Burnt Orange Report

SG Survey Questions

By Byron LaMasters

I decided to send out questions to SG candidates for President, Vice President, One Year At Large, Two Year at Large and Liberal Arts Rep., last week as a means of helping me make my decisions on how to vote today. I received responses from 11 (9 Ignite, 2 Connect) candidates on relatively short notice. Perhaps that is due to the perceived bias of this blog towards Ignite (at least from Karl-Thomas's posts), or perhaps the Ignite ticket is just more responsive. I don't know, but I will use the answers received to inform my vote today. I'll post my choices after I vote.

1) Are you currently, or have you ever been a member, and/or officer, of any campus political organization (i.e. Campus Greens, College
Republicans, International Socialist Organization, Libertarian Longhorns, University Democrats, Young Conservatives of Texas, etc.). Please note your current and previous memberships and officer status.

2) Do you consider yourself a Democrat, Republican, a member of another political party, or unaffiliated? Have you participated in the primary election of either party? If so, which?

3) How would you characterize your political views in a word or two:
(i.e. very liberal, liberal, progressive, moderately liberal, moderate,
moderately conservative, conservative, very conservative, etc.)?

4) Do you support allowing race to be a considering factor for admission to the University of Texas?

5) Do you believe that the current “ten percent rule” should remain in
place regarding UT admissions, or should it be changed? If so, please
explain.

6) What was your position on AR 1 regarding the UT bid for Los Alamos?

7) What was your position on AR 2 regarding pay equity at the University
of Texas?

Jessica Rice – President, Ignite

1) No, I am not currently a member of any campus political organization.

2) I am a Democrat and have participated in the primary elections of the Democratic
party.

3) My political views are both liberal and progressive.

4) Yes. I believe that race can affect a person's life experiences, and that any quality institution will seek out diversity in experiences. Having a diverse student body is the only way that the University of Texas can educate citizens of the highest quality. It is through interactions with people of varying backgrounds who have experienced different things in life that we grow personally. If college is all about learning, exploring, and educating yourself, then the best environment to do so is one in which there are multiplicitious ideas. How an institution creates this diverse environment is
a lot more complicated.

5) I believe it should be changed to provide for a cap between 50-60% of the entering freshmen class, while students from underrepresented high schools should continue to be automatically admitted if they are in the top 10% of their graduating class. I also support Senator Royce West's bill (SB 333), requiring that students must not only be in the top 10% of their class but also have graduated under the recommended plan in order to receive automatic admission to a state institution.

6) I was against UT's bid for Los Alamos and supported AR 1. I only wish the Assembly had voted on the bill and taken a stance on the issue instead of tabling it.

7) I supported AR 2 in reference to pay equity at the University, not only because it is an important issue, but also because the University should set the standard for all students and faculty that walk this campus when it comes to matters of social justice and equity.

Colby Hanks – VP, Ignite

1) No current or past involvement in these groups, however I would indeed like to see their efforts and opinions addressed more frequently in Student Government. Members of our ticket were able to visit with some of these groups during the campaign speaker circuit to discuss issues and as expected, these were some of our greatest discussions of UT issues. Student Government needs to initiate a closer relationship with these groups that is ongoing. We're all here for the same purpose, why not combine those efforts!

2) Republican. And no, I have not participated in the primaries.

3) Moderately Conservative

4) Yes, and this should be one item in a list of many qualification factors.

5) I definitely support lowering the percentage, rather than capping it. The original purpose was to compensate for a public school system where unequal opportunity is high, and as a result of top ten percent there is more representation of districts now than ever before. If the 50% is decided by wholeistic review, and there is still disgression needed to determine who to cap, why have the rule to begin with? By lowering the percentage, you are still able to ensure districts are respresented. Keeping the idea around at all is definitely something we must keep up a fight for, especially considering Senator Wentworth's support of the Board of Regents bill, because it should be kept in mind that he also wants to do away with the top ten percent rule all
together.

6) Personally, I saw Los Alamos as a great opportunity for the university. regardless of my opinion on the issue, I am a strong supporter of open forum and discussion, which is what this particular legislation recommended and am in full support of that. This bill, written by UT Watch, is one that I strongly feel should not have been tabled by Student Government. While the subject was controversial, discussing the issue is something that should happen.

