University of New Hampshire - Granite Yearbook (Durham, NH)

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Political NOBGS OI1 The thirty member Student Caucus resumed its Sunday night sessions in September, 1975, led by seven incumbents including Chairperson Debbie Mekelatos, an Elementary Edu- cation major who liked to use the chalkboard to illustrate important points. Two issues drew immediate attention - increased parking fines and the abolition of the ski team. The ski team was eventually reinstated as a club sport. Student Body President Larry Meacham talked about suing the university over the S50 parking fine. Then Vice President David Farnham was very visible in his efforts to lower the fines. Farnham was to later campaign for Meachamis office. Two of student government's Vice Presidents, Greg Cope and Dave GaNun, characterized the new caucus members as unmotivated. Charges and countercharges from the news- paper and the caucus iioor tried to fix the blame on the Chairperson, the President, and the caucus members them- selves. It was resolved to go to the people by holding an October caucus meeting in the lounge of Hubbard Hall. Ten observers showed up. The Union for Progressive Action, a group working for a greater voice in the operation of student affairs, submitted a 22-page proposal to the caucus urging the creation of a MUB Board of Directors to run the student union. The board was to have taken on the responsibliity in an area currently managed by Vice-Provost for Student Affairs Richard Stevens. U.P.A. and the caucus had a clash of personalities. The resulting indecision sent the proposal to the Student Welfare Committee of the University Senate, where it subsequently died. Promising more open communication candidate Dave Far- nham garnered over 80 percent of the vote for Student Body President, crushing his opponent Jim Hercheck a former U.P.A. member. Farnham appointed Marshall Carbee as Vice- President for Commuter Affairs. Carbee, a self-styled 'fBonzo oommandov, was an activist in the People's Bicentennial Com- mission. The P.B.C. advocated a socialist stand on a number of issues. After attending two caucus meetings all year, Carbee finally quit his post. Farnham came under fire for appointing Laurie Goodrich to the directorship of the Bureau of the Budget, the financial committee of the caucus. The newspaper and several BOB members characterized Goodrich as 'finexperiencedf' On pro- bation throughout the budgetary hearings, Goodrich proved Farnham's confidence that her character is such that I can easily work with her. . The Student Caucus and the Bureau of the Budget spent nearly eight weeks in the months of February and March approving eight organizational budgets, barely in time for review by the Board of Trustees at their monthly meeting. Allocations for SCOPE, MUSO, Student Press, WUNH radio, The New Hampshire, The Granite, and Student Government were all increased over the previous year. Funding for these organizations, as well as for the Student Video-Tape Organiza- tion, came from the Student Activities Tax which increased from 818.90 to 522.30 a year. It has then learned that this increase would be accompanied by a campus wide increase in higher tuition and room fees. Farnham's choice for vice-president for student services, Arlene Baer, served on both the Health and the Legal Services Advisory Committees. During 1976, Arlene worked to get student lawyers John Barrett and Malcolm McNeill a S1500 raise, even though the caucus had denied a womenls welfare group CDWHEJ access to the free legal aid for a welfare test case. After polling 144 students, Baer along with Hood House director Peter Cimbolic, recommended that students should pay S55 each per year to have improved medical service facilities on campus. Farnham organized a petition drive op- posing the institution of the S55 fee. In the first of a series of tightening up measures, the Student Caucus worked with the University Senate to dis- continue the policy of mandatory admissions to UNH of any New Hampshire high school student who finished in the upper 188

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'Q . if ,J i .. . in, Vil .Y if V , Ev J, .., .... VV,-,fk sg f U 'Q ..ii7Tfv.? w', '- 1 f . J- ae, , ' it .' '1 It Q' r 2 U ' , ' , Q i l f ff' ' - 1 K W .,,, 'J nk, f ...Mr - , ' . w'J 'aff 2 i e f . .. ,:, Jww a primer on presidential politics 'fail on the prolyferation of nuclear power plants: I am ajirm advocate of many, many more nuclear power plants in the United States. Quitejiankbt, we did put more money in for nuclear research and development. ,Bk on jinancing state universities: The primary responsibility for the jinancing of a state university comes from the state itsehf ' on developing new programs for studentfinancial aid: I don't think there are any new programs of that kind. We have a number of individually focused programs for the students. We have the work-study program, where the federal government pays ninety percent ofthe pay that goes to students. This program, when you add it all up, will be in the range of around S2,000,000,000. for students, period ' increasing United States world-wide naval power: We have had a new and expanding Navy shipbuilding program for two years. In the budget I've submitted to Congress, we're recommend- ing 86,900,000,000.?in spending for seventeen new capital ships. The Navy shipbuilding program we have at the present time, will give us a suffcient Navy to meet the challenge ofthe Soviet Union or any other navalforce. 'quoted at a presidential news conference, Strafford room, UNH MUB, quoted at a campaign, question and answer public gathering, UNH field February 8, 1976. house, February 8, 1976.

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the Student Caucus... two-fifths of his class. Under remediation reform, the Senate and Student Caucus phased out the Learning Skills Center despite the impassioned pleas of LSC director Marcia Heiman who addressed the Caucus. The action was taken without complete Caucus understanding of the situation. The pass X fail option was saved from abolition by Farnham's eleventh hour amendment to raise the P ! F limit from a grade of D-to C for incoming freshmen. The change was also implemented for upperclassmen by Vice-Provost for Academic Affairs David Ellis, despite opposition from Farnham, The Caucus, and the student body. Throughout the year, the Student Caucus suffered from a self-described image problemv. Rarely did more than twenty- five of the thirty members attend any of the Sunday night meetings. During the important budgetary meetings, the Caucus sometimes lacked the twenty member quorum needed to hold a meeting. Of those who attended few talked, some dozed, others giggled at private jokes, while occasionally others blew smoke rings. The New Hampshire editorially suggested that the Caucus abolish itselF'. At one Caucus meeting, graduating senator Bob Hogan proposed that student repre- sentatives be divided into two groups one to oversee budgets, the other to work on university policy through the Senate. He by Ame Erickson was shouted down for his lack of faith and for not going through the proper channels. At this time the Caucus adopted a stand opposing President Eugene Mills' suggestion that ten additional faculty members be added to the Senate. This would have given the Faculty Caucus ten additional represent- atives over that of the students. The school year ended with elections to chose a new student Caucus. Although there were 29 open seats, only 22 places were filled, 20 of those were unopposed, with seven seats remaining unfilled, to be hand picked by the new Caucus chairperson. In doing so he will have almost as much say as that 10 percent of the undergraduate student body who both- ered to vote for the Senatorial Candidates. Arne Erickson is a stajj' reporter for The New Hampshire and a stringer for the Manchester Union Leader. He aspires to be a political anahfst for either MAD magazine or True Confessions. 189 ,W