NSIT Update

Recent I've learned that our new, beautiful website is still under complete NSIT control. To edit this page, the current Slate needs to send an e-mail to someone in Virginia for it to get put on her to-do list. That's opposed to this blog, where I can casually logon at any time and post content at will.

What's ironic about this lockdown is that NSIT just announced how quick, easy, and wonderful their new Web Express program is at helping Departments update and manage their websites.

Quote:

Since most department sites have a unique look and feel, Web Express uses custom-defined templates that make it easy to maintain a consistent design. Approved editors can easily make text updates, add images and links, and create new pages without advanced design or coding skills, thanks to a user-friendly interface offering formatting tools similar to Microsoft Word.

The only thing keeping SG away from this wonderful Web Express is that you'd have to substitute the word Student for Department, which apparently NSIT is not ok with. While the exact details are fuzzy, the current Slate says they don't want to give students access to Web Express.

I wouldn't find this such a big deal, except we have just spent a bunch of YOUR money building this new website. Except what we have now isn't a website, not in the way you and I think of the word. What we have is instead some sort of statue, a marble edifice which will remain static despite the passage of time and events. That's not a website (see bellow)

Its sad that in an effort to make SG more legitimate through professional design and site organization, we may have sacrificed the real power of the online content: the power to be relevant.


We can do better. For an idea of what the ol'interweb is capable of, observe:





-Scott

Thank you for your help and support

I'd like to say thank you for everyone who came to the blog to learn about our Slate and were hopefully motivated to vote for us.

This blog was more successful then I could have ever imagined, pulling in almost 1,000 hits and around 1,700 page views. The comments we received on the blog were great and reassured us that students wanted to talk about the issues if they only had a forum to make their views known.

We'll hopefully keep posting for a little bit about the transition from the current slate, but the eventual goal is to make sg.uchicago.edu as user friendly and easy to update as this blog.

Again, I'd just like to thank everyone for their help and support for the last few days. What a long, strange trip its been.

-Scott

Top Five Ways to Help Your-SG Win

In the spirit of High Fidelity I present to you the Top Five Ways you can help Your-SG get elected. In order of importance:

1. Vote here. And tell all your friends to go to sg.uchicago.edu to vote. Harass them. They'll thank you later (really).
2. After you vote, find someone from Your-SG (we'll be in the McCormick Tribune Lounge tonight from 7-9!) and get a sticker or a button to let everybody know you voted.
3. If someone sends a goofy e-mail to your House or RSO listhost saying vote for the other guys, reply and debate them! This is an open process and we need debate about the ideas each Slate brings to the table. Point them to the blog, mention that we came up with the all night study space in Reynolds thing first, just talk about the ideas.
   
4. Announce the election is happening in your classes. Get people to remember this is going on.
5. Casually ask everyone you know if they've read the Maroon's insightful editorial. Act shocked if they say no.
   

We really appreciate the help. It's been a fun couple of weeks getting this blog up and hearing from students about ideas or misspelled words on the posters. Hopefully you've had as much fun as we have. In a couple of days it'll all be over, so put in the extra effort to make it all worth while.

Thank you and now please enjoy Jack Black:

Maroon Endorsement and Coverage

I am honored to announce that Your-SG has received the endorsement from the Chicago Maroon.

Here's their editorial explaining why you should vote for us (vote here):

Make Your-SG our SG

By Maroon Editorial Staff

Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

This year’s communication failure between students and the administration illustrated the need of Student Government (SG) to perform its proper function: to represent the views of the students. SG has better access to administrators on campus than most students. But while the top administrators are eager to lend their ears, SG has not yet formed a cohesive voice. This year, the Most Known Unknowns and Your-SG are the two slates for the SG Executive Committee vying to fill that void. Delta Upsilon’s spoof slate, the Moose Party, has also thrown its hat into the ring in its annual protest against SG.

