St. Edward's University Hilltopper (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, April 30, 1982 Page: 2 of 4
This newspaper is part of the collection entitled: St. Edward’s University Newspaper Collection and was provided to The Portal to Texas History by the St. Edward’s University.
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Forum
April 30, 1982 HILLTOPPER Page 2
Campus Commentary
SAI leaders: should they get paid for the job they do?
Editorial
The PENGUNN
and €L QVE0N
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Letters to the editor
—Beth Thomas
by JIM FRANZ
Managing Editor
These salaries are paid by all stu-
dents through the student fees
charged at registration—and yet SAI
officers do not have to account to
anyone for he time they spend. Of-
fice hours are not required for them
as they are.for others, no staff per-
son oversees whether or not they get
For the last two weeks the
Hilltopper has run editorials con-
cerning the Student Association,
Inc. This is a reply to Gordon
Markley’s letter of April 23, 1982.
The majority of my concern
stems from the fact that the officer
positions for SAI are paid, indeed
This vignette is not meant to step
on toes; it is merely meant to inform
students that it is a rare occurrence
when their leaders of SAI are in their
offices.
the three executive officers divide
$250 a month during the present
year. As has been the case in years
past, the president of SAI receives
the majority of this money, $118, the
vice-president receives $84 and the
secretary/treasurer receives $48.
Before I continue it should be
noted that there are only six leader-
ship positions paid on campus; three
of them are the officers of the SAI.
It is a common joke on the third
floor of the Main Building that no
one is ever in the SAI office. The
other student leaders who have of-
fices up here and who are required
to hold office hours, joke about
brushing the cobwebs off the SAI
door. Indeed, one incident happened
at which one student had placed val-
entine hearts on each of the office
doors. Two and a half weeks after
Valentine’s Day the president of SAI
came upstairs and exclaimed, in
front of three other students, how
nice it was: someone had put a heart
on his door. The students laughed,
as they had discovered theirs three
weeks earlier!
If it is true, as Mr. Markley states
it, that the “value of any student
government is going to be deter-
mined by the needs of the market-
place, ” then it appears, in terms of
salary, as if the marketplace is de-
manding an awful lot.
It is my contention that the SAI
officers neither meet this demand
nor earn their salary. This is not an
attack on the present officers. The
four years I have been involved at
St. Edward’s have strengthened my
feelings; none of them earn their sal-
ary.
I don’t know if I’m concerned or
just selfish. I don’t want to lose any-
more friends.
The Hilltopper is published by the students of St. Edward’s
University. The opinions expressed are either those of the staff or
of the individual writer and do not necessarily reflect those of the
University.
Dear Editor,
I send my congratulations to
Willie Alexander and Pete Porras,
winners of the presidential and vice-
presidential SAI elections, but I
would like to pose some questions
concerning the election process.
With all the publicity strewn in
Moody Hall and other strategic
points on campus, such as the bath-
rooms, it was hard not to think that
the outcome of the elections would
be resultant of the profusity of ad-
vertising and not the merits of the
candidates. This, however, I accept,
as it is basic to all political opera-
tions; what I really question is the
lack of platforms and issues.
How am I, and the masses, sup-
posed to know what the candidates
stand for without an open forum
where the candidates can debate and
answer questions from their consti-
tutents? This has been done in the
past in accordance with the SAI
constitution. Even if response is
minimal, I think this is a vital step in
the voting process.
If there are no controversial is-
sues that the candidates wish to take
Dear Editor,
Last week we lost two students,
Rick Garcia and Sanat Shah, to car
accidents. Without getting over dra-
matic, it’s enough to say they were
friendly guys that we always thought
we’d see around and will surely
miss. However, I feel their deaths
will be for nothing if we don’t real-
ize the fragility of our own lives. I
say this especially in reference to au-
tomobiles. I remember just last week
somebody proudly telling me they
made a four-hour trip in just a little
over three hours.
I wish people would realize that
driving a car is a privilege, not a
right. And with that privilege comes
a great responsibility—to yourself,
your passengers, and whoever else
may be on the road with you. Ironi-
cally, both Sanat and Rick were pas-
sengers.
There has been an uproar re-
cently about the reinstatement of the
draft. Why hasn’t there been an up-
roar about people not wearing seat-
belts and enforcing the 55 mile per
hour speed limit?
L.M. Boyd recently printed these
statistics: “Since the Revolutionary
War in 1776 about 1.2 million Amer-
icans died in combat. Since 1900,
more than 2 million Americans have
died in car wrecks.” Think about it.
St. Edward’s University
HILLTOPPER
The two editors of the Hilltopper
and the editor of the Tower make the
other three. Only the secretary of
SAI receives less than the other three
positions paid, thus making the two
highest-paying student positions on
campus that of president and vice-
president of SAI.
Editor: Lisa Delaney
Managing Editor: Jim Franz
Assistant to the Editors: John Cernohous
News Staff: Patricia Keating, Bill Flynn, Susie Martinez, Raul
Mosqueda, Stephen Wilcock, Paul Cerqua
Features Staff: Anna Marie Flanigan, Lisa Maranto, Aristotle
Toumazis
Sports Staff: Rose Shuler (editor), Liz Hernandez, Ted Stavinoha
Contributors: Willie Alexander, Al Puente, Pete Porras
Advertising Manager: David Janecek
Cartoonist: Rey Gaytan
Photography Supervisor: Blaine Pennington
Advisor: Julie Newton
a stand on, I would still be inter-
ested to hear what each candidate’s
aspirations are—a small paragraph
on a mimeographed sheet on the
balloting table I find less than satis-
factory. It is too little, too late.
