An interview with current USGA President Brad Watts. Continue Reading

Two candidates, Jake Jones and Brad Watts, are running for president of the Undergraduate Student Government Association (USGA) in this year’s election.

Brad Watts, a political science and history major with junior class standing, is currently a senator for the division of general studies and the internship coordinator in the executive cabinet. Watts said he decided to run after beginning his second term as senator.

“I really liked the work I was doing,” he said. “I was starting to get involved in writing legislation, realizing that my legislation could actually have an effect. I like being able to affect the university and bring about change.”

According to Watts, there is not one main issue affecting all students because “different issues affect students differently.”

He does believe some of the main issues affecting students are parking, on-campus housing and Greek housing. He plans to address all three if elected.

Watts plans to advocate for the expansion of residence halls, look at Greek housing and lowering parking fees, while also looking to add and expand current parking.

“There are times I can’t even find parking, and I’m a resident. It’s not just about adding to what we have, it’s also about expanding. But the first step is lowering fees to students,” said Watts.

Watts also wants to work on forming a student loan program and look at building a student union.

“A student union is basically a building that is owned, operated and run by students. It differs at each university. Oftentimes, it will have stores, meeting spaces, restaurants, theaters — things that cater just to students. It is essentially like the HUC, but there are no administrative offices,” he said.

According to Watts, a student union has been proposed and is on the blueprint for the campus green, but nothing has been done since.

Watts believes he is the best candidate for the job because of his involvement in many organizations.

“In addition to my USGA experience, I have experience with different student groups — Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity, Trailblazers, International Mentors, Orientation Leaders — so I feel like that breadth of experience allows me to connect to a bunch of different students. I understand different perspectives,” said Watts.

Jake Jones, who is also running for president, is a biology major with junior class standing.

Jones said he decided to run because he wants to help create positive changes at UAB.

“I want to see changes that don’t just fulfill my agenda but help the students as a whole,” said Jones.

Jones believes one of the biggest issues affecting students is the cost to attend the university and hopes to address that if elected.

“We all know that tuition is going to continue going up; we’re going to keep getting proration for years to come. There’s not much that I can do about controlling that. There’s not much that the university can do about controlling that, so I plan to cut costs elsewhere,” said Jones.

“The way that I plan to go about that is to look at extraneous costs students pay other than tuition including dining fees, building fees, etc. to see what I can cut out of that,” Jones added.

If elected, Jones also wants to look at improving campus facilities, namely the Arts and Humanities Building and the Education Building.

“When the facilities can’t keep up with the current classrooms, I see that as a problem to students. They don’t accommodate the size; they don’t accommodate the needs,” said Jones.

“We have $9 million from the installation of the College of Arts and Sciences, so we have that to work with,” Jones added.

Jones believes he is the most qualified candidate because of his leadership abilities and dedication.

“I am a senator. I am a resident advisor in Blount Hall, and I am also an associate member of Alpha Epsilon Delta, the pre-health society,” said Jones.

“I definitely have good leadership abilities, I think that’s my strong suit, and also, I am a hard, hard worker. I think that shows a lot in my classes because I’m not necessarily the smartest student or the best student in class, but I always try to work hard enough to make the grade,” Jones added.

The elections will be held Feb. 23-24. Students can vote at campus-wide polling places or on Blazernet.

Heather Caygle

News Editor

By Heather Caygle

The USGA Student Forum, sponsored by the Undergraduate Student Government Association and the Residence Hall Association, took place in Blazer Hall on Friday, Sept. 25.

Students and administrators including UAB President Dr. Carol Garrison, Provost Capilouto, Dr. Rigney and Kimberly Fort, director of parking and transportation, attended the forum.

Bridgette Stewart, USGA student advocate, organized the forum this year. “Our main goal was to help the students and administrators understand each other better,” said Stewart.

The forum covered many different topics including academics, parking, the library, athletics, housing and student life.  The group discussed each topic for about 10 minutes before moving on to the next subject.

“I came to hear what the administrators had to say and to be able to voice our opinions,” said Katelyn Englert.

During the first topic, academics, the administration said UAB is beginning to experiment with electronic textbooks as an alternative to the rising cost of textbook prices. Garrison said the University will make a decision about academic realignment before the end of October.

Another topic students were anxious to discuss was parking. Fort discussed current construction and future construction of the commuter deck on 12th Avenue. Fort also said that an amnesty program concerning parking tickets had been discussed.

“We have discussed the issue with Hernandez Stroud about doing a food drive - cans of food for parking tickets - so we have discussed those different kinds of options, ” Fort said. “But we haven’t put anything into place at this time.”

Students also expressed concerns about bike racks and bike lanes. Fort said more bike racks are being added around campus, but there are no plans for additional bike lanes at this time.

During the discussion on athletics, the administration addressed the reduction of tailgating space at Legion Field and the end of shuttle buses to home games. Garrison said she was unsure why space allotted for tailgating had been reduced but she would have an answer before the next home game. “I would love to see you all out there tailgating,” she added.

Shuttle buses to and from home games were stopped because of budget cuts, but Garrison said if students express a big enough interest, they may return.

When asked about renovations at the Mervyn Sterne Library, the administration said students can expect extended library hours after the renovation. One possibility is keeping the first floor open for longer hours, something that wasn’t possible before the renovation.

According to the administration, phase one of the renovations in Sterne Library should be completed by December. Phase two will begin in January and end in March. The third and final phase will begin shortly after, and the library should be completely renovated by fall 2010.

The only topic students did not have any questions about was safety, but the administration did say cameras have been added to some outdoor parking areas as another way to keep students safe.

During the discussion about student housing Garrison said campus housing was completely full this year for the first time. “Student affairs and residential affairs are looking into and thinking about next year - what can we do to make sure we meet all the housing needs… this is at the top of our list,” said Garrison.

The forum was a combination of student questions and congratulations for things such as the new UAB softball field and the improved attitude of UAB dining workers.

UAB dining workers’ attitudes was a topic that had been addressed at the previous forum and, according to students, was corrected. “The overall attitude of the dining services faculty has immensely improved,” said junior Ashley Davis. “It is such a much more wonderful environment, and I have enjoyed it more.”

At the end of the forum Garrison thanked students for attending and encouraged students to email administrators with any future concerns.

“What we want here is for you all to have the best experience you possibly can inside and outside of the classroom,” she said. “This institution is growing. We had our 40th birthday yesterday, and we look back at the last 40 years and look forward to the next 40 years.  You are a part of the next 40 years, so help us to build the best institution that we can possibly have.”