Third-party candidates hope to include students on board

By Lisa Koivu

Daily Staff Reporter

While their opinions may differ, three of the 11 candidates for seats on the University Board of Regents have at least one thing in common - they are all students here at the University.

Scott Trudeau, an LSA senior running with the Green Party, Rackham student Tim Maull, a Libertarian Party candidate, and Reform Party candidate Nick Waun, a Greek and Roman archaeology junior at the University of Michigan at Flint, all hope to do what has never happened before: Become the first student to serve on the board.

Maull said it is important for a student to be on the board because all the decisions made by the regents affect students.

"Students have the right to organize politically and put a student on the board. In this way they can control their own destiny," Maull said.

Waun said a student is needed on the board because of the ability to understand what students need. "Most regents are alumni. To get a current student perspective you need someone who walks among the students," he said.

Waun said he is most concerned about the amount of money the University spends.

"The University is spending $30 million on renovations for Hill Auditorium, $400 million on the new Life Sciences Institute and so forth," Waun said. "I'd like to enact a much more conservative budget policy because they're spending students money on all of these projects."

Trudeau said his agenda is aligned with the Green Party platform - including supporting an environmentally conscious campus and affirmative action.

Maull said one of his main concerns is the abolition of the Student Code of Conduct, the University's guidelines for student behavior. Students can be sanctioned for violating the Code for actions such as alcohol abuse and damage to University property.

The Code "is important because students are treated as second class citizens on campus," Maull said.

Waun and Maull both said they believe the University should withdraw from the lawsuits challenging the use of race as a factor in admissions.

"I think we should have an open admissions policy and eliminate affirmative action," Waun said. "We need to diversify the University without setting racial quotas."

Waun said he is not in favor of appealing the suit if the courts rule against the University. "If they lose the lawsuit I would vote with the Republicans to drop the suit. I disagree that we had the policy in the first place and the University should not have spent $4.1 million to defend it," Waun said.

Trudeau, on the other hand, said he would work to uphold affirmative action at the University. "I applaud the University on taking a strong stance on affirmative action," Trudeau said. "It may not be perfect but it's a good step."

Trudeau said the students running for seats on the board have a strong desire to change the way things are done at the University. "There is a desire and a need for a student representative on the Board of Regents," he said. "We want a say. We take it very seriously."