7) I support the bill. UT needs to work to ensure we're supporting this type of equality at the University level.

Danny Davidson -- 2 yr @ Large, Ignite

1) I have not been a member of a Campus political organization

2) I consider myself a liberal. I loosely support the Democratic Party—but only because a better alternative does not exist on the national level.

3) Liberal

4) I support race being a considering factor for admission. I do not,
however, think it is right. I believe that student assistance and aid in higher education should be based on income, not on race. Unfortunately, minority citizens make up a large portion of the United States lower class. Race should be considered in admission until a time when the lower class of the US has an equal distribution of races. Education works slowly to bring equity, and many years of affirmative action is needed so that race does not mirror one's economic class and one's economic class does not reflect one's race.

5) I think the rule should be changed. I believe that the "ten percent rule" inhibits high school students from pursuing more challenging coursework while in high school. By making GPA such an important admission criteria, students choose coursework that will get them the best grade, not coursework that will be most beneficial to them. In addition, different schools offer different levels of competition, and many students must focus entirely on schoolwork in order to make it into the top 10%. This means that many students that come to UT have never had jobs, been active in extracurricular activities, or been active in their communities. UT prides itself in training leaders, but its admission practices ask for students to neglect leadership opportunities in high school just so that they can be admitted to
UT. Admission should be based more on test scores, extracurricular activities and volunteer work and less on GPA.

6) UT is a great research University. I support most of the projects that UT staff and students conduct. In regards to the Los Alamos bid, I am strongly against it. The price for the bid is far too high and the needs of the Los Alamos facility far too great for UT to be involved. Focus should be on curbing increasing tuition and not on adding more liabilities to the UT School System. The SG resolution to have an open dialogue in discussing the Los Alamos bid was a good decision and I support it.

7) I strongly support AR 2. All people working in the US deserve pay equal to their occupational peers. There is statistical research showing that women and many minorities do not receive equitable pay, but there is not any statistical research showing that their performance is sub-par. All employed persons of the US should be paid based on their value to an organization, not based on their sex or race. I support the SG resolution that asks for more research into University pay equity. Once the research results have been completed, and if the research points to inequitable pay at UT, then it is the duty of SG to take all necessary steps to remedy the problem.

Devin Fletcher – 2 yr @ Large, Ignite

1) NO

2) no affiliation

3) Moderate

4) I don't support race being a deciding factor in UT admissions, however with that being said I believe that there are other options to ensure that the University has an adequate amount of representation from all races, and putting the effort into finding what it would take is what is lacking and by default race would be an easy way out.

5)I believe that the top ten percent rule was a noble idea when it began and I feel as though it has run it's course. I think that this rule affords opportunities to a number of students within the state to have the opportunity to attend top notch institutions, especially students coming from areas that might be categorized as having sub-par academics. I feel that this was a necessary rule in that it gave everyone a somewhat equal chance for success, however I also believe that it has it's downfalls. High school success does not necessarily represent college success or high school failure does not equate to college failure, however I believe that students coming in from areas in which their academics were up to par have an upper-hand, which is at the fault of no one but our public education system. I whole-heartedly believe that a program like this is necessary in order to bridge the gaps that the educational system in our country has left, but the top ten percent rule is not that program in my opinion. It is leading to an overcrowding of institutions by automatically admitting students in the top 10 percent of their class, and without a more stern filter the overall well-being of the student collegiate experience in this state could be in jeopardy.

6) I am not totally familiar with the Los Alamos proposal, but from what I gather I would need to have more information before making my decision. I can see the benefits of acquiring Los Alamos, but I can also see possible long-term detriments as well. I would like to hear pros and cons from individuals who are directly related to it in some shape of form so that I could make an educated decision.

7) On the resolution to support pay equity I stand behind it 100%. I believe that this is information that the University should share and should hold themselves accountable. I believe that if their are indeed no pay disparities then the University would not have a problem making this information know. However, I think that the information should be compared to averages around other Universities and things such as experience, research, etc should be taken into account in order to ensure that the information is not biased in the way it is presented.

Will Fowler – 2 yr at Large, Ignite

2) I would say I am more of a Republican than a Democrat, however I have liberal leanings toward some social freedoms. No, I have never participated in the primary election of either party.

