Former Sen. alleges SG violated law

SG refutes claims of mishandling fall elections commission hearing

By Tami Livingston
NEWS EDITOR

Robert K. Pietrzyk

Former Student Government Senator Matthew Breidenstein, pictured here during the Oct. 19 elections commission violation hearing, is accusing SG of violating Florida law and SG statutes during the hearing.

A former University of North Florida student government senator who was disqualified after the fall 2006 elections is accusing SG officials of breaking Florida law.

During a judicial hearing Feb. 21 to appeal the actions of SG's Elections Commission after the fall 2006 elections, former Sen. Matthew Breidenstein accused SG officials of violating his rights as guaranteed by federal and state law and SG statutes. Breidenstein was disqualified for a "major violation" of SG election statutes by not claiming taxes on his expense statement.

"Somebody needs to make that place [SG] accountable, and you know who can do that? The student body can by paying attention to who they vote for," said Breidenstein, a senior political science major.

In the first of three appeals filed by Breidenstein, he alleged that his due process rights for a fair hearing under SG statutes and the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution were not met during the elections violations hearing Oct. 19, 2006. Breidenstein said he was notified by a friend about the violations filed against him two hours before the violations hearing and that he had 30 minutes to prepare a defense before the hearing.

Sen. Elizabeth Rassmussen, elections supervisor at the time and senior social studies education major, referred to an e-mail during the judicial hearing as proof that she tried to officially notify Breidenstein of the violations and the hearing that day at 12:45 p.m. Breidenstein argued he never received the e-mail and even if he had, it was still not enough time to prepare an adequate defense.

Rassmussen said two hours has been the traditional amount of time for those accused of violations to prepare their defenses. She said the violations hearing was originally scheduled for Oct. 20 but was moved to Oct. 19 because of a time conflict.

In his second appeal, Breidenstein said the elections commission failed to conduct the violation hearing in accordance with federal and state law along with SG statutes, policies and procedures. He said this was a violation of his due process rights.

Breidenstein said in his appeal that Senate President A.J. Souto was allowed to vote in the violations hearing, which he said is a violation of SG statutes. He said if Souto had not been allowed to vote against him, he would not have been disqualified.

"I was completely justified in my actions," said Souto, a junior Political Science major. "I met the stipulations in the constitution and statutes because I was an unbiased senator not running in the elections."

Breidenstein's third appeal said the SG attorney general who prosecuted him during the violations hearing was not confirmed by the Senate and therefore did not have the right to act as attorney general.

"That's inaccurate," Souto said. Souto said Student Body President Justin Damiano, per SG's constitution and statutes, appointed the attorney general and he was "within his right to press those charges against Mr. Breidenstein."

SG officials refute the claim that they are in violation of the law.

"We are given the power to govern ourselves [by state law]," Souto said. "We are perfectly in our rights to do what we do."

A student government is required to follow Florida law governing open meetings and public records, said Adam Goldstein, attorney advocate with the Student Press Law Center. However, when it comes to due process and internal procedures, the answers are not so clear, he said.

Goldstein said due process has never been defined by the courts with respect to student governments and can mean something different to each person, depending on individuals' expectations of fairness. But he said it's possible to make the argument "that no notice is not due process."

Student governments have the ability to create their own internal procedures however, which can include due process and violations, he said.

According to Florida Statute 1004.26, "Each student government shall be organized and maintained by students [...] Each student government shall adopt internal procedures governing the operation and administration of the student government and the execution of all other duties as prescribed to the student government by law. The qualifications, elections, and returns, the appointments, and the suspension, removal, and discipline of officers of the student government shall be determined by the student government as prescribed in its internal procedures."

At the appeal hearing, the justices upheld Breiden-stein's first appeal and made a recommendation to the Senate to increase the amount of time required to notify members about violations filed against them and to increase the time they have to prepare a defense.

Souto said the Senate has taken the justices' recommendation under consideration and legislation is pending to decrease the statute of limitations for filing election violations from five days to three days. This legislation is also aiming to increase the time those accused have to prepare a defense from two hours to two days.

"We're doing our best to rectify this," Souto said.