While the Maroon is tempted by the Most Known Unknowns’ promise to bring a fresh voice to SG, the slate suffers from inexperience and presents few original ideas or concrete plans. The centerpiece of the Most Known Unknowns’ platform is a big speaker fund, but when pressed on how they will find the five- or six-figure sums required to bring such speakers to campus, the candidates naïvely insisted that “there’s always money somewhere.” This unfamiliarity with the intricacies of SG finances highlights the slate’s lack of experience; only one of its three candidates has previously served on SG.

The Maroon was pleased to hear Your-SG’s goal to make SG a credible intermediary between the administration and students. Your-SG plans to increase accountability by hiring an independent secretary for all College Council meetings. The slate also proposes creating an SG Executive Committee blog to encourage communication between the student body and SG. Its proposal for an RSO Wiki would enable each student group to present its own face and contact information to students without unnecessary red tape.

Your-SG has reasonable plans to tackle student life concerns. From bringing back a popular location for the all-night study space to adding more blue security lights off campus, Your-SG has a well thought-out platform. The slate has expressed a desire to work with and bring ideas to the Transportation and Parking Office to make both the CTA and late-night bus service more convenient for the University community. The candidates also maintain a sensible stance on the U-Pass—they support giving students a choice via a referendum while maintaining that the costs are prohibitive.

Your-SG offers the right mix of experience, new ideas, and leadership that the student body needs. The slate presented its ideas with research details to show that the candidates had done their homework. With hope for a better year for SG, the Maroon endorses Your-SG.

U-Pass shouldn’t pass this week

Also on the ballot is a referendum on the U-Pass. While the Maroon is glad to see the issue finally put to a vote, the U-Pass is not financially sound for most students on campus given the average student’s travel habits. The Maroon votes no on the U-Pass and encourages level-headed students to do the same.

The news office also wrote a story profiling the slate, which you can find here.

And, just in case I didn't mention it before,

VOTE

Big Idea: Picinic Tables!

I recently received this e-mail about a way to make campus life better.

Hi,

I have a request/question. So with all this nice weather
I've noticed that there is virtually no place to sit outside
and do work except on the grass. Im talking about a serious
lack of tables. Simple picnic tables set up on the quad and
all over campus. What if it rained the night before, and I
don't want to sit on the grass? I really can't believe that
no one has suggested putting picnic tables around campus.

I think this is a great idea and one which can be easily implemented using the Slate's budget, we'd make sure we'd do it if elected (maybe even before we start our term in the fall).


While the current Slate has a 'Big Ideas' listhost, no one knows about it or posts, unfortunately. What'd be easier is just make sure students know who we are and what we're thinking so you can send us e-mails like this one.


Thanks for the note, and please send us more ideas.

Don't Bitch: Bus

Before I broke my knee, I tended to walk to school from my 54th and Kimbark Apartment.

Occasionally, when the weather was bad, I'd instead walk north to 53rd and Woodlawn to wait for the 172. Of the four or five times I tried this, almost without fail the bus was full of people coming from further up the route and I couldn't get on. I was obviously angry and was subsequently late to whatever I was trying to get to. Damn CTA and damn Transportation Office, I'd say to myself.

A lot of people are mad at the buses: from Shorelanders trying to get to and from campus to professional students who rely on the buses to get to the El to get downtown. But fortunately, unlike many other things at the University, there is someone listening.

The Transportation Office is standing by with a helpful comment form, an e-mail address which is checked daily, and a hotline for complaints ( 773-795-6108). This is a department which wants to hear from you and is willing to make service adjustments to fill needs. They just need to know where the holes in the system exist.

For me, this is a paradigm of what the University services should be like. It should be relatively flexible and need oriented. It should be receptive to student input and ready to respond. But it needs one final component and that's us: it needs us to use the structure they've built to handle our complaints.

So next time you miss a bus because its too crowded, don't just curse and walk/jog to class: BUS. Every time a driver is rude, don't just brush it off: CALL. And anytime the drunk van takes an hour and a half to pick you up: E-MAIL. Be as specific as possible: time, date, route, and driver if you can remember it all. Channel your anger into that complaint and the Transportation Office will use your advise to make a service which can better serve all students.