3) I would say that I am moderately conservative fiscally, and like I said above, liberal toward social freedoms.

4-5) I do support race being a considering factor during admission to the University. However, I also beleive that if we are to institute it into our policy for admission then we must let go of the top 10% rule because they are both geared toward helping the same population.

6) My position on this is that we as student government needs to take action towards creating a task force of students and faculty to watch what Los Alamos is doing on our campus. It seems like Los Alamos has operated their organization in questionable ways in the past and we need to make sure this is watched.

7. I feel like it is a good initiative to make sure the University is knowledgeable and conscious about the pay inequity of women.

Stephen Hardt – Connect 2 yr @ Large

1) I have never been a member of any political organization at UT. Since I arrived at UT, my political views have changed rather dramatically. I have gone from a Conservative to a Liberal in just over a year and a half and have therefore always seen any political organization as a limiting factor to my growth and enlightenment.

2) I have never participated in the primary election of either party. I think I embody in nearly every sense the impact that college can have on one’s political affiliations. I grew up in a small, conservative town of roughly 2,500 residents. While I loved my childhood and would not trade it for anything in the world, I was relatively sheltered throughout my adolescence. When I came to UT, I was in culture shock to say the least. As a right-winged, conservative freshman I found myself in constant political arguments over things such as welfare, abortion, civil unions and gay marriage, the war, etc. It got to the point where I associated the word “diversity” with “anti-white.” In addition, I was one of the most homophobic people I knew. I had never truly spoken with a homosexual, nor did I desire to.

However, as my freshmen year went on and I exposed myself to different aspects of campus and different peoples, I grew to embrace diversity in every sense of the word. Not only did I make friends with people I never would have previously spoken with, but I began to actively seek out situations that would stretch my thoughts and question my beliefs. My role as an Orientation Advisor last summer did this more so that any other experience in my life. I was constantly challenged and questioned by my peers in an effort to make me grow.

It worked. At the end of the summer, I reflected on just how much I had changed. I understood that I went from a homophobe, to having some of my closest friends be homosexuals. I went from someone who resented the word “diversity” to someone who seeks it out. I changed my views on gay marriage, abortion, the war in Iraq, welfare, affirmative action, and many other issues. That is not to say that I am insecure with my beliefs; believe me when I say I have arrived where I am only through much struggle and am thus secure in my convictions. Rather, I say these things to illustrate just how much a person can change during their years in college.

So when I am asked where my political identities lie, I tell the person I am an objectivist. I look at each situation as objectively as possible and rule on it accordingly. I feel that on the national level there are far too many problems with each party to limit myself to an “either-or” game. Rather, I would most closely identify with the Libertarian movement. As for the role of these convictions in my decision-making as an SG rep, I answer with, “A leader is but a trusted servant.” It is not my position to vote based solely on my own beliefs, but rather to seek out the opinions and feelings of the student body and act accordingly. I think SG is there to serve the students….and it should do just that.

3) Objectively Moderate

4) I think the University of Texas has an obligation to this great state in which we reside to more accurately embody the diversity of this state. Thus, I think UT should do everything in its power to make sure the diversity of the student body of UT is increased. In short, yes, I would like to see race included as an admissions factor. However, that is only the beginning of the steps the University should take to ensure UT continues to be a model for higher education.

5) I believe it should be altered, though not completely revoked. That is, it should remain in place for underrepresented high schools in an effort to motivate students from those schools to attend UT. However, in the case of the majority of applicants to UT, I think a more holistic review of applications should be considered. Thus, I would like to see the top 10% rule capped at 50% of admissions. After that, other factors such as race, SAT score, GPA, essays, personal statement, etc. should be considered.

6) While UT placing a bid on Los Alamos may help in the University in some minor ways (such as increased funding), I think overall, Los Alamos is something UT would do well to stay away from. In addition to the security and liability risks involved in taking over such a project, the University of Texas has no place involving itself with operations such as Los Alamos. Rather, it should concentrate its time and resources on projects that are less controversial, less risky, and more likely to benefit the University as a whole, rather than a specific department.