The justices denied Breidenstein's second appeal and he withdrew the third.

"I withdrew mainly because they [the justices] agreed with my first one [violation]," Breidenstein said. "That I had no due process and that I couldn't defend myself, that they wouldn't uphold my other violations."

Breidenstein said he appealed the violations decisions because he wanted his Senate seat back and he needed to prove a point.

"This is going to keep happening unless people like me do something," he said.

Breidenstein said he filed the appeals Dec. 9 and doesn't understand why it took more than two months for the judiciary to hear them.

Chief Justice Corey Trent said Breidenstein filed his appeals during finals week before Christmas break, which prevented the hearing from being scheduled until after the break. Trent said chief justices have the ability to refuse to hear appeals. Trent also said at first he decided not to hear two of Breidenstein's appeals. He later recused himself due to a personal situation.

Breidenstein said he is not happy with the decisions made by the judiciary because it does not offer him a remedy to his problem of losing his seat. He said he does not know if he will pursue any further action and he thinks "it goes beyond SG at this point."

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Campus to air its garbage

By Lucy Helenna Rodriguez
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Robert K. Pietrzyk

During the Garbage on the Green event March 8, the University of North Florida will perform a waste audit to show students what trash can be recycled and raise environmental awareness.

The University of North Florida is cleaning up its act - literally.

Garbage on the Green, scheduled for March 8, will showcase campus waste in the middle of the Green for a trash audit - the first event of its kind at UNF.

"Not only is [the name] descriptive of the event location - mounds of campus trash on the university's 'green,' but you can think of it also meaning that the university is moving towards 'greening' it's garbage by reducing, reusing and recycling more," said Stacy Wheeler, Political Science professor and organizer of the event.

During the waste audit, volunteers will retrieve trash from four different locations on campus, including outside campus areas and trash from inside department buildings.

The results of the waste audit will be announced at the end of the event and a more detailed version will be available March 12. A finalized report will be presented to the university including a detailed analysis and recommendations during the week of March 25.

The details of the audit will include the total number of recyclable and waste items collected from four different locations on campus, Wheeler said. Items will be catalogued and sorted based on weight, volume and content.

The content categories include items that can be recycled, items that cannot be recycled, and items that can be composted.

Wheeler hopes several students can travel to the National Recycling Conference in Denver this September to present the findings.

"We want everybody on the campus to be thinking about how they can help recycle," Wheeler said.

The all-day event is sponsored by student government and Keep Jacksonville Beautiful, a committee aimed at educating citizens about solid waste management and litter prevention. Members of UNF's sororities, fraternities, student government, with help from Florida Community College at Jacksonville's student government and honors program, will work to clean up the campus.

Students may volunteer to assist in the cleaning of the campus or sorting of materials during the waste audit, a systematic study of what the campus throws away, Wheeler said.

"So far over 100 students have signed up for the event," Wheeler said. Students who volunteer for the waste audit must go through a training course to ensure they handle trash properly during the event.

Planning for Garbage on the Green, one of the events fulfilling UNF's Master Plan, began in November 2006, Wheeler said. Wheeler is hopeful that Garbage on the Green will become an annual event.

"The goal for the event is to get students excited about recycling," Wheeler said.

The Master Plan's Conservation Element has one main goal that includes protecting and managing the campus' natural resources, according to the 2005 version of the plan available on UNF's Web site.

Policy 1.1.3 is the only one specifically mentioning recycling, which states UNF will encourage the use of present recycling programs and will promote and develop newer recycling programs sponsored and funded by the university or the City of Jacksonville.

Jen Quinn

The University of North Florida has recycled 90,000 pounds of paper since July 2006. The school employs six waste management companies to handle its recycling and waste needs.

Recycling at UNF

More than 90,000 pounds of paper has been taken from the University of North Florida to a nearby recycling plant since July 2006. Recycling services has filled up an estimated eight semi-trucks full of paper since December, said Gerald Garner, program assistant for the recycling department.

Between August 2005 and July 2006, the campus recycled the same amount of paper, but it took a full 12 months, said Robert McCracken, superintendent and head of vehicle maintenance in the Physical Facilities Department.

