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Daily Nebraskan
Tuesday, March 2, 1982
Opinions differ on proposed ASUN amendments
By Oetsy Miller
Tomorrow, UNL students will decide if the structure
and representation of the ASUN Senate will be changed.
For the change to be made, 15 percent of the student
body must vote for the amendments to the ASUN Con
stitution. Two proposed amendments will be on Wednesday's
ballot. Proposal I would elect senators from living units,
instead of the current method of electing by colleges.
Proposal II would increase the senate by five members
and require 15 percent of the senate to be non-traditionai
and minority students. Non-traditional students are those
27 years old and older.
With a 40-mcmbcr senate, this proposal would require
at least seven senators to be non-traditional or minority.
However, if no minority or non-traditional students are
elected, the senate total could rise to 47, because the en
tire 15 percent would have to be appointed.
The amendments were introduced by Working Coali
tion Party members. After the senate voted against put
ting the proposals on the ballot, Coalition members init
iated a petition drive and got the required number of stu
dent signatures to allow the amendments on the ballot.
It was mentioned that the amendments surfaced at the
same time as the formation of The Working Coalition
Party, prompting criticism that the proposals were a
"political move" by the Coalition's presidential candidate
Dave Mumgaard, currently an ASUN senator from the
College of Arts and Sciences.
However, Mumgaard said the timing of the amend
ments and the announcement of his candidacy are coin
cidental. Mumgaard said he and several other students, including
ASUN President Rick Mockler, former ASUN senator
Tim Rinne and Afrikan Peoples Union President Eugene
Tolston, began working on the proposal to include more
non-traditional and non-white students last fall.
He said the proposals were ready by Christmas and that
Feb. 3 was the earliest the proposals could be put on the
senate agenda.
Mumgaard said appointing minority and non-traditional
students might make party leaders recruit senate cand
idates more actively, because they would want to get a
15 percent non-traditional and minority ratio during the
general election. If that didn't happen, party leaders
would end up watching 15 percent of the senate being
appointed, possibly with people they weren't familiar
with.
Regardless of the amendments's political implications,
they still have received support from one other ASUN
candidate.
Dan Wedekind, Real Party presidential candidate, said
the amendment that would change college representation
has merit. He said that if he is elected, he would investi
gate changing senate representation to include a combin
ation of college and living-unit senators.
He said several universities in the Big Eight Conference
have a mix of senators from their living units and col
leges. Mumgaard said ASUN does not need college represen
tation because "the issues that the ASUN Senate deals
with are not college issues."
He said the senate usually discusses topics such as park
ing space and tuition increases, ideas which aren't directly
tied to colleges.
In this instance, Wedekind said he disagrees with Mum
gaard. "The issues (the senate deals with) are of the university
as a whole, but it's important to have an academic pers
pective," he said.
But Wedekind agreed there is "definitely a problem"
with the lack of minority and non-traditional student re
presentation on the senate.
However, he said the current proposal doesn't explain
who should make up the 15 percent non-traditional
students, and who should select the minority and non
traditional senators.
"With major reforms, this plan could be made a work
able plan," Wedekind said.
Mike Ford, True Party presidential candidate, said the
current system of student representation does not need to
be changed, but that the people within it must.
The True platform says the party "intends to work
within the present system of student government and to
use other organizations that already exist to the maximum
extent possible in order to guarantee our student consti
tuents the best possible representation."
Ford said students within the same college, and in
some cases those who have the same major, share "the
same basic philosophy."
"Education is the main reason we're here," Ford said..
He also said he is against the process of using appoint
ments for 1 5 percent of the senate scats.
Appointments don't fulfill a democratic purpose,
f ord said.
He said the cabinet the True Party proposes would hear
the opinions of minority and non-traditional students. It
would consist of members from organizations on campus.
The party also proposes an off-campus representative
organization to parallel groups like the Residence Hall
Association, Interfratcrnity Council and Panhcllcnic As
sociation. Mockler said he would be "very discouraged if both
(of the proposals) failed."
