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St. Cloud State University
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Commentary
Kimball, student gov't failing student body
Published:
Thursday, April 7, 2005
It is the unanimous opinion of the University Chronicle Editorial Board that student government and its President Hal Kimball are not serving the SCSU student body well, or with the better interest of students in mind.
The group is unorganized, uninspired and poorly led. Important student-oriented issues have not been their main concern. As vice-president Bianca Rhodes wrote in her failed attempt to resign via e-mail, "Senators need to do their job. I have been noticing that, that is not happening."
Instead, some student government member's prerogatives have been entirely self-serving. As Rhodes emphasized, "If you came to student government with a perspective of only a resume line, then you are in the wrong place. There are so many accomplishments that we could have done this year but didn't happen."
Although there is only a limited amount of time left in the school year and many things could have happened "but didn't," it is what has happened that has affected SCSU students and organizations the most detrimentally.
The most eye-opening issue thus far is Kimball's election as state chair in the Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA). This action would be similar to President Bush becoming the head of the United Nations after his term.
Eighty percent of the student body voted in favor of withdrawal (supported unanimously by student government) and Kimball promised to keep the issue at hand during his campaign.
Furthermore, SCSU was backed by Minnesota State University-Mankato representatives in a March walk-out during the MSUSA delegates assembly in 2004. In an interview with the University Chronicle in the Sept. 10, 2004 issue, Kimball was still adamant about addressing MSUSA. "It's not your daddy's MSUSA anymore," he said.
Rhodes said MSUSA would be tackled as well. "We will still be working on the MSUSA issue, that is very important to the students and student government," she said in an interview with the University Chronicle on April 19, 2004 after winning the student government election.
Besides MSUSA, there has been much turmoil internally among student government this year. The most obvious is the resignation of the entire finance committee. The chair, Ibrahim Bah, was up for removal from his position for "willful neglect of duty." However, associate vice-president of administrative affairs and student government adviser Diana Burlison believed that Bah and the committee were performing a commendable job. "The students are being well served by the finance committee," she stated in an e-mail to Bah. This leads one to believe that there was some type of hidden agenda.
The finance committee's reason for resigning with Bah - all seven of them -was corruption among student government members and Kimball specifically. Their main concern was bias toward certain student organizations, especially when approving or denying requests for budgets. After members of our staff reviewed documents and visited with various committee members, it is hard to believe that at least some favoritism or bias has not occurred this year.
Other public issues that have caused friction, rather than assisting, the student body and alumni include: the homecoming court and Support the Court campaign and the proposed removal of the Swisshelm statue as well as the plaque honoring European settlers outside the Miller Center.
In regards to the plaque outside the Miller Center, Tom Andrus, outreach coordinator for the American Indian Center, said is not a large problem. He came to this conclusion after hearing what the plaque actually read and not what student government claimed-- that white people were here before American Indians. "It doesn't say anything near that. It simply honors the first European settlers," he said in an interview with the University Chronicle on March 31, 2005. "It's just not worth a great big fight," he added.
Among other concerns is Kimball's apparent distaste for former student government associations. "Student government is not a network of friends as it may have been in the past," he said in an interview with the University Chronicle on Feb. 28, 2005. "My perception of previous student government is that it was more of a social club."
If those are Kimball's beliefs, why did he say, "In many respects we want to continue the work started by the body this year," referring to last year's student government in the Sept. 10 issue? Perhaps he changed his mind, similar to MSUSA.
"We're not going to hide a lot of things," Kimball also declared in the Sept. 10 issue. "We are not going to let our egos get in the way."
These are just a few examples illustrating that Kimball is covering up more than we as students and media are led to believe. It is too bad that student government has failed to adhere to their promises, serve the student body and continue on last year's job well done.
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Hal Kimball is truly a student advocate.... (4/8/05)
Hal Kimball is truly a student advocate.... (4/8/05)
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