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The Herald By and for the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 2007
VOLUME CXXX ISSUE 2
President Announces New Efforts to Go Green By John Heavy
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Geneva, NY
HSG UPDATE Strong Voting Blocks Sway Elections By Trippe Duke Managing Editor Last weeks session of the Hobart Student Government (HSG) continued the upward trend of incredibly high attendance with more than one hundred Hobart men present. Indeed the high numbers came on a good day, with this past meeting being one of the most important of the entire year.
Photo Courtsey of http://www.sociallyresponsible.org/
On Friday, Sept. 14, HWS President Mark Gearan will sign the President’s Climate Commitment. In doing so, HWS will begin to take part in a highvisibility effort to address global warming by garnering institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions, and to accelerate the research and educational efforts of colleges and universities to equip society with tools to re-stabilize the earth’s climate. Convening at noon in front of the Scandling Center, Gearan will be joined by Associate Professor Tom Drennen, specialist in climate change and energy efficiency. The two will briefly discuss the HWS plan to become more green and work to ameliorate global warming and climate problems. The Climate Commitment is a nation wide collegiate effort at achieving a better environment. Started at American College and University, the Commitment includes completing an emissions inventory, setting climate neutral milestones, immediately reducing greenhouse gas emissions with short-term action, and making environmental sustainability part of the educational curriculum. “As a large part of the community
and surrounding area, we have a responsibility to do our best in lessening the tolls we take on the environment,” said Gearan regarding the effort. He continued, “Furthermore, as an institution of higher learning, we have a duty to educate those who will one day control the issues on what the problems are, and subsequently- what need be done.” Additionally, and in conjunction with the Commitment, there will be a series of environmentally driven, ecofriendly student-led projects. In one such project, senior Mark Vogelgesang and junior John Catillaz will lead efforts in implementing a campus wide recycling program, establishing composting for Saga and the theme and Greek houses, and working with Admissions to create a number of “Green student dorm rooms.” Drennen will be working side by side with the aforementioned students as well as Gearan in kicking off the plan and leading the movement. “It’s not going to be easy,” stated Drennen, “but it is the right thing to do – to begin down the path of making this campus more environmentally friendly.” In signing the President’s Climate
Commitment HWS joins a list of over 400 colleges and universities leading the way on reducing the threats of climate change. The movement provides a framework and support for America’s colleges and universities to go climate neutral. The signatories of the Commitment will be pledging to fulfill a three step constitution which includes expediently initiating a comprehensive plan for climate neutrality, taking tangible action to reduce greenhouse gases, and publicizing the action plan, inventory, and progress. The Commitment recognizes the unique responsibility that institutions of higher education have as role models for their communities and in training the people who will develop the social, economic and technological solutions to reverse global warming. Excited about the action- oriented nature of the plan, Gearan commented, “Upon the signing of this document and the implementation of this plan, we will be taking immediate effort in relieving the strains on the local environment, and working toward a large term goal of cleaning up the world.”
Smith Opera House to Host the Capitol Steps By Moira O’Neill HWS Contributor Setting aside their ideological and functional differences, some popular campus organizations are combining forces to bring The Capitol Steps to the Smith Opera House this Thursday, September 20 at 8 p.m. In hopes of jumpstarting a politicallyactive school year, the Student Activities office, CAB, and a few conspicuous political groups on campus have been working together since senior Allyson Doherty began organizing the event and invited them all to participate last spring. (Student groups helping to promote the event include the College Democrats, College Republicans, AIDemocracy, and Progressive Student Union.) But most students may not know who the Capitol Steps actually are, so perhaps a (very) brief biography is in order. Begun in 1981 as a group of Senate staffers asked to provide the entertainment for their annual office holiday party, the Steps have spent
the years since satirizing anyone and anything related to our government. They’ve performed live thousands of times and published 27 albums, the most recent of which is entitled “Springtime for Liberals.” You may want to check out www.capsteps.com
for a free sample of their music, and youtube.com for video clips of their shows. In addition to a wide web following, the Steps perform every Friday and Saturday in Washington and have been featured on shows from “Entertainment Tonight” to “Nightline.” Not to mention appearing on NPR’s legitimizing “All Things
Considered” more than a dozen times. With such an impressive and busy schedule, our small community is lucky to have grabbed a spot on their tour.* If any Cheney-loving readers are hesitating, worried that the show will only poke fun at his friendship with Karl, don’t be. Similarly, friends of Obama, and therefore Oprah, fear not: as the range of sponsors indicates, the Steps’ performances are far from politically exclusive. Because the Steps rely primarily on the pop culture factor of politics, bad hair-dos on both sides of the aisle are fair game for funny. So now that you’re looking for a ticket...they are on sale at the Campus Store for $10 ($15 for the public at the Smith Box Office). Tickets will also be available for purchase in Scandling Center during meal times beginning September 17. An additional incentive is the Campus Activities Board’s $5 coupon, given to students attending one of their events. And finally, a friendly warning against missing out on the five-to-ten-dollar-a-ticket price tag: the Steps’ weekly performances in D.C. cost $45 a person. *Source: www.capsteps.com
The committee elections, which were held last Tuesday, will ultimately determine the identity of HSG activity in the coming year. Critical elections were held for positions in the Budget Allocations Committee (BAC) as well as the Constitution Review Committee (CRC). Members of these two boards will hold some of the most important positions within the HSG and the entire school. With the BAC solely responsible for allocating the $180,000 student tax dollars as well as the obvious importance the CRC, which will be responsible for drafting an entirely new HSG constitution, these new members can literally control what will happen at the colleges this year and the years to come. However despite the high turnout, the HSG still found itself susceptible to voting blocks swaying election and legislative results. In the third incident of the past year, a large group of students with similar interests arrived and as a united group were able to place their candidates in some critical positions within the HSG. This would not have been so easy to notice if they
were not sitting next to each other. Yet it cannot be ignored that regular members of the HSG also tended to vote with one another. The problem here arises from lack of student participation in the Colleges student government. The ease at which a group of Hobart students with minimal organization can literally take hold of the HSG bureaucracy often sways results in their best interest. The only way to combat this is for more student involvement in the hour long weekly meeting. Unfortunately with a student body more likely to complain than take action, it seems as if the HSG will continue to be susceptible to such ‘common interest groups.’ Dean Baer caught the mood of the meeting perfectly with his quote of the week that “discipline can only come from liberty.” From all that can be absorbed by the thirty second speeches each candidate gave to the quorum prior to elections, it is clear that ever y one of the elected members takes his position seriously and intends to put forth his best effort. With this fresh group of students the quorum has the plan in place as well as the motivation to follow through on what could turn out to be a major transformation of the Hobart Student Government, and the college itself. Election results can be viewed in the HSG Minutes which are sent directly to your HWS email account.
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