SGA
hopes amendments will deter campaign corruption
Rules,
Election Committees Chairperson: candidates must run tighter ship,
submit list of campaign staff
Leslie Hitchcock
- Special Correspondent
Last year, tensions
mounted and tempers flew as accusations were made against both tickets
for Student Government Association (SGA) president and vice president.
It was reported,
but never verified, that receipts and other documents pertaining
to the election were falsified, which are both violations of the
elections rules.
"Allegations
were made every day, but because of the limited timeframe (the Elections
Committee) had to work with, we couldn't do anything about it,"
said former Rules and Elections Chairperson Gus Enriquez.
That will not
be happening this year, said current Rules and Elections Chairperson
Justin Farmer.
Amendments have
been proposed to the senate that will modify some of the elections
bylaws that can be misinterpreted, Farmer said.
These changes
will help the election process run more smoothly, said Farmer. "All
of the candidates have been associated with the organization, so
they know what is right and what is wrong, so you really have to
run a tight ship." This will help close loopholes that the
tickets might use to get around the rules.
The modifications
will help to avoid future disagreements on how the election was
run, Farmer said. He plans on documenting every note and telephone
call dealing with the election. "Not to call anyone a liar,
but if you said you left me a note, it should be in my notebook."
This year,
candidates will be required to present a list of their entire campaign
staff, to ensure it is composed of currently enrolled students.
"We are doing that because questions arose of who got to be
on the campaign staff. We concluded it has to be a currently enrolled
student. This prevents professionals who own printing companies
to ... donate to the staff," Farmer said.
If a member
of the campaign staff donated materials, then it would not have
to be reported to the elections committee. For example, if a member
of the campaign staff created a web page for the candidates, there
is no charge incurred against the $750 the candidate was allowed
to spend.
Candidates themselves
will be held responsible for violations perpetrated by members of
their campaign staffs, even if it was done without their knowledge.
"The campaign staff is an extension of them," Farmer said.
Violations of
campaign bylaws result in sanctions will be taken against candidates,
and are divided into major and minor categories.
A candidate
could receive a reprimand, verbal or written, which could be made
available to the campus media and the other ticket.
The elections
committee could also fine the candidate money that would be taken
out of the $750 they have to spend on their campaign.
Farmer is trying
to avoid problems that have occurred in past elections, such as
campaigning before the campaign period begins and falsification
of receipts. "A lot of that is due to ignorance, but I say
ignorance is no excuse. If you have a question, ask me first."
To prevent
any problems with receipts, Farmer said it is mainly an effort to
call around to area vendors and asking them what they would charge
for this service. "Don't tell me you got 2,000 bi-folds printed
for 50 cents. I know they cost way more than that a piece."
Countdown
to election nomination at six days
Nominations
for president, v.p. accepted until March 2; campaigning begins March
19
L. Nicole
Tallent - SGA Beat
The Student
Government Association (SGA) is seeking qualified students to run
as candidates in the approaching elections for president and vice
president.
Candidates must
be either a junior or a senior at Appalachian, and are required
to have a minimum GPA of 2.25.
The election
process will begin Monday, Feb. 26. Nominations for president and
vice president will be accepted in the SGA office at the desk of
Justin Farmer, Rules Committee chairman, from 12 p.m. on Feb. 26
through 12 p.m. on Friday, March 2.
When declaring
a nomination, each candidate must have a pre-determined running
mate.
Candidates will
be required to attend several campaign meetings and debates, and
will work closely with the members of the SGA Rules Committee.
Rules Committee
members for 2001 include Chairman Justin Farmer, Marsha Moore (Chairperson
Pro Tempore), Carolyn Baker, Rachel Bowling, Shawn Collins, Deanna
Gouge, Jason Law, Chris Merrick, Holly Parker, Meredith Schmidt
and Sabrina Shaul.
These members
will play a vital role in the campaigning of all candidates, and
have been sworn in to assure that all rules are followed and that
campaigns are correctly advised. Official campaigning will begin
on Monday, March 19, and the actual election period will run from
Monday, April 2 through Thursday, April 5.
All qualified
candidates interested in running for Student Government Association
president or vice president for 2001-2002 should call Justin Farmer
262-6258.
Officials
lure Hutchens from Radford
Robyn Dailey
- Chancellor/Advancement Beat
On Feb. 1, Jerry
Hutchens became the senior associate vice chancellor for development.
Hutchens came
from Radford University in Virginia, where he has worked for the
past 24 years.
While holding
the positions of assistant vice president for development and executive
director for the Radford University Foundation, Hutchens got a call
from Appalachian.
The university
called him while holding a nationwide search for the position.
Hutchens was
not interested in the job when he first got a call a year and a
half ago.
When the school
called back last fall, however, he had made up his mind to come.
"I wanted
to work at one of the top public regional universities in America,"
said Hutchens.
The development
office is responsible for securing private sector support for the
university, according to Hutchens.
After a thorough
interview in Boone, Hutchens was offered the job.
He accepted,
and is currently renting a room in Yonahlossee Resort, which is
about four miles from the campus.
Hutchens' wife,
who teaches third grade in Virginia, will move to Boone to join
her husband after school lets out for the summer.
They are building
a townhouse in Yonahlossee Resort, and Mrs. Hutchens plans to volunteer
for the school next year.
Hutchens also
has a 22-year-old daughter at Elon College.
He was appointed
as director of the Centennial Campaign, also known as the Capital
Campaign.
Radford University,
where Hutchens is from, has approximately 9,000 students.