-Scott

PS - There are a lot of things wrong with the Transportation Office and there's a lot that needs to be fixed (see Drunk Van, 173, 171 at times, and I still have no idea whether I can get on the 172 at 11 AM on a Tuesday). But their model for communication, albeit under publicized and under used, is what we should strive for and what we would work for if elected.

Maroon Debate Coverage

Here's the coverage of the debate by the Maroon.

A lot of Matt quotes!

We're meeting with them this weekend to talk to both the News Editor (Justin Sink) and the Editorial Board. Should be a lot of fun.

Buttons, Posters, Oh My!

Here are the two final posters which we just made and are printing out in 001.

They'll be all over campus by Monday.






We've got more campaign gear if you want it. Stickers, buttons, maybe even some candy. Let us know if you'd like to wear it or give it out.

Clips from the debate

Enjoy.

Tuition Issues

Many people have been approaching me to talk about one of the ideas that we threw out there in our first campaign video--a tuition freeze. This idea was the product of several talks I have had with my dad about tuition, how I am going to pay for college, and his experience dealing with tuition at the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois with my sister. Since then, I have had several talks with administrators and other students about the feasibility of this issue, and their serious concerns about it. It seems that this is not a policy that would be possible at all in the short term, but may not be out of the question in the very long-run.

First let me address this conceptually. Suppose we found the money to pay for such an initiative out of thin air, is this where that money could do the most good? After speaking about this a little more, it seems that improving financial aid packages would help students who need the help more, as opposed to a very small marginal benefit for all students.

To address this idea on the grounds of feasibility, there simply isn't the money to pay for such a proposal right now, but we can address the reason why there is no money for it, one of which is that the University has struggle in the past to make its endowment grow on a rate that compares with other peer institutions. Administrators have been actively working to change this with the Chicago Initiative and many new ideas out of the Development office. On a broader level, we need to ensure that students enjoy their time on this campus enough that they are excited about giving back to the university for the rest of their lives.

Thanks to all the people who raised these concerns, and if you still have issues, please comment on this post!

Campaign Meeting and Debate Prep!

Come to the debate: 6 PM, McCormick Tribune Lounge, Tonight!

Security

In light of the tragic events at Virginia Tech, I think it's really important that we talk seriously about security issues on campus. Right now 53rd-55th on Kimbark is not lit. There is no reason this needs to be the case. What security improvements would you like to see on campus?

NSIT - New Stuff Integrated Tragically

Hi Blog readers,

If you've read our platform, you'll notice that there is a plank concerning NSIT and new technology on campus.

I just wanted to explain why we decided to include this plank and do a little overview about what NSIT is doing right and doing what I believe is missing.

First, lets give NSIT a tip of the hat for their work on cmail and junkmail. I know my uchicago address is out there where spammers can find it, and NSIT does a decent job (with the exception of the occasional offer from Nigeria) of filtering my spam. Look in your junkmail account and marvel how many offers of helping you with your ED problems are kept safely away from your inbox.

But even here you have to leave cmail to get to your junkmail inbox. Why do I have to logout of cmail, go to junkmail.uchicago.edu and then log back in to edit my settings and check that important messages aren't being filtered?

Why can't there be one website where I can log in with my cnet only once and then get to: cmore, chalk, cmail, junkmail, and this awesome new file sharing service which they just developed (called webshare). The website could have feeds from the Maroon, the News Office, the Activities Calender, and NSIT to keep me informed. All of these sites have RSS feeds (click on the links, you'll see), they'd just need to be organized by NSIT on one page and integrated with our other services.

This kind of integration of online services will take time, money, and be a hassle for students while the change is implemented. But wouldn't it be worth it to have all our online needs and feeds organized in one place?

That's the kind of integration we're talking about with our plank and that we would work for if elected. I can't promise this will get done in a year, but I can promise we'll put pressure on NSIT to make things easier online. Ultimately I think it'd be something they would be into, after all who uses or even knows about webshare? With everything organized around a central portal, NSIT would be able to easily introduce new services to students without the pain of having to get the word out.