7) The University of Texas is one of the foremost higher education institutions in the world. As such, it is viewed as a model for other institutions of all kinds. This role puts UT in a spot light under which it has little option other than to treat its employees in such a manner that other institutions may copy it. Even if this were not the case, I feel organizations should always treat their employees fairly and equally. Thus, I fully support the spirit behind the said SG resolution.

Jessica Hart – 1-yr @ Large, Connect

1) NO
Organizations I am involved with:
Student Government-active member- Fall '02 - present- ITAC and current business rep, Orange Jackets- active member- Fall '04-present- current tappee, Texas Lonestars- active member- Fall '02- present- officer for 2 years, Disch-Falk Diamonds- currently inactive- Fall '02-Spring '04 - officer for 1 year, LEAP- currently inactive member- participant Spring '03, mentor Spring '04, FLO- active - member Fall '02- Spring '03, active -mentor Fall '03- present, Camp Texas Counsler- active member Fall '02- present, San Jacinto RHA - inactive member, Fall '02- Spring '03, HBA- honors business association- Fall '03 to present, Dance Marathon- active helper- Fall '02- present

2) I would consider myself a Republican.

3) I would consider myself a moderate conservative

5) I believe the rule should be changed. Revising the Top 10% rule- the number of students accepted by the top ten percent role has been dramatically increasing over the last years, because of this there are other factors that are being overlooked and the top ten percent rule should be revised. CONNECT ideas---to cap the top ten percent rule at 50%-60% of the freshman incoming class will be automatically admitted with the top 10% rule. The other half of the freshman class will be done using normal admissions standards. This will help ensure that well-rounded students come to the University.

6) I am a current SG rep (for the business school) and have worked a long time on issues pertaining to UT's bid for Los Alamos. I found this piece of legislation to be irrelevant at the time because the government had not even given the rfp (request for proposal) when the rep's presented this resolution. I believed that we should have waited until the rfp came out which outlines the bid for the lab before I decide if I believe UT should bid for it. At that point in time we did not have all the information and would not have made an educated response. I did work during this summer and at the beginning of this year trying to put together a forum for the UT students to hear both sides about the bid. We were working to try to get students, faculty and regents talk about both sides. Then UT decided to not make the bid and this forum became irrelevant.

7) I fully support pay equity at out university, but i did feel this resolution did have a lot of faults. One big issue that FOCUS ran on last year was to only concentrate on UT issues and not get into national issues. To stay true to this promise I felt that this piece of legislation crossed this line. The wording of thei resolution talked about national statisticsn and did not talk about specific data pertaining to UT Ex. Whereas according to an analysis of data in over 300 classifications provided by 015| the U.S. Department of Labor Statistics in 2001, women earn less in every 016| occupational classification for which enough data is available, including
017| occupations dominated by women (e.g., cashiers, retail sales, registered nurses 018| and teachers); and

I talked to the author and sponsors of this resolution and told them my problems with the bill and told them I would support any pay equity resolution at UT if it pertained to UT. I felt more research needed to be done to make this pertain to UT.

Legislation I have worked hard on this year:
AR 13- A resolution calling on texas legislature to allocate more
funding to higher education
AR 12 - A resolution to support the implementation of the LA 101 class
AR 7 - A Call to implement Vending Machine Bevo Buck Service
AR 5- Ensuring Adequate Storage Space for UT Email Services
AR 3 - A resolution supporting high density, affordable, student
oriented housing in close proximity to the University of Texas campus.
AB 1: Measure to Increase Student Government Assembly Member's
Accountability By Publishing Voting and Attendance Records

Bekah Hortz – One yr @ Large, Ignite

1. I have never been a member of any campus political organization.

2) I consider myself a Republican. I helped campaign this year for President Bush.

3) I am moderately conservative.

4) I think that doing so allows guaranteed representation for these groups. I am moderate on this issue because I agree with both sides of the issue. I understand that allowing race to be a factor for admission could prevent other people who score better in areas such as GPA, SAT, and extracurricular activities to possibly not get in. It would be frustrating to be one of those people, but the University needs to be representing the population, so I think it is important to recognize these groups.

