From new fire horns to extended C-Lion hours, we have delivered concrete results for students. But we know there’s a long way to go to make LMU the most student-friendly place it can be. As president and vice president, Stephen Murphy and Seranda Bray will voice your concerns loud and clear on the following issues and more:

1. Stop Wasting Our Money

ASLMU must go on a diet. Part of every student’s tuition finances the ASLMU budget, but our student government has not done enough to give back to the student body. In the past year, ASLMU has grossly misbudgeted funds. In this year’s budget, which was approved by the senate, the president allocated $4,500 for his own food expenses. If you factor in the food budgets of other members, it adds up to an astounding $39,650 was wasted on food for ASLMU. That’s a lot of steak dinners at the Cheesecake Factory.

But this goes beyond just the amount ASLMU puts aside for its collective belly. Look at the organization, and you might scratch your head and wonder why they spent your tuition money on themselves in the form of ASLMU-only overnight retreats, ASLMU-only social events, T-shirts for all ASLMU members, sweatshirts for all ASLMU members and—our personal favorite (written with much sarcasm)—embroidered jackets for the president and his cabinet. Many ASLMU members work their butts off doing the tough behind the scenes work of the school. They deserve some perks for their long hours. But when you start spending your money on embroidered jackets, you know that something has gone horribly wrong.

We will cut back on needless spending and will give that money back to the students through the Student Reserve Board.

2. Think outside of the box for ASLMU programming

Get rid of small-time ASLMU events. In essence, go big or go home. At LMU, we crave decent social events, but our student government cannot be responsible for regularly giving us something to do on our Friday nights. ASLMU puts aside nearly $300,000 for programming—almost half of its entire budget. This organization has let itself focus on programming instead of focusing on fighting for student rights. As president and vice president, we will cut small unpopular ASLMU-produced events and put that money directly into the Student Reserve Board.

Let sororities, fraternities, service organizations and other clubs use ASLMU money to create programming. These organizations have gone before the SRB and have proven that they can put on successful events, from Arrow Spike to Charity Ball to Aphiasco to Derby Days. LMU will be better off if these organizations have the most resources possible and if they continue to try to include everyone in their social programming. These organizations have and will continue to do a superior job at providing students with fun social opportunities.

Make ASLMU events a big freaking deal. Don’t get us wrong, there are still going to be some awesome events thrown by ASLMU, and we will make these events uber-successful. If we are going to have a successful concert (and we know that we can), ASLMU must really take the time to see which artists students actually want—and more importantly, who they will actually come and see. Also, we will not just focus on music. When Steve Murphy was editor of the Loyolan, he went against the advice of several administrators and put on the Ann Coulter/James Carville event, one of the most talked about LMU events in recent memory. LMU is not an apathetic campus. This student government just needs to give students a reason to care and a reason to participate. Programming doesn’t have to exclusively revolve around concerts, and with Murphy/Bray, it won’t be.

3. Restructure the Student Reserve Board.

Where do we begin? For one, the SRB ran completely out of money in February – talk about irresponsible budgeting! There are inherent structural problems in the SRB that ASLMU has failed to address. As president and vice president, we will restructure the SRB in the following five ways:

1. Increase the SRB from 20% to 30% of the overall ASLMU budget. This additional money would come from the extra funds available after we cutback on ASLMU overspending and cutback on ASLMU-only programming.

2. Eliminate unnecessary rules. What is the point of only allowing six members benefit from travel funding? Why do you have to be a registered organization to be financed? If you are going to do something great for the student body, you shouldn’t have to have club recognition to do it. We will let any student go before the SRB with his or her ideas. Instead of providing exceptions to the rule, we won’t make dumb rules in the first place.

3. Ensure that the SRB has equitable representation. Right now, the members of the SRB are thrown together haphazardly. ASLMU must focus on getting members for this important board that represent ALL areas of student life, not just particular groups.

4. Give seed money to organizations based on past success. At the beginning of the year, ASLMU will reward those organizations that have consistently put on events that improved student life.

5. Encourage everyone to use the SRB. This money is for all students. ASLMU has a duty to inform every organization of the benefits that SRB provides.

4. Include everyone.

If you feel like you’re out of the ASLMU loop, you are not alone. Both Steve and Seranda have the personality and the desire to include in our government students who have never felt like a part of ASLMU. We want you to feel comfortable enough to actually speak your mind. ASLMU could be so amazing if everyone felt like they had the opportunity to contribute. Unfortunately, right now, too many students feel like they don’t have a chance to be heard. We will provide you with every chance to get involved.

