When I saw the cover of the last UP, I was stunned. The headline read “Campus Wreck: Student Government At Its Worst.” As the senate speaker of the MacArthur campus and a member of the University-Wide Council, I know that the only current problems within Student Government that even closely constitute a “wreck” are within the Boca Student Government. Yet, a picture of Ancel Pratt, the university-wide student body president, was featured prominently on the cover.
Upon reading the opinion piece that was illustrated on the cover, I was alarmed at the blatant misinformation contained in the commentary, written by Alexander Schraff, editor in chief of the UP.
The first case of erroneous information in Schraff’s piece was his portrayal of the nametags within the university- wide and Boca campus Student Government offices. As President Paez’s former chief of staff, surely Schraff is aware that the nametags in the offices have always been blue. Had Schraff properly researched, or even asked President Pratt and Gov. Khan for business cards, he would have discovered that Gov. Khan’s business cards are red while President Pratt’s are simply black and white.
Another gaffe concentrates on the Student Government scholarship fund. Schraff implies that President Pratt is stalling the distribution of the scholarships. Wrong again. Unless Schraff wishes for the money to simply be thrown off the top of the University Center, a method of distribution must be created. President Pratt has created a committee of University-Wide Council members to address this issue so that the scholarships may be awarded. To blame Pratt for the time delay and accuse him of using administration as a “crutch” is deceitful.
Schraff further claims that Student Government is in a “constitutional crisis.” He argues that President Pratt had an opportunity to pass the new constitution and statutes through the Board of Trustees. No such opportunity existed, however, and the Board of Trustees requested that the university attorney review the legislation.
Additionally, Schraff argues that Pratt should simply force the Board of Trustees to pass the constitution and statutes. As President Paez learned when he tried to sway the Board of Trustees away from a tuition increase, however, Student Government’s one vote cannot force the Board of Trustees to do anything. Schraff makes the prediction that the new constitution and statutes will be passed by the Board of Trustees by “the beginning of the Fall semester, at the earliest.” Schraff will be interested to know then that the committee approved the new constitution and statutes, before Schraff’s commentary hit newsstands, for placement on the agenda at the next Board of Trustees meeting, which is July 16.
In discussing the Boca Raton Student Government, I found it troubling that Schraff neglected to mention an important factor in the relations between the executive branch and legislative branch: that they are composed of the same people. Gov. Khan’s chief of staff, for instance, is a Boca senator. Five of the eight cabinet members that Khan has appointed thus far are also senators. As per Boca statutes, no agency director may be a senator – however, these rules do not refer to executive branch members, and with this loophole, what surely represents a conflict of interest has been allowed to continue to exist. The senate is meant to provide a check on the power of the executive, but how can the senate do that when they themselves compose the executive branch?
Schraff also neglected a major accomplishment of Pratt’s first period in office: the Golf Cart Corral. As many know, two golf carts were vandalized last year on the Boca Raton campus, and since university-wide agencies as well as Boca Raton agencies purchase and utilize golf carts, a fenced-in area to guard these investments was urgently needed. The initial estimate for this type of corral was approximately $150,000. However, through working administration, President Pratt was able to work out a deal for only $20,000, saving the students of the university over $130,000. Yet again, Schraff did not mention this.
In closing, blaming President Pratt less than two months into his administration for the scholarship and constitution problems that he’s incurred is the equivalent of blaming President Bush for the economy turning south early in his administration. Is it convenient to blame it on him? Sure. Is it right? Absolutely not. Perhaps Schraff needs to learn that lack of a cover story is no reason to create and publish a misinformed, amateurish, and biased piece of fiction.
