Voting choices must be well considered

By Staff Editorial     2/19/09 6:00pm

At midnight this morning, the six-day-long Student Association General Election period commenced. Students have until Wednesday at noon to cast their ballots, which will be available both online at sa.rice.edu and at several college sites throughout the week. Besides the SA position races, this semester's ballot includes a number of changes to SA by-laws and the constitution.Regarding the by-law changes, the Thresher offers the following recommendations:

By-Law Amendment #2008.3 - Removal of UBlue's Blanket Tax

Vote YES to remove University Blue's $1 blanket tax. The SA has determined that UBlue's recent production has not merited continued disbursement of the blanket tax, and has proposed a resolution removing that tax from the by-laws. We agree with the SA's assessment of UBlue's situation, and so we are in favor of the removal. However, we wish to make it clear that the removal of the blanket tax is not the same as the disbanding of UBlue - the publication will still exist as a club, just without SA-approved blanket tax funding.

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By-Law Amendment #2008.4 - RPC Blanket Tax Increase

Vote YES on the proposal to add $8 to Rice Program Council's blanket tax. RPC has not had a tax increase in a number of years, and we feel that they deserve one - not only to make up for the effects of inflation, but to encourage the club to continue pursuing improved versions of traditional events like Esperanza, which was fabulous this year, and Rondelet.

By-Law Amendment #2008.5 - RPC Major Events Fund Tax

Vote NO on RPC's proposed $15 Major Events Fund tax. While we support RPC's $8 increase proposal, we are opposed to this second, larger proposal. RPC currently receives $13 in total blanket tax funds; increasing that number to $21 with an $8 increase is one thing, but increasing it still more to $36 is another. We feel that RPC should have waited to propose this additional tax until after they had already received a smaller increase - if only to use a year of programming to show students that the club can responsibly and effectively handle an increased blanket tax windfall.

By-Law Amendment #2008.6 - KTRU Blanket Tax Increase

Vote YES to increase KTRU's blanket tax by $3. KTRU is one of Rice's most visible reaches into the surrounding Houston arts community, and it appeals to a very diverse audience with both its music and sports programming. In addition, the KTRU Concert Series and Outdoor Show are two popular on-campus attractions, and the station has proven that it can make a small blanket tax go a long way.

By-Law Amendment #2008.7 - R2 Blanket Tax Proposal

Vote YES to give the Rice Review a $1 blanket tax. R2 has shown that it is prepared to handle the responsibility of becoming a blanket tax organization, and we are glad that the SA has decided to support its request to have a $1 tax placed on the election ballot. R2 has shown itself capable of continuing the literary tradition started by UBlue several years ago, and it has become a valuable venue for any student looking for literary recognition.

By-Law Amendment #2008.8 - Open Blanket Tax Proposal

Vote NO on the proposal to give Open magazine a $1 blanket tax. While we believe that publications like Open are valuable to any campus community, we do not believe that one year of publication merits the reward of a blanket tax. Once the magazine proves that it has the momentum to sustain itself (i.e. after its originators graduate and the publication continues to function for some length of time), we would be more inclined to reconsider our stance.

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