StuCo senators elected

Kelsey Tegtmeier
Staff Writer
April 22, 2004, Page 1

After almost three hours of counting and recounting, eleven people were elected senators to Doane Student Congress.
Twenty-six people competed for the title of senator. Under normal circumstances only 10 students would have been elected.
This year was a different situation.
The votes were recounted numerous times and the numbers revealed a tie between two candidates for the final position, Jordan Hahn, newly elected StuCo vice president, said.
An emergency StuCo meeting was called as a result of the tie, Hahn said.
The organization’s constitution states that Congress cannot chose one candidate over the other.
The Congress decided to add both individuals as StuCo senators next year, Hahn said.
Almost half of the student body voted to elect the following senators for next year: Amanda Bennett, Stephanie Blackstone, Brent Cole, Mike Dale, Troy Haenfler, Jordan Kenyon, Griffin Lothrop, Mark Rogge, Danielle Settles, Adam Thompson and India Williams.
The new senators are joined by treasurer Natalie Nelsen and secretary Todd Andrews, newly elected president Lindsay Wegener said.
She said she is excited about the new Student Congress.
“I was excited to see the caliber of people that were on the ballot,” Wegener said.
Griffin Lothrop, sophomore, ran for Student Congress senator because he wanted to be more involved on campus.
“I’m confident about what StuCo can do next year,” Lothrop said.
Jimmy Feeney, current StuCo President, said he was pleased with the entire election process including candidates and voter turnout.
“The candidates did an incredible job of campaigning and we had an extremely strong field of candidates this year,” Feeney said. “I would like to thank those who ran and congratulate those who will represent the student body on the 2004-2005 Student Congress.”

Editorial: Advice for the StuCo Pres

Staff Editorial
April 22, 2004, Page 4

Managing a constituency of college students is harder than predicting when Stop Day will be.
Student Congress president holds an important position. She is in charge of and an example to the rest of the student body.
With this in mind, The Owl staff has assembled a list of advice for the new StuCo president.

• Take an active role in creating change. Be involved in decisions that affect students.
• Be accessible to students. Hold office hours.
• Communicate to the student body directly, not exclusively through e-mails.
• Live up to your campaign promises.
• Don’t be the administration’s lapdog.
• Be honest with students.
• Make students aware of StuCo responsibilities.
• Hold “StuCo President in Residence” at least once a semester to find out student concerns.
• Be aware that your actions will be watched by others.
• Be willing to listen.
• Don’t delay Stop Day until the last minute.
• Keep it in perspective. You’re never going to please everyone, no matter how hard you try.

This is an important role, but it’s not life or death. Remember to be a student first.

Editorial: Welcome to Kindergarten

Staff Editorial
April 15, 2004, Page 4

In the real world, the public is told the voting numbers.
The number of votes a candidate receives is released to the public. It doesn’t matter if the candidate gets five votes or 500.
At Doane, students don’t know how close Student Congress races actually are. Doane politicians are apparently too sensitive and fragile for numbers to be released.
Back in the real world, those who choose to run for public office are subjected to scrutiny. The election results are analyzed and feelings get hurt. But they get over it.
So should Doane.
What are the people withholding these numbers afraid of? Our egos should be used to being injured by the time we reach college. Life is full of competition. Students were pitted against each other before they enrolled in Doane when scholarships were awarded.
Doane should be preparing students for the disappointments of life just as much as the successes. Students who are considering politics should be learning how to handle losing.
Students can learn just as much from the process of running for office as from being elected.
Without knowing the numbers, only speculation is left. Sheltering students by not disclosing figures only draws students further away from how the world actually works.
Doane students deserve to know the StuCo results. Are students too stupid to understand voting numbers? Will a student’s life be ruined by publishing how many votes they received? No.
Doane students are being fooled into believing that the real world election process is a safe haven for the weak hearted. It’s not. If a politician cannot handle the constant polls declaring him or her a certain percentage above or below his or her opponent, they should not be running for office.
How much longer will this foolish process of withholding voting numbers continue? Students should not stand this dulling of defeat and victory.
Students deserve to be treated like actual voters and competitors.
We’re in college, not kindergarten.