5) I think it is unfair for students who have lower GPA and credentials to get in over someone who meets and goes beyond UT admission requirements just because they are in the top 10%. I understand that it allows a more equal representation, but I do not think it is necessarily the right solution. I have several friends who had outstanding GPAs, SAT scores, and amazing resumes in terms of community service and extracurricular activities in high school, but were denied admission because they were not in the top 10%. Other applicants who had lower GPAs, SAT scores, and average resumes were given priority over those people simply because they were in the top 10%. Several factors should be taken into account when looking at these 10% applicants. They could have attended a very small high school, or their scores may not have been high in comparison to other non top 10% applicants. I feel that other factors should be taken into account during the admission process. It is an automatic shoe in for some people. We need to analyze this more closely.

6) It is obviously an enormous undertaking and risk to deal with this nuclear weapons research facility. I think that the stance taken was an appropriate one. We should be concerned about this. When it revealed that “the University of Texas System has not supplied satisfactory assurance that the University System will not be held accountable in the event of continued environmental problems, poor security, and cases of mismanagement,” I was deeply concerned. A lot was brought to my attention, and I think SG expressed itself very well here. It was important to voice an opinion that many students have. I think writing AR1 was necessary.

7) Again, I agree with this position. Because the University of Texas is one of the largest schools in the nation, we set examples for other universities. It expresses well that we demand pay equity for our professors. The statistics provided completely back up the argument, which make it very credible.

Tiffany Jan – 1 yr @ Large, Ignite

1) No

2) I consider myself unaffiliated. In the past 2004 Election, I voted for George W. Bush. However in the past, I have supported more Democrats. The issues which determine my support and vote each election are unaffiliated with either party.

3) Moderately conservative

4) In short, my answer would be “not entirely.” I believe that in theory, brining more diversity into a university is something that is definitely important. However, I do not think that using race to be a considering factor should work against certain groups. I believe that race should only be used as a lightly weighed factor for admissions.

5) I believe there should be some changes to the “ten percent rule.” Coming from a large city with very many 5A high schools, there were plenty of students from outstanding high schools with great grades that just did not make the 10% cut. Someone who perhaps is at the top 11% of their class, very involved, may have comparable grades to one who is in the top 10% who is not involved at all, yet the former will have much more trouble receiving admission to UT. Too many students are being accepted under the top 10% rule, resulting in a great difficulty and obstacle for other students to apply. This places diversity in another direction if most students were accepted under this rule. I believe that there should either be more restrictions on the top 10% rule (decreasing the percentage, for example), or adding conditions to the top 10% rule.

6) I was against the UT bid for Los Alamos, and I definitely believe that something of that nature and of such great effect should be brought directly to the students and faculty.

7) Being a woman, I definitely would be a proponent for pay equity. However, I think that the actual legislation proposed by student government is a bit extreme in requesting statistical information regarding “Average Faculty Salaries and supplements” with all positions on campus. Qualities based on merit are usually subjective, and it would be difficult to pinpoint an equality discrepancy. Even two people with the same position could have unequal levels of qualification and merit. I believe that requesting statistical information would only bring about an unnecessary over-analysis of pay equity.

Danielle Rugoff – 1 yr @ Large, Ignite

1) I am a member of Texans for Israel and University Democrats.

2) I consider myself a Democrat. I have not participated in the primary election, however I did attend the DNC and really enjoyed it! I even ran into K-T.

3) Socially liberal, more fiscally moderate.

4) Wow this is rough. I think that diversity is important.. I'm not sure if affirmative action is the correct answer or the top 10% rule or what.. I'm not well-read enough on the issue. I am a supporter of having some sort of system in place to ensure diversity--> it adds both to the cultural climate as well as enhances the academic experience within the classroom.

5) I think that it could be decreased to top 5%. Once again, I don't know how this would directly affect the diversity on campus, I would like to see more research on this issue.

6) I was against the bid for Los Alamos.

7) I fully support the bill and commend LGL and FW and Karchmer for authoring such wonderful legislation. This is one of the types of legislation that SG should focus on!

Katie Naranjo – Liberal Arts Rep, Ignite

1) I am a member and Secretary of University Democrats.

2) I am a Democrat and i voted in the Primaries and I voted this Nov.

3) progressive

4) I have heard arguments on both sides of allowing race to be an issue for admissions and I support a socioeconomic base for admissions, not merely color based. i think that in itself is well a form of internal/reverse racism. I also feel it is an insult for many of the African Americans who are well educated and meet the requirements to admissions.