Let me know your thoughts on this idea.

We'll also be having a campaign meeting in Hutch at 8 PM. Be there to pick up posters, meet the candidates, and chew some fat (metaphorically). We'd love to hear from you.

-Scott

More Platform

On October 27th, 2006 President Robert Zimmer was inaugurated as the 13th President of the University of Chicago. After the pomp and circumstance of the inauguration died away, the university began a new era of turbulent change. Expanding south of the Midway, eliminating the Uncommon Application, and becoming increasingly selective, the fabric of the University as we knew it and the reputation it has carried for many years is in a transitional stage. This is not a bad thing--change is necessary and good and will continue to push the University into a more prominent place and mold a new generation of students to become bright thinkers. However, we do face a problem when the administration fails to recognize that some of their decisions have dramatic impact on student life, and they push policies forward without thinking of the impact they will have for students at this school.

***

They say that nature abhors a vacuum. If that scientific maxim can be applied to another area, it seems that nature may abhor student government, which has faced a leadership vacuum for many years. Student Government has lost sight of its primary mission: to serve students and instead turned to flashy projects and cultivated a sick culture of rule worship. The bureaucracy has become so ingrained that it no longer serves, and therefore no longer has the mandate of, those who it was created for. As it currently stands, Student Government only has the time to pass out money, push one or two new ideas forward, and deal with the crisis of the year (there always has, and always will be one) but can never get it together when it comes to the issues that student's care about. We intend to change this. The administration will listen to the elected representatives of the student body if the student body has actively chosen such representation.

Moreover, Student Government is often perceived as no more than a vacuous cesspool of indecision and ego, and consequently can hardly claim to represent the student body. It is time that this era of poor leadership is over. We need to move past the flash of overpriced LCD screens and address the issues that students actually give a damn about. The current executive slate has been taking some steps in the right direction, but we need to go farther, with the understanding that not all students are going to agree with every decision that is made, but the hope that we can do what is the best good for the most students. We need a fundamentally new vision of student government. The apathy and distaste currently felt for SG ensures us of the truth of this.

Indeed, Student Government has existed in its current state for hardly more than a decade, and it is time that we have a new mission with a new mandate from the student body. We need to look outside the bureaucratic administration and recreate the structure of the government. Every time we mistake the system we have for the system that is possible, we fail. We need to look outside the of SGFC and all of SG and create a model that works, that is a living body. I have sat through too many meetings where there has been heated debate about the appropriate amount of money to spend on paper plates for an event. Student Government shouldn't be obsessed with such acute micromanagement. Students are responsible and can build and structure great events with minimal intervention from SG.

With these ends in mind please scroll down and view some of the issues we would like to see addressed, should we be elected next week. With your help, we can make these a reality and we hope to have your input on more ideas that we can bring to the forefront.

The Slate

Thank you to Sharat, the master photographer, for this lovely image. It really captures the magic of our Slate.





Come to the debate this Wednesday at **UPDATE - TIME CHANGE** 6 PM in the McCormick Tribune Lounge. Liaisons go first, followed by Slates. Should be a lot of fun.

Your-SG Platform

Student Voice

• Groups like STAND and Uncommon demonstrate that student activism is at an all time high. It is the job of the Student Government to ensure that these voices are heard. SG must fundamentally change its communication philosophy from a passive role to one that actively seeks student input and advocates those views to the administration. With greater understanding of student opinion comes a greater ability to advocate for change. Our credibility is fundamentally tied to our ability to know the student body. That is not to say that all students agree with the positions taken by either of these organizations, but rather more students are unhappy about more issues, and there needs to be an open line of communication

Administration

• Despite all best efforts students are continuously marginalized by the administration. We need an administration that asks what students think first before making decisions that fundamentally impact us. As University students, the administration owes it to us to explain their thinking and take into account our opinions. To that end, we will work proactively to ensure that students are an integral part of all-university committees and other decisions that will have a great impact on students.

