns to
the full Senate.
It is contrary to the principles of
democracy that any group should be
more equal than any other. The
granting of voting rights to the
existing Councils amounts to
granting certain groups on campus
rights that are not shared by most
other groups. I am confident that
the rights and views of all on
campus will be represented in SGA,
not just those of a small elite group
of students.
Scientific Trio
by Daniel D. Ester
Collegian Columnist
* o wi i 43 6 %wow., T*44 tmemu
of this time, and hacked into the
British Secret Service mainframe.
James Bond showed up at my door
the next day with a blond babe on
one arm and a brunette on the other
and politely explained that he'd
received secret orders via computer
satellite-link that he was to execute
me in a swift manner unless I
promised to never question another
PSU policy or fee ever again for as
long as I lived.
Moving right along, the first fall
colloquium of Region I of the
MAA (Mathematical Association of
America), Allegheny Mountain
Section, was hosted by Behrend
College on November 7. "The
Dynamics of Life: An Introduction
to Mathematical Biology" was the
topic, and the speakers were
Behrend's Dynamic Trio Dr. Carl
Panetta, Dr. Richard Bertram, and
Dr. Joseph Paullet, in that order.
Dr. Antonella Cupillari, head of
the Mathematics department at
Behrend, and advisor to the student
MAA chapter, introduced the show.
The three-way began with a brief
overview of the immune system
and cancer, presented by Panetta.
He described the predator-prey
model with Michaelis-Menten
kinetics, which models the effects
of cancer treatment on tumors.
Please don't leave me yet, readers!
I must give credit where it is due
and devote at least a small section
of this column to report the
colloquium!
Panetta, Assistant Professor at
Behrend, received his Ph.D. in
Computational and Applied
Mathematics at Old Dominion
University in Norfolk, Virginia.
Next, Bertram spoke about signal
generation in nerve cells. Neurons
generate, process, and transmit
information in the form of electrical
impulses, and it takes a hell of a lot
of math to model it all.
Bertram, new at Behrend,
received his Ph.D. in Applied
Mathematics at Florida State
University in 1993.
The trilogy ended with Paullet
and his presentation of the Coupled
Toilet Model. This model reveals
the truth about how excitable cells
require a certain amount of impulse
to enter their active state and then
can not be affected until they return
to rest.
Paullet, an Assistant Professor at
Behrend, received his Ph.D. in
Applied Mathematics from the
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FRIENDS OF BILL
University of Pittsburgh in 1993.
I must say this colloquium was
quite good! From Cupillari's
eloquent introduction right through
to the Q&A session, the speakers
held the audience's attention with
captivating success.
As it turns out, I have each of the
Doctors for a class this
semester,and it was interesting to
hear them speak in a non-classroom
environment. They were lively,
humorous, and entertaining, arid
their presentations were quite
enjoyable. And I'm not trying to
imply that their usual classroom
lectures are any less interesting,
mind you! Not at all!
Since this was the first lecture to
involve three speakers with each
speaker's material being integral to
the others, I rate this colloquium
with the appropriate and much
deserved: If 111 (that's five--I repeat
FIVE--integral notations!).
And now, I must share some very
sad news. The last of the Division
of Science Seminar Series has been
canceled. Mr. Anthony L.
Ricciardo and Mr. Brian C.
Higgins, both Behrend students,
were to present, "Mathematics and
Cryptology." I'm not sure if their
seminar involved mathematically
encoded information or counting
burial sites, but I was really
looking forward to it!
Please help me persuade
them to reschedule their seminar by
completing the brief and painless
survey below and then drop it into
the campus mail slot.
(clip here)
POSTMASTER, PLEASE MAIL
TO:
DAN ESTER
BOX# 1465
DATE:
Should Brian Higgins and Anthony
Ricciardo reschedule their seminar?
Please check one:
Yes, definitely!
No, I'd rather eat my
Grandmother's hemorrhoid
medication.
Yes, but only if they wear
tight, shiny red pants!
(clip here)
Thanks for helping with this very
important survey!
If you wish to make comments,
I'd suggest you do it quickly
(ddelo4@psu.edu) before my PSU
email account becomes infected
with a mysterious disease