Abel ready with many goals in mind

by Alysun O'Brien

Simpson’s student body president plans on making some changes on the campus, and the budget is at the top of his list.

“Groups want to take things to a new level,” said student body president Jake Abel, a junior. “An increase in student government fees could be the main remedy for the budget crunch.”

The issue on whether or not to raise student government fees is in committee now. There is a two-week deadline on it to decide what will be done. The academic affairs committee will be doing research to see what other schools charge and what activities they are able to provide with the amount of their fees.

Simpson students might see a raise anywhere from five dollars to fifteen dollars, if a decision is made to raise the student government fees.

Abel also stressed the need to change one of the major criticisms of Simpson – students leaving on weekends. The new Late Night Activities Program will begin in time for the 2002-03 school year with hopes of positive change to come along with it.

“This is a chance to get people out of their rooms on weekends,” said Abel.

Rich Ramos will head the program that will consist of different activities on Friday nights from 8 p.m.-2 a.m.

A new student union is also being talked about in conjunction with the campus master plan that will be presented in May. At that time Simpson’s students and administration will be able to see what can be done and how quickly.

“A new student union, realistically, won’t happen in the next year,” Abel said.

Abel is also hoping to make changes in Simpson’s alcohol policy over the next year. He said he would like to explore some different options with allowing open containers outside. Before any changes occur, he will be looking into policies at other schools to see what they do and see how well their policies work.

He stressed the importance of Simpson’s role in the Indianola community and would like to see more communication in the future.

“We would like to explore options to see what the community wants from us and what we can do for them, and in return see what they can do for us,” said Abel.

Abel sees strengths in Senate’s voting practices.

“Not all votes are unanimous. There is real debate, discussion and disagreement,” he said. “Students can rest easier knowing that proposals aren’t passed easily. They are scrutinized and looked at closely.”

But he does see one area of concern that is not necessarily a negative.

“We have so much we want to do. But we need to have the time and people willing to do it. The biggest challenge will be to get everyone in the Senate more involved. We can fix that by having Senators researching before hand, the Senators being visible leaders on campus and Senators voting seriously.”

With changes and challenges ahead, Abel is ready for his term as student body president.

“I’m looking forward to this year,” he said.