Green Campus

• The University just received a D- from the Sustainable Endowments Institute. This is indicative of a broader problem of environmental issues on campus. We need to integrate a Sustainability Coordinator into the administration so that environmental concerns can be consistently incorporated into university decision making. This is not only a good step for the environment, but can also help save money by reducing energy usage and excess purchasing.

Bring Back the A-Level

• The A-level was a part of our culture as U of C students and was one of the primary social scenes on campus. It was a place that brought people together both in and out of the classroom. The A-level was taken away without student input. It is demonstrative of the enormous discount between the students and the administration. If we cannot bring back the A-Level, we should look into exciting alternatives such as using the Reynolds Club as an all night study space, or working to make the Crerar Cafe an asset to student life.

Student Care Center

• The University has recently renegotiated its health care service contract with Chickering. We support Student Health Insurance Review Committee's (SHIRC) work in pressing Chickering to expand the services provided by the SCC, such as bulk discounts for larger prescription orders and discounted vaccinations for students going abroad. Its time we made the most of our health care spending.

Technology

• Why does it feel like NSIT is still preparing for Y2K? We need to finish the Student Government website and invest resources into building a portal for students online. The internet allows for collaboration between students at an unprecedented level, its time the University took an active part in making this collaboration happen. The Registrar's decision to make Transcripts available online is a move in the right direction towards making both student and administrators lives easier by moving services online.

Communication

Student Government operates without much student involvement or interaction. This needs to change. We have several easy solutions which will make Student Government more receptive, transparent, and

• Constant Contact:
  
• Constituent Wide E-mails: Representatives need to be in contact with their constituents, whether this is in the form of personalized e-mail sent by Graduates out to their divisions or to College Students by year. We now have the technology with Bulk Mail 2: a mass mail program that allows users to messages to a select number of recipients. While there has been a proposal to use Bulk Mail 2 with the College Council, we need to extend it to graduate divisions as well. By reliably and frequently communicating with students, College and Graduate Council Representatives can keep people informed of current affairs and reach out to students to gage their opinions.
• Blog: The SG Website is nearing completion but still doesn't posses a blog which can be updated regularly with the thoughts and news of student government. We pledge to create such a space, and keep it updated, so students can always see what we're doing, thinking, and yes, even feeling.

• Transparency:
• More Minutes: Minutes are taken in SG Committees on a volunteer and irregular basis. There is no formal method, no rhyme or reason from meeting to meeting or year to year. In an effort to change that, we propose using SG money to guarantee each meeting of Student Government, be it Campus Services, College or Graduate Council, or the Assembly, has a designated minute taker. We promise to post and host these minutes online, guaranteeing the right to all students to see what their government is up to.
• Boldly Going: Paper minutes and transcripts are a wonderful resource, but we can go further in today's age of Youtube and podcasts. We propose supplementing traditional minutes by the end of next year with streaming video transcripts of every meeting. This will guarantee transparency and ensure that each student can experience the thrill firsthand of attending all of SG's exciting meetings.

• Reception:
• Discussion: In the true U of C Spirit, we will begin the first Student Government discussion board. We all yearn for the thrill of real intellectual debate and this will provide a forum where students can debate the issues of the day such as divestment, gripe about problems such as housing, or theorize on how to structurally alter SG. By making these discussions public, we will have access to the diversity of student thought and hopefully stimulate real involvement as well all try to put off our homework.
• RSO-Wiki: ORCSA attempts to keep a student database which provides up to date information on all the various RSOs. Its a hard job keeping track of every RSO and that's why we think the responsibility should be in the hands of the RSO. A wiki provides a way for groups to easily alter their image, post content, and keep information up to date.
  

Another sick poster.

Why do reading when you have gimp?

Another poster.

Article for the Maroon

Here's an article co-wrote with Hollie Russon Gilman. We're hoping it'll end up in the Maroon this Tuesday. Enjoy and comment.

PS - This article is meant as neither an endorsement of Your-SG by Hollie nor an endorsement of Hollie by Your-SG. It doesn't endorse anyone except the free flow of ideas and student involvement.