Mockler said the proposal to elect senators from living
units would be a "vast improvement" over the current
way of electing senators.
"It's been clear from comments made that the ASUN
senators tend to represent the feelings of the people they
live with," Mockler said.
He also said he supports the second proposal.
"The only way he can even begin to address the min
ority and older students' concerns is by bringing them
into the political process," he said.
One last look . . .
XJLI U-
rr
:.i "V,?Aii i fit . .
Mike Frost, STUPID II Party
For the following interviews, the Daily Nebrask
an asked each ASUN presidential candidate the
same sequence of questions. The candidates
were instructed to answer briefly.
Questions
1. How could the position of student re
gent be used most effectively?
2. What would be your major goal if
elected president of the student body?
3. Which is more important - offering
students representation or service and
why?
4. How would you, if elected, make stu
dents take student government more seri
ously? 1 . 1 think we'd go with the kicking and
screaming method, and also threaten to
hold our breath until we got our way.
2. My goal would be to turn ASUN in
to a monarchy or a dictatorship, which
ever will keep me in power the longest.
3. I suppose the success of Domino's
pizza shows that service is the most im
portant thing. I would guarantee to deliver
all legislative bills to the students within 30
minutes.
4. I would have the meetings in the
nude. Also, ASUN should go about getting
students interested in it by using a realis
tic means, such as paying them S 15,000 to
go to the meetings.
Dan Wedekind, Real Party
1. I think there are two important
things to remember. The student regent
position is a source of information. The
duty of the student regent is to make in
formation available to senators. Secondly,
in dealing with the regents, it is also impor
tant to work with others outside of the
university such as out-state citizens and leg
islators, as well as administrators.
2. My goals are to see better communi
cation with the st'jdent body and better
opportunity for input from students in the
coming year. Also, because the most im
portant issue confronting students right
now is Financial struggle, it is important to
work with lobbying groups and individual
state legislators.
3. My most important function now is
to offer crucial representation. Student ser
vises are important, but the key issues are
the university's and individuals' financial
situations, which it is important to repre
sent. 4. The solution has two parts. Commu
nication needs to be increased so that stu
dents can become a part of ASUN again.
Also, it is important to see that ASUN is
dealing with things that students really are
concerned about.
Mike Ford, True Party
1 . The best way to make the student re
gent effective is to give that student regent
a vote. Also, the student regent must esta
blish a good working relationship with the
board. We (the True Party) will be active
ly campaigning for regents that we feel will
represent students and their views.
2. My major goal is to get more students
informed, which will result in a reduction
in apathy. We propose to do this through
bi-weekly newsletters, open forums, a Gov
ernment Liaison Committee fact sheet and,
basically, have the student government go
back to students for input.
3. I don't think representation and stu
dent services should be separated. In order
to provide service to students, representing
is needed.
4. By solving the apathy problem. By in
forming students. We believe that will cre
ate interest and restore ASUN's credibility.
Dave Mumgaard, Working Coalition
1 . The student regent can be effective
on specific issues only if backed cohesively
by the student body. There is a given, then,
that regents have to realize the student re
gent is a representative of the student
body, and has the backing of the student
body.
2. My goal would be to take the ASUN
Senate and executive leaders, which are
seen as lethargic and do nothing, to take
that and actually use the potential of the
office to try in different ways to achieve
progress for the students. The way that
would be done is to have an end to the
compromising position that the student
body president and the student regent have
been put into.
3. We feel representation is more im
portant. Student services are a good thing
and should be maintained and enhanced
though, especially legal services.
4. The only way for students to take
their rcprcsentalion more seriously is if
the student representative is able to effec
tively achieve something tangible. The only
way to achieve that is to stand up and
sin uf over the crowd and convince the
crowd thiil what they (the representative)
imild he cluing is worthwhile.
