Opinion
 

Staff Editorial

Matthew Dulin         Geronimo Rodriguez 
Shaun Salnave          Cara Sarelli          Lisa Street

Pay attention

As Dawona Miller, president of the Student Government Association, is under investigation in two separate cases, students at UH should learn one thing: to pay attention. 

The investigation began last week when the Election Commission wrote a letter to Heidi Kennedy, assistant dean of students, alleging that Miller had falsified information in her financial statement after the election, in which she and the Student Voice Party won by a landslide.

An anonymous SGA official told The Daily Cougar last week that Miller might have forged the letter to cover up her use of materials paid for with students fees to promote her and her party in the election.

Further investigation by the Cougar found several discrepancies in the letter Miller turned into the election commission. One of the most compelling of these is that, when entered into a reverse directory search, the phone number for the Upward Bound program in Austin, which the letter is supposed to be directly from, actually matches the address published in the 2002-2003 UH Telephone Directory as Milleris home address.

Then on Friday, SGAis Vice President Jon Quintanilla told the Cougar he was certain Miller used items paid for with student fees in her election. He also said Miller had asked him to help her with forging the letter, but that he refused, and then filed his own campaign finance statement. 

At the same time, Director of Campus Activities Zach Coapland is investigating Miller for allegedly ordering, or instructing someone to order, a $400 Palm Pilot without authorization. Had the order not been cancelled, the personal organizer would have been paid for by student fees, according to the anonymous SGA official who spoke to the Cougar last week.

Miller is fully cooperating with both investigations. Though she is not at liberty to discuss them in detail, she has voiced a claim of innocence in both cases.

But what if she is guilty? Miller holds one of the most prestigious and highest-paying student positions on campus. She is the only student representative on the committee that is responsible for choosing UHis next president and system chancellor when Arthur K. Smith steps down in September. 

Students, now more than ever, should have a reason to pay attention. After all, this involves our money. Only 610 students voted in this yearis SGA election. Thatis sad. But itis not too late to get involved. Attend the last SGA meeting of the semester Wednesday night, and tell them what you think about all this.

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