It’s just another Sunday in Spring Quarter and we’re both enjoying a delicious Pierce brunch. And like any true U of C students, we don’t just see this as a chance for some bacon and eggs, but also rather as another chance for a truly controlled sociological experiment.

“Excuse me; do you know that there is a student government election a week from Tuesday?” We ask of two first years at our table. Blank stares. Confusion. Shrugs.

We kindly offer an explanation for our intrusion: there is in fact a student government election on April 24^th to elect the Executive Slate (President, Vice President of Student Affairs, and Administration) and both undergraduate and graduate liaisons to the board of Trustees. Trying to explain ourselves and ease the awkward tension, we try to explain that this is crucial time to get involved with student politics: a new President of our University looking for change, a call from students for change on everything from applications to genocide, and a near universal feeling from everybody that things are going to change.

“Would you say you’re a representative sample for the rest of this room? That everyone here has no idea this is going on?” Both students looked at each other and shrugged “I guess so.” As everyone returned to their French toast, you’d think we would have been feeling glum about student participation. But a subtle change had occurred to our fellow brunchers which gave us hope.

Even after this brief encounter, we saw the spark in their faces. Suddenly, the horizon was blue again: what if we lived in a campus (or a world) where Student Government was the constant talk at the brunch table? What if issues of student engagement and increased communication amongst students, faculty, and administrators were as common place as Locke and Friedman? The only reason they are not is because there is limited awareness amongst students about the role of Student Government, the very working and going ons of the SG (that’s the acronym), and the possibilities for reform.

This is in fact the most ideal time for students to get involved. Despite individual feelings toward the Divestment Campaign, it is marked as a watershed moment in student power – our school is historically unwilling to engage in a dialogue about the University’s role with the greater world, now students are given $200,000 to start a process of research. President Zimmer is willing to engage and discuss issues of paramount importance to the University: financial aid, diversity, student engagement, and sustainability just to name a few of a very comprehensive list. Everyone, from student activist to administrators to those of us in student government, is asking: can’t we do better?

The closing of the A-level is an event that is marked by many undergraduates as yet another step by the University towards taking away what little joy we have here, but in reality it represents the horrible disconnect between students and administrators. Had student’s been consulted on this issue, the administration would have known instantly that people feel an emotionally, physical, and psychological connection to the A-level. The sad thing is this move wasn’t because the administration is cruel or hates our UChicago-ness but rather because they just never thought to ask.

Clearly there is a lot that needs to be done. But there are also a lot of people who are excited by the possibilities for reform and have new and innovative ideas for change. But these ideas do not matter if we have an election that is about who you know and not what you know. We go to a school that prides itself on nuanced analysis of primary sources. We deserve the same from our Student Government elections. Everyone benefits if we have an open and honest dialogue about issues. Yet, the elections are a week from Tuesday and there has been little to no discussion, anywhere. If Mill is right and we ought to let the best ideas rise to the top, then lets give the entire student body an opportunity to vote those ideas into place. May the best ideas win.

UPass Referendum

So there is a movement, directed mostly by the Inter House Council, to have a referendum on the ballot about the UPass.

The idea is this will finally answer the question: how many students really want a UPass?

While I think the UPass is a great idea, I have real concerns about going with populist sentiments. The cost per month would be five round trip rides and one one-way ride. The question is do you ride the CTA that much.

My problem with the UPass is I don't think it makes a lot of sense financially, yet its really appealing for many students because it means shifting their transportation costs from their wallet to the their tuition statement.

Students are more or less responsible for their tuition statement depending on their family's financial situation. While some have it covered, for others a rise would mean more debt. My worry with the UPass Referendum is that we'll approve it for the wrong reasons and then end up hurting those students who are already taking on a lot of debt to attend this University.

Am I wrong? Post bellow.

Poster Idea

So I've been making some posters for the campaign. Here's a sneak peak.

If its sucks, use the comment feature bellow to tell me. And yes, you can comment anonymously.

-Scott

PS - we'll probably do other pictures, so I wont be naked all over the school.

First Video!

Meet the Slate