A year has passed and it’s that time again. Student Government elections are here. Elections will take place March 31 through April 1.
This year there will be three pairs of candidates: Ryan Smith running for president with Kelsey Hayes as his running mate; Michael Haag as president with Julie Colgate as vice president; and Watson Harding running for president with Solange Minstein for vice president.
Smith/Hayes
Ryan Smith and Kelsey Hayes are rerunning for office as they currently hold the position. Last year they implemented TallyCats and a scholarship drive while also standing strong for students during the housing issue.
“Ryan and I feel as if we can really impact this university by seeing through some of our projects we started this year,” Hayes said.
Having already served a year, Smith feels they will be able to get right to work, bypassing the learning period.
“There is a huge learning curve when it comes to serving in these positions and Kelsey and I are fortunate to have a year of experience,” Smith said. “Our relationships with Lexington Government officials and the mayor, for example, will provide us with the background and experience to advocate for students if another major issue similar to the off-campus housing debate were to arise.”
Five platform points for Smith/Hayes
• Seeing through initiatives that were started last year.
• Create a safe driver program providing student transportation off-campus during late hours.
• Create a peer-to-peer textbook exchange program.
• Maintain relationships with city officials.
• Lobbying in Frankfort to show the issues that students face.
Haag/Colgate
Michael Haag and Julie Colgate are running together because of the passion they share for UK and the want to make a positive change.
“I am so proud to be a Wildcat and love this university,” Colgate said. “I want to be proactive in my senior year at UK and make the positive changes that are needed.”
The two feel they have gained the experience needed by holding many different leadership positions throughout campus.
“From my previous leadership experiences at UK, I have taken away a great deal of knowledge of how UK works, and the best ways to be effective with the position as student government president,” Haag said.
Five platform points for Haag/Colgate
• Create transparency but redesigning the Student Government Web site.
• Bridge the gap between UK and Lexington.
• Discuss the issues student organizations face by hosting a forum at the beginning of fall semester.
• Support student organizations on campus not only financially but in person as well.
• If allowed, be more of a part in the experience of first year students.
Harding/Minstein
Watson Harding and Solange Minstein take pride on the fact they are the only independent ticket on the ballot this year, meaning they are not affiliated with any Greek organization on campus.
“Greek candidates dominate Student Government because they get out the vote,” Harding said. “UK students who feel neglected need to vote and now with the process online it is literally only a few minutes of your time.”
The pair feels by being unaffiliated it will help with being able to openly represent the whole student body.
“Smith and Hayes did pull out what is probably the best possible result from the off-campus housing debacle and I commend them for it,” Harding said. “However, they have done little to engage student leaders outside of the Greek system and Student Government has not fostered dialogue amongst students about their role and future in UK’s community.”
Five platform points for Harding/Minstein
• Making the basketball lottery system fair.
• True student voice in the Board of Trustees.
• Push for gender-neutral facilities and inclusion of gender identity and expression in the university’s non-discrimination policy.
• Advocate a responsible drinking policy on campus.
• Stand in solidarity with any attempts by UK faculty and staff to unionize and demand a living wage.
Students can vote online at www.uksga.org using a Link Blue ID and password to log in. Polls will be set up on campus in the Student Center near the Starbucks and in White Hall Classroom Building from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.
The results of the election will be announced at approximately 8 p.m. Thursday on the Student Center Patio.
Go Smith!
The Harding/Minstein ticket wants to “Stand in solidarity with any attempts by UK faculty and staff to unionize and demand a living wage.” In other words, they want increase the costs of operation for the University. If this ticket succeeds in pushing their ideological views, the result will be increased tuition and fees for students. As students at UK, we are already going far enough into debt to pay for our education. Don’t let Harding and Minstein put us further into the hole!
1) The Greek tickets do represent the true voice of UK, because the Greeks comprise the most active and enthusiastic students on campus. 2) Transgender restrooms? Give me a break. Are we going to reduce the amount of classrooms in order to make these unnecessary facilities to accommodate a miniscule and questionable group? Unless UK decides to dot campus with some “neutral” Port-O-Johns, I don’t see this happening. Ever. 3) We have seen what unions have done throughout the nation in other industries – cheapened the workforce while increasing prices. Empowered the lazy while damaging the vital management/employee relationships that keep business running smoothly.
Nice to see how well the greek community connects with other members of the University who, gasp, may include transgendered persons. There are already gender neutral facilities in at least chem phys and willy t. young and would designating one pre-existing facility per building as gender neutral cost anything more than new signs? I’m glad that mommy and daddy pay your tuition and membership dues so that you can run around without any exposure to the plight of the working people or the inequities of such a gendered society.
Citizen X, I don’t know where you get your tuition and student fee money, perhaps your parents are such that you have little exposure to the fiscal realities of the world, but some of us have to pay our way through school, especially if we’re in graduate school. Working is a simple choice, either you can work for the wages offered, or you can try to find (or make) a better opportunity. Artificially raising salaries reduces the number of jobs available in a society. I think our society has lost enough jobs these last few years, don’t you think? If losing jobs wouldn’t be enough, students would still have to pay a heavier burden. This is an absolutely reckless proposal. As for the “transgendered facilities,” you realize that that’s a marginalizing issue for you? Right? Pick a gender and use the darn facilities that are already available!
Of course, I don’t think the issue is really about bathrooms. This business with transgendered bathrooms are so preposterous as an issue, no one can be seriously concerned about it. In reality this is about having zeal for gender identity issues. With such zeal, there are a very limited number of avenues one can go in formulating student government policies to satisfy such an agenda. Thus, transgendered bathrooms is less a pressing issue that needs to be resolved; but rather, the symbolic, yet tangible, thing to cling to in making changes. If someone is really have gender identity issues in determining their own sex, and they need to use the bathroom, they should either use the bathroom most people would socially presume to be their gender, or they should simply say to themselves “Eeny, meeny, miny, moe.” No reason to make it more complicated than that.
I live off of your all’s tax dollars :) Stuff that in your pipe and stuff it you poor long suffering graduate student. If you’re that uneducated on gender theory please pursue another career. Higher education doesn’t need or want you except for Bob Jones or Liberty Universities.
“pick a gender”? wow. really, wow.
Citizen X, you represent yourself quite well. “I live off of your all’s tax dollars :) Stuff that in your pipe” is a daring and unique slogan to run on. I’m sure your campaign will do quite well with that ;)
And yes, I’ve heard professors spouting off theories about how gender is a complete social construction. Not sure how my friends in the biology department would react to those theories, but I find it slightly less practical than a college girl wearing a mini-skirt in 20 degree weather.
Gender=/=Biological Sex
Gender is defined as the social definitions applied to, in the Western world, biological sex at least to some degree. The number of genders in a society is not always two, i.e. Native American cultures, etc.
I do love how you think I’m Watson Harding. I wouldn’t vote for that kid, he’s too conservative.
Certainly aspects of gender are socially constructed. But, it would take a very narrow definition of gender to say it is entirely a social construction (and removed from encompassing sex). I didn’t assume you were Watson Harding, but I used the second tense in the sense that I presumed you were connected with the Harding campaign. Your testimonials about him constantly helping you out when drunk, and his virtues in, metaphorically, holding the campus hair as they puke, suggested that you were somewhat of a campaign spokesman.
I smile at the amount of time you’ve spent combing the Kernel website for my comments. You must really be butthurt poor thing :(
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You wish ;)
Maybe I do sailor.