Talking Money

Two Associated Students of CSU bills relevant to the 2004

elections were proposed to the senate Wednesday.

The senate was supposed to have its first vote on both, but the

bills required further revision and were committed to the Academics

Committee. One reason for this is that senators were not attending

committee meetings, said Amanda Belles, an Intra-University senator

who worked on the bill.

At the beginning of the evening, bill 3308 stated it would lower

the current limit on campaign spending from $3,500 per candidate to

$2,000. That amount was later amended to $3,000.

“The purpose of lowering it is to allow as many qualified people

to run (for executive office,)” said Kevin McCartin, a senator for

the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences.

He argued that potential candidates might feel intimidated by an

opposition with more spending power due to their economic

status.

“The best person for the job may not have access to those types

of funds,” said Grant Wylie, a senator from the College of Liberal

Arts.

Others disagreed, however, saying that a lower spending cap will

reduce student awareness and result in a lower voter turnout.

“I was against lowering it to $2,000,” said Jon Oates, a senator

representing the College of Liberal Arts. “It was too restrictive

and would cut down on the ability of the candidates to reach

constituents.”

Oates does support the current $3,000 cap and said he would be

attending committee meetings to complete bill revisions.

“More money usually corresponds with higher student awareness,”

Wylie said. “But I wouldn’t say that’s a necessary connection.

Getting out there and being a person who the people can see and not

just being a name on a card, or attached to a sucker, or popcorn,

or a poster is essential.”

Bill 3311 would increase the current cumulative GPA requirement

for executive officers from 2.00 to 2.25.

“The reason for raising it is to meet student organizations,

which require a 2.25,” McCartin said. “We shouldn’t have lower

standards because we are a student organization.”

An earlier version of Bill 3308 included both the campaign

spending and GPA provisions. Since campaign spending is outlined in

election rules and the GPA is set in ASCSU’s constitution, the bill

was split into two.

Wednesday’s meeting lasted just under six hours. Katie Clausen,

ASCSU vice president, expects next Wednesday’s to be of similar

length.