This oversight, coupled with the
questionable efficacy of the organi-
zation does little to elevate my opin-
ion of SAI.
If a forum is found to be an un-
realistic option, then I propose
statements be published in the
Hilltopper. Any information the
candidates can provide will lessen
the chances of the process becoming
merely a popularity contest.
Another proposal—perhaps a
limit should be set on the amount of
flyers and banners each candidate is
allowed to distribute. The abun-
dance of advertising can create more
annoyance than popular support.
Most political campaigns have fi-
nancial limits on advertising—why
not SAI?
I wish the best of luck to the
winning candidates—you have a big
challenge ahead of you. I hope next
year SAI will function more cohe-
sively with the “marketplace” as a
better representative liasion between
students and administration.
Good Luck!
—Anna Marie Flanigan
their job done and there is no proce-
dure for accounting to the students
who pay their salaries.
It is not the suggestion of the pre-
ceding thoughts that these people do
not work. It is completely possible,
and probable, that they attend meet-
ings and work on affairs outside of
the office, just as any student leader
must do.
It is my contention though, that
they do not work any harder than
the Student Activities Council mem-
bers, or members of the EDSMEN,
or writers and section editors for the
Hilltopper. Some of these students
have spent long hours into many
nights devoting their time and tal-
ents; I have yet to see SAI leaders do
the same in their positions.
These student leaders are paid for
their efforts by the honor they re-
ceive and the status obtained from
writing this on their resumes. It per-
plexes me what the difference is be-
tween these people and the SAI
leaders; certainly it is a great honor
to be the president of the student
government and this accomplish-
ment is certainly to be considered by
employers when looking for a job.
Other student leaders who are
2
DOO
Cold war a game with real toys
As I sit, at the end of a week spent in the protest of nuclear
armaments, I wonder what good the protests, marches, speeches and
petitions have done. Despite some very organized and even sponta-
neous demonstrations of the people’s opposition to the use and devel-
opment of nuclear weapons, President Reagan remains steadfast in his
opinion.
Our leader’s response to the “Ground Zero” grass roots protest
movement was degrading and narrow-minded. If Reagan had ex-
plained to the thousands participating in these protests why he con-
tinues to support nuclear buildup, giving us rational, well-thought out
reasons for his stance, then we may have been able to argue logically
and rationally on the subject. Instead, he chose to insist that only he
“has all the facts” about the situation at hand.
When someone makes such a statement, he/she closes the subject
to any further discussion—rejecting what may be valid and important
opinions from the opposition. Okay, I do not have the specialized
knowledge of a nuclear physicist, nor do I have teams of advisors
supplying me with information 24 hours a day. But I like to believe
that I am capable of understanding a situation if it is explained to me
by someone with this knowledge—-and I have found that, at times, if I
talk to an outsider about a particular problem, he/she can show me
something that I have not seen myself.
If all the facts are not available to us, then we have little choice but
to base our opinions on incomplete knowledge and our “gut feelings.”
I suggest that President Reagan cannot really claim to know all the
facts, but that he also relies on some personal assumptions himself.
After all, he is human, isn’t he?
My feeling, and the feelings of the thousands of protesters of
nuclear armaments, is that the creation of—and the owning of, for
that matter—nuclear weapons is purely destructive and serves no
benevolent purpose. The cold war (and we have been in a state of war,
in effect, for many years) is based on a game, our government’s
version of “keeping up with the Joneses.” But the “toys” we are
playing with are not plastic—they’re the real thing. We are not talking
about statistics, toy soldiers or dolls—the decisions made on this
subject affect the lives of real people, whose opinions should matter.
If these words sound like the rantings and ravings of a frightened
person, I agree. I am afraid of this game, because part of it is real. The
challenges and the competition are in the minds and egos of our
leaders, but their tools will lead to the destruction of the everyday lives
of my family, friends, strangers and I.
What can we do? If we are not being listened to, if we are dismissed
as paranoid reactionary madmen, what good it is to protest?
We have seen this movement toward a nuclear freeze grow rapidly
in the past few months. The Catholic Church is protesting in a loud
voice through the bishops and Pax Christi, a peace organization.
Other churches and organizations have also spoken out, and many
towns in New England have passed resolutions through their govern-
ments in support of a freeze. If this voice becomes loud enough,
perhaps we will get the Pentagon and the White House to listen to us.
—LAD
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t supp or A our Skla
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paid are held accountable for the
work they must do. As managing
editor of the Hilltopper, if I did not
do my job, for which I am paid $80
a month and which requires a mini-
mum of 25 to 30 (documented)
hours a week, everyone on campus
will notice; there will be no Hilltop-
per. If however, SAI officers do not
do any work, no one seems to no-
tice.
People may assume when I write
this that I have a grudge against the
SAI officers. This is hardly the case,
as I consider two of the current offi-
cers, the president and secretary,
among my good friends.
This is the thrust of the argu-
ment: Why should we pay these stu-
dents, who certainly do not put in
more than eight or nine hours a
week (a high guess in my opinion) at
most, and earn the highest salary of
any student leader position, when
other student leaders work just as
long and hard for no, or much less,
pay?
If, as Mr. Markley states, we are
the customers and the university is
the marketplace, then I would either
like a legitimate receipt or my money
back.
s par+ f dur welcoma
wouA ie.s
on eucation ,tuitonhousinsL
suent inJoveme.t,an_
HILLTOPPER Room 300P
Campus Mail Box 714 Main Building
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St. Edward's University Hilltopper (Austin, Tex.), Vol. 10, No. 23, Ed. 1 Friday, April 30, 1982, newspaper, April 30, 1982; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1519041/m1/2/?q=Lamar+University: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting St. Edward’s University.