On the record with UA chair candidates

Miachel Bssik, Jonathan glick, Dana Hork and Michael Krouse spoke to the 'DP' editorial board. Miachel Bssik, Jonathan glick, Dana Hork and Michael Krouse spoke to the 'DP' editorial board.The Daily Pennsylvanian The four candidates for UA chair -- College junior Michael Bassik, Wharton junior Jonathan Glick, College sophomore Dana Hork and Wharton and Engineering sophomore Michael Krouse -- spoke to members of The Daily Pennsylvanian's editorial board on Sunday about their candidacies. Excerpts from that discussion follow, beginning with the candidates' opening statements: Bassik: We need to let students know that the UA is their resource and that, as their elected officials, we are constantly trying to best represent their interests to the administration. If elected chair, it will be my goal to eradicate the phrase, "the UA does nothing" by working with the rest of the body. As chair, [it will be my goal to] show students that the UA is a proactive, hard-working and dedicated organization committed to improving life on Penn's campus. Glick: There are three important responsibilities of the chair -- a motivator, a communicator and an advisor. I would hope to motivate the body by initiating group projects, and ensure that there is always a constant flow of ideas moving throughout the body. As a communicator, I will promote teamwork, make sure that all of us stay informed. Finally, as an advisor, I will guide my fellow members on projects?. A top priority of mine is ensuring that we work together. Hork: Every candidate for chair is a good UA member -- we all know the issues, [have made] contributions and have invested part of our lives into the organization. But to be a good leader, you need more. Looking at my two years on the body, there are two accomplishments of which I am most proud. The first is starting the Late Night Walk Back program. We worked with the [Division] of Public Safety to have walking escorts leave Rosengarten on a regularly scheduled basis during final exams. Krouse: I feel that I am uniquely qualified for the position [of chair]. I have been committed to tackling big issues and achieving tangible results. For example, as a UA committee vice-chair I spent last fall working with the director of financial aid to design a UA-backed financial aid proposal. The dialogues we created were a tremendous success in provoking serious discussion that addressed such important issues. I have also been involved in designing race relations dialogues. DP: What do you think will be the biggest issue the UA will face in the upcoming year? Bassik: From our UA Visions survey -- our in-depth survey asking students where they thought the University was going -- students have spoken, and the issue seems to be diversity on campus. We also need to realize that the entire Penn campus doesn't know what the UA does. Glick: One of the major things that is an issue on this campus is the fact that everyone falls into a niche after freshman year?. [But] no one comes together to discuss these issues and what we want as a whole -- that's what the UA is supposed to do. Hork: I think the biggest issue that the UA is going to have to deal with is along those lines, but [more toward] building community. I think it's building community in physical space -- allocations, Locust Walk, where students want to have their student unions and it will be about issues in the electronic sense: Web issues, e-mail issues, virtual communities. Krouse: I do have a lot to speak on about what Mike and Glick have spoken about which is diversity on campus?. I worked with the UMC a lot this year. I worked on race relations dialogues which I think is a way that we can try to break down some of these barriers. [The dialogues dealt with] so many issues along the way that I really feel like I understand the issues. DP: Could you each briefly critique the work of the UA over the past year? Bassik: I have seen how three chairs have operated -- and that gives me insight? to put forth the best image I can as a UA chair. The UA right now is a little hierarchical: [while ] I know administrators like the back of my hand, most UA members don't. Glick: One of the things I would like to do is to make the [weekly UA] meeting more fun and intriguing where it keeps everyone's attention and keeps everyone interested enough where people are starting to drag off. Hork: I think one of the critiques I would have for the UA in general is that people across committees might not know what others are working on. I think another thing that it took us a long time to realize was that it was important for us to come behind one project. Krouse: I think the strength [of the UA] was that Mike Silver was equipped? and was extremely accessible to other leaders. And I think that increased the legitimacy of the UA -- because when the administration started seeing [this], the administration started to realize that the UA was the representative of the students, and [they] had to take us seriously. DP: Define the role of UA chair. Bassik: The UA chair is not only the face of the UA but the voice of the student body. It's obviously the UA chair's role to learn what the individual members on the UA want; the issues that they are passionate about and then go represent that to the administration. Glick: The chair is a very external position: You are the leader, you are the person representing higher student body?. When people think about the UA? the first thing they are going to think about is [the chair]. However, it's also important to focus on the internal structure as well because you have to really ensure that the UA is 33 student leaders. Hork: I think it's a dual role -- I think you need to set the tone for the UA -- you need to be a resource for the members, within the UA, you need to help facilitate their accomplishments?. You need to take them under your wing because when they get a glimpse of that power and that prestige of being the UA chair? that motivates them. Krouse: The chief responsibility of the chair is to be the external face of the UA and deal with the administrators to represent the UA in a favorable light. I think Silver did a good job of that this year just making himself accessible to different speaking engagements, different attendances at rallies. DP: There's been a big increase in the number of minority students on the UA in this past election. What is in store for the upcoming year now that the UA has a more diverse body than it has in the past? Bassik: This will be the one thing that I think will start to bring legitimacy to the UA and when we say we represent the entire student body. This will bring a whole new perspective?. It's for the first time that we can actually say we? represent the entire undergraduate community. Glick: I'm really looking forward to it -- I think this will be the most diverse [UA]. This year, more than ever, we're in a situation where not everyone is in a certain fraternity, etc. I think it's very nice that we're going to have a very large focus and be very wide and I think it's going to allow us to actually focus on more areas and more general issues that affect the entire community. Hork: The UA sets the tone for the entire student body, and I think that by having more representation on the body we're telling the campus that we feel that this is important and it's important for everyone at Penn to keep their eyes open about what's going on out there. This is an important step for us, and it would really help us make changes that will affect the entire student body in the year to come. Krouse: I still don't believe that every standpoint at the University is going to be represented, so I don't yet claim that we are the most representative body on campus. But I do think it's a good step?. This [past] year, when we discussed minority issues, there was just not much minority standpoint on the issue. This year we'll have more balanced debates, more standpoints expressed.