ASLMU has to stop thinking it knows what’s best for the students, and start listening to them. There was heated debate this past semester about the title of one of ASLMU’s cabinet positions. Through a petition, over 500 students expressed their desire to change the name of the position “VP of Social Justice” to “VP of Social Justice and Diversity”. But of course, the senate didn’t listen. We are also against the name change, but for an entirely different reason. Racism alive and kicking on this campus, and in the fall of 2004 we were all painfully reminded of that fact. There is so much work to be done, and that’s why we will follow the lead of several Jesuit colleges and add a new cabinet position to our student government: VP for Interculturalism. This person will sponsor, fund, and promote intercultural events. She or he will also work closely with Ethnic Intercultural Services, and will fight for the rights of all students in the classroom and on this campus.

5. Make ASLMU transparent and accessible.

ASLMU hasn’t been an accessible or transparent student government this year. Senate members in particular haven’t been as upfront as they should be. They’ve had closed door sessions and secret votes on important student concerns—sure, they might have felt more comfortable that way, but politicians (even student ones) must be held accountable. The senate also approved the current president’s budget, which is so vague that he had a virtually blank check. The president allotted himself $14,000 for discretionary spending (and that doesn’t include his $4,500 for food)—and not one senator questioned the validity of this amount. It’s time for accessibility and accountability in the senate and in the ASLMU executive.

6. Fix the core curriculum and raise academic standards.

There’s a lot of talk of LMU becoming a “Georgetown of the West” (or the new Boston College), but if that dream is ever to become a reality, students need to demand that LMU fixes its core curriculum. We need to take a serious look at our academic program and figure out which classes should stay, which need to go, and in which areas we must improve. We will not let this become a turf war for academic departments. We will use elite universities as our models, and we will strive to offer the best education possible. And, we will not stand idly as the trustees continue to bump up our tuition (it’s now higher than Harvard’s). Most importantly, LMU must get serious about getting and keeping elite professors.

7. Improve the LMU Dining Experience.

Make LMU understand (and care) that students get hungry even after the sun goes down. We understand that the Lair requires a large staff to keep open. It is unrealistic to expect it to be open 24 hours a day. However, it is not unrealistic to expect at least one dining venue to be open on campus at all times during weekdays. Steve Murphy is responsible for meeting with Sodexho to extend C-Lion’s closing time on the weekdays from 11 pm to the new 2 am time. However, those hours can and should be extended further. With the diner and the pizza place as new options, it should be easy to ensure that LMU has at least one place open at all hours. However, we can’t expect this to happen unless someone fights for it, and we are the right people for the job.

Healthier food options. Not everyone can eat at the grill for every meal. Chicken tenders and French fries get old after a while. We will fight for a healthier and a more varied selection at all food venues.

Fix the LION/FLEXI problems. Just because Sodexho has a monopoly on the food market at LMU doesn’t mean it can charge whatever it pleases. We will petition the administration to allow on-campus residents to choose if they want a meal plan. Forcing a meal plan upon students is ridiculous. Also, we will get Sodexho’s Dominos to put in reasonable prices. Students have the power of a boycott, and we will use this power if necessary.

8. Be a voice on Issues that Matter to You

Continue to advocate for an on-campus bar. Steve Murphy wrote an editorial calling for this, and followed up by meeting with administrators on this issue. Although this may not be a part of LMU’s immediate future, it is not unrealistic to believe that current freshmen and sophomores could see an on-campus pub if we continue this fight. We are aware of the risks and harms of alcohol, so we will continue to support alcohol awareness events. However, we are also aware of the social atmosphere created by legal alcohol availability at student functions. That’s why we will organize beer gardens at LMU basketball games and various other sporting events.

Clean up our academic calendar. LMU is no longer a commuter school, so we will demand that the academic calendar reflects this fact. More specifically, we will fight for vacation days on Easter Monday and the day before Thanksgiving. Out of state and Northern California students shouldn’t have to sacrifice spending these holidays with their families just because LMU doesn’t have its act together.

More funding for club sports. Club sport athletes should not have to pay for equipment and travel expenses out of their own pocket. These teams are not makeshift groups; they add to LMU’s reputation with their sports. We will work with these students and coaches to develop new and innovative ways to finance their endeavors.

Poor cell phone service on campus is not acceptable. Students shouldn’t have to constantly switch between Cingular or Verizon depending on which dorm they live in. We should not have to simply accept poor service. We will voice this concern loud and clear—and try to make LMU fight for another cell phone tower, perhaps on top of University Hall.

And there’s so much more… from getting LMU to add more space in our lion email accounts… to instituting a “College Olympics” so that specific majors and colleges can compete against one another in Greek Week-style events… to giving students free tickets to Dodger games… to getting Wi-Fi everywhere on campus… to fixing the satellite TV so that those damn white wiggly lines don’t continue to bother us…

The sky’s the limit. Expect more. Get more.