"Four
thousand more students makes a big difference," he said. "It
feels bigger."
Chancellor Francis
T. Borkowski said, "We're very, very happy to have Jerry Hutchens
with us."
Hutchens' emphasis
is the continuation of student support after graduation.
He said that
there are two main reasons that alumni should show their support.
The first is
because the school benefits from the monetary contributions.
Secondly, part
of the university's reputation is determined by the percentage of
alumni giving.
People are more
apt to support institutions that have a strong support base from
their former students, said Hutchens.
According to
Borkowski, Hutchens will help the university advance in many ways.
"He's highly
regarded and I think that clearly, he's already had an impact on
the development efforts," said Borkowski.
"He loves
it here, and he's fitting in beautifully."
Truly
enjoying his job: Pilkington inspires students, faculty
Sean Oakley
- Features Beat
When Ed Pilkington
speaks, he uses a warm but strong tone that tells a lot more about
his life than any story or resume. It is the kind of voice that
is filled with good memories and relaxed realization of contentment.
He is more than
willing to share the many events of his life, yet never brags.
Though he did
not set out to become a teacher, in many ways, it seemed to set
out looking for him.
"The real
enjoyment came from working with students," Pilkington said.
"Seeing them grow and develop their role and just to see them
become better people."
Since 1970,
he has been teaching and directing theatre here at Appalachian State
University. He directed a play almost every year, sometimes two.
Some of the
plays he directed include "Weird and Wacky World," "Playboy
of the Western World," and "Arms and the Man," by
Bernard Shaw.
He spent his
summers directing for Horn in the West and he also found the time
to act in plays for The Blowing Rock Stage Company and the Charlotte
Repertory Theatre. Last year, he was recognized with an Outstanding
Faculty award from the College of Fine and Applied Arts.
Yet, the achievements
are really only the beginning of a quite admirable life.
Pilkington
grew up in Goldsboro, NC. It was here that he was first inspired
to become an actor. His high school director was a well known and
respected theatre man who was a great example for Pilkington.
"I knew
when I was a sophomore in high school that I was going to be an
actor," he said.
From Goldsboro,
he headed up north.
He did his undergraduate
work at Ithaca College in New York. After graduating, he moved to
Manhattan. Once there, he acted off Broadway and learned at the
Circle in the Square producing company and the American Theatre
Wing under the consultation of Helen Hayes and Helen Menckin.
He noticed later
in life, the big difference between the teaching world of theatre
and the professional world of theatre.
According to
Pilkington, "In the academic world weÕre worried about teaching
and the process, in the professional world it simply has to sell."
After some time
spent in Manhattan, he returned to North Carolina to teach at Elon
College.
Oddly enough,
this decision was influenced mostly by a postman strike that stopped
another contract from reaching him. Since the other contract was
stuck in a post office somewhere with no way of being delivered,
he signed with Elon and began his career of teaching.
Once back in
North Carolina, he finished his Master of Fine Arts at University
of North Carolina at Greensboro and also finished his Master of
Arts in Theatre at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Though he enjoyed
the four years he spent at Elon, because of budget cutbacks, he
had to leave. So that is how in 1970, Pilkington came to Appalachian.
When he came
here, "it was an exciting time," he remembered. "I
was involved in bringing things to the area that nobody had ever
dreamed of."
He began a touring
company that travelled to local schools and give grade school children
a chance to see live theatre. He also helped start art councils
in Ashe, Watauga and Avery counties, which would later form the
Blue Ridge Creative Activities Council.
But these were
outside activities to his teaching, which is what seemed to be the
most important thing in his life at the time.
His dedication
to his students even extended to letting his students stay with
him when they were in trouble or needed a roof.
Of all his teaching
memories, there is one that sticks out in his mind. It happened
in an Introduction to Theatre Class.
On the last
day of class, he encouraged a student who had done very good in
his class to consider a career in acting. The young man thanked
him but seemingly didnÕt give it much thought.
Three years
later the same man came back to thank Pilkington, saying "I
canÕt tell you how much your class meant to me."
The young man
who was only in the introductory class because it was a requirement
is now an actor in New York working off Broadway and it was because
of PilkingtonÕs class, he said, that he found the one thing in life
he really wanted to do.
These are the
moments that Ed Pilkington found to be the most rewarding. But his
appreciation is not only for the students.
"This university
has really gotten behind me, IÕve always had support from the university.
It has been a really free school to teach in."
Though teaching
was not his intended plan when he first set out from Ithaca, it
turned out to be the ideal situation.
"(Teaching)
provided me with a way of producing my theatre and at the same time
caring for my family. I was more stable than I would have been as
an actor."
His home life,
according to him, was one of the only things that took precedent
over his teaching life.
He lives with
his wife and has proudly watched three of his children graduate
from Appalachian State. Pilkington and his spouse also adopted three
foster children, two of which had been split up because of abuse.
His wife was a social worker who realized that one of the children
had no home for Christmas, so Pilkington and his wife decided to
take the boy home for Christmas.
After spending
time with him, they simply couldnÕt say good-bye. They applied for
a foster-parenting license and were approved. Shortly after, they
had his sister come and stay with them. Three years later, they
adopted another foster child.
It has been
this need to help people that has made Ed PilkingtonÕs career as
a teacher a success and an accomplishment.
Since this
is his last year teaching, he plans on staying in this area and
getting back into the acting world. Though he fears he may eventually
have to move to Charlotte or Atlanta to be closer to an airport.
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