"That's what we did [total] last year and we've already [matched] it in seven months," McCracken said.

The two components of recycling on campus are operational and educational, Wheeler said. The operational side involves collecting and sorting items, while the educational side raises students' awareness about the programs. The operational component is strong, but the educational side is in need of improvement, she said.

However, the total amount of various recycled materials taken from campus is unknown. The recycling department feels it needs to improve the way the amount of recycling is tracked, McCracken said.

Currently, the campus uses at least six companies to transport waste and recyclable materials.

Southland Waste is used for disposing of the trash on campus, while Southland Recycling is used for recycling paper and cardboard. BFI Waste Systems handle the plastics, Woodard's Battery Service recycles batteries, and Commercial Metals will take almost any form of scrap metal, McCracken said.

Waste Tires recycles the tires because they cannot be taken to the landfill, Garner said. All these companies function together to recycle since each company has a specialty, McCracken said.

The current recycling program involves the entire campus, with strategically placed plastic and aluminum can bins located in high traffic areas, along with paper bins placed in many departments where the waste is primarily paper. Dumpsters for cardboard are placed in areas such as the food service facilities that receive many cardboard boxes through product shipments, McCracken said.

All buildings on campus are on a weekly pick-up schedule, McCracken said. When requests for special pick-ups are made, they are usually done the same or the following day.

McCracken noticed that the parking garages require more pick-ups than are currently scheduled and plans to adjust the number of pick-ups during the week.

The need for an increase in pick-ups is evidence of the campus becoming more congested. With more students comes more waste, Wheeler said.

The school's student population is expected to nearly double in the next 10 years, Wheeler said. The university is transitioning from a commuter campus, with only 20 percent of students currently living here, to a residential campus, Wheeler said.

McCracken said he hopes to place more containers around campus and form a partnership with the housing department to encourage more students and faculty to take part in recycling.

The litter on campus is an issue, McCracken said.

Members of the Physical Facilities and Environmental Health and Safety Department are making plans to decrease the amount of waste the campus produces by educating students about recycling with events such as Garbage on the Green, McCracken said.

McCracken said he believes students need to take more responsibility for cleaning up after themselves and maintaining clean facilities instead of dumping their problems on the custodial crew. Wheeler is hoping to provide literature to students at the event to educate them about recycling and waste management.

Three employees were recently fired from the Physical Facilities department for not doing their jobs and the number of employees picking up trash around campus has increased, said Donald Hicks, superintendent of Landscape and Grounds.

Hicks said the amount of waste the campus disposes of is not tracked. Recently, the department began to track the waste by counting the number of 60-gallon bags it throws out but there are no actually records yet, Hicks said.

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SWAT team drops in

Rebecca Daly

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Support Weapons and Tactical Unit rappeled Feb. 21 from a helicopter onto campus near Lot 18. The demonstration was originally set to happen on the Green but was moved. The Student Criminal Justice Association sponsored the event.

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Student body presidents discuss future of schools

By Tami Livingston
NEWS EDITOR

The University of North Florida Student Government hosted the monthly meeting of the Florida Student Association Feb. 23 in the University Center.

The FSA is a lobbying entity for Florida students. During the day-long conference, public university student body presidents from across the state, along with their staff and advisors met to discuss local and statewide SG and university issues.

Among the subjects discussed in the general meeting was the Pappas Consulting Group Inc.'s recent report on the state of the Florida university system. Frank Harrison, FSA director, encouraged SG officials to read the report and to "look at the diagnosis instead of the prescription they are giving."

Harrison said there has been no definitive reaction from the Board of Governors and the universities about the report and he encouraged people to attend a public hearing in Orlando Feb. 26 to get public comment on the report.

Mike Fischer, FSA executive director, gave a legislative update report during the general meeting as well. He said the FSA is currently tracking 25 legislative bills and "it's going to be a good, busy legislative session."

After a general meeting, the attendees split into separate councils and held group meetings. The Board of Directors met and discussed a number of upcoming legislative issues, said UNF Student Body President Justin Damiano, a senior majoring in Political Science. The Spinnaker attempted to attend the board meeting but Harrison said the meeting was not open to reporters.

Damiano said the board voted to support a new technology fee, which was proposed last year by the legislature but stopped by students. The technology fee bill was re-written, Damiano said, to be more favorable to students.

"It gives student body presidents joint approval power over the technology fee along with university presidents," Damiano said.

This way, the students can determine how much the fee will be and what the money will be spent on, he said.

The board also discussed Gov. Charlie Crist's recent proposal for no new fees and no tuition increases for the next year, Damiano said.

"We're looking forward to speaking to the governor soon on his stance on tuition," Damiano said.

Students are in support of the technology fee which translates to a raise in tuition, Damiano said. This is why the FSA would like to speak to Crist about his proposal.

Also discussed was the legislature's plan to possibly implement mandatory university health insurance, Damiano said. The FSA has chosen not to support the measure right now, he said.

"The board of directors feels that mandatory health insurance isn't the best route for the state university system but they feel it's worth looking into," Damiano said. The BOD would like more information about the insurance and how it has worked at other schools, he said. Florida State University is currently testing a pilot-program, he said.

More information about the FSA, visit http:// blog.floridastudentassociation.com or www.floridastudentassociation.com.

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Students bring beast back to life

By Matt Coleman
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Rebecca Daly

Students from the University of North Florida Building Construction Management program are working to restore the old Goony Golf dinosaur on Beach Boulevard. The project is scheduled to be completed in April..

It's been a fixture of the Jacksonville community for more than 30 years. Despite being targeted for extinction, the T-rex statue on Beach Boulevard still has some life left in it.

Ash Properties Inc., a local construction company and the Building Construction Manage-ment program at the University of North Florida are working together to prolong the dinosaur's life-span. Students from the college met Feb. 24 at the construction site to restore the statue to its former glory.

The students pressure washed and patched the dinosaur statue. They plan on resurfacing, repainting and completely repairing the statue before they finish the project. Ash Properties has paid for all the materials associated with the construction and the Building Construction Management college is providing all the manpower.

Richard Swindasz, a senior building construction management student is managing the project for UNF. He said he became involved in the project as a part of his Senior Capstone Project Management class in which students run construction projects from start to finish.

"I've learned much like scheduling, budgeting, estimating and staying in contact with other associates," Swindasz said. "The project is going very smoothly and I'm honored to be working on a Jacksonville landmark."

Randall Whitfield, vice president of Ash Properties, said his company acquired the property where the dinosaur was located a few years ago. Built as an attraction at the now-defunct Goony Golf, the dinosaur was retained while the area surrounding it was cleared for future construction.

Whitfield said there was a community outcry surrounding the dinosaur. His company decided to develop around the statue instead of over it.

Hawk St. John, commercial leasing consultant for Ash Properties, said due to the input from various community members, his company felt the restoration should be handled by a local construction agency.

"Our preference was to keep the project local," St. John said. "That's why we went with the Building Construction Management college at UNF. They had a strong desire to work on the project and we were impressed with their work."

St. John said Ash properties will unveil the newly refurbished dinosaur to the public either April 14 or 16. They plan on setting up lights to illuminate the statue and surrounding it in decorative fencing.

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University battles city for change of address

By Bobby Agagnina
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

The University of North Florida is in the process of trying to change its address.

Because the school is no longer located on St. Johns Bluff, university administrators want to change the address. A request submitted to the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Jacksonville was recently denied, and the university plans to appeal the decision, said Sharon Ashton, vice president for Public Relations.

As for possible new address names, "We suggested 1 UNF Drive," Ashton said.

The department now has an interim director, Brad Thoburn, and UNF is prepared to appeal the city's decision within the next few months.

"Policy requires addresses to fall into a specific range; UNF falls into the 11,400 range," said Ellen Fales, senior planner for the Department of Planning and Development for the City of Jacksonville.

A range is given to all buildings in an area, and UNF's ranges from 11,400-11,499. University officials suggested using "1," but because that does not fall into its range, the address change was turned down.

Students haven't shown much interest in the school's address change.

"I don't even care if UNF changes its address. If it doesn't affect me, why should I care?" said Jason Klemka, a freshman nutrition major.

The proposed address change might not affect students but it