by Patrick Lalor
Anybody, remember the United States Football League? That's what I'm feeling like these days.
The USFL was a professional league with some quality people like Steve Young, Jim Kelly and Herschel Walker. Since they played in the spring, the NFL didn't seem to mind.
Then one year, the USFL decided to go head to head with the NFL because it couldn't get a television contract. So, the USFL sued the NFL for violations of antitrust laws. Guess what? It won. The courts said there was collusion and violations of the laws, and awarded the USFL $3. THREE DOLLARS.
I went into the Student Hearing Board on March 19 thinking I would get a fair shake. The evidence was overwhelming. I had witnesses, testimonials, photographs. (I even had my lucky rabbit's foot.) Unfortunately, luck doesn't stand much of a chance when the board hearing your case is appointed by the people you are bringing charges against.
I asked for a new election based on the fact that one party in the election (which, ironically, was elected to every office it ran for) violated specifics of the election code. These violations included sitting at the polls and directing which candidates to vote for, vandalism and trading T-shirts for votes. Guess what? I won. The Election Commission and the party admitted they broke the rules. There was one exception. Jennifer Zuber denied the charge that any of the members who ran were slated to graduate and couldn't even fulfill their term. Zuber provided that input after John Moore was suddenly so upset he could no longer speak for his party. And to think this is the man who will represent UH in Austin next year.
However, I didn't even get the $3. The Hearing Board agreed that there were improprieties, but it wasn't going to overturn the election. It would order two changes to the Election Code, but wasn't going to specify what changes and would leave it to the upcoming Senate to institute changes. Talk about the foxes guarding the hen house.
The message is simple: The current system for electing students to Senate seats has been bastardized to the point where less than 1,000 students participate.
Moreover, the few quality candidates who won have their election tainted by the actions of others. Yet, we all pay for it -- OUR student fees, OUR school reputation, OUR view of OUR school.
Despite Zuber's shouted epitaph at the conclusion of the hearing that the "whiners are losers," it's time for the whiners to unite and tell the incoming Senate, "We're not going to pay for your field trips to Arizona and Washington anymore. We're not going to pay the SA president a generous salary simply to perpetuate a system which excludes most of the student body."
The USFL is gone, but Steve Young and Jim Kelly are still playing football. I'm not ready to hang up my spikes either.
Lalor is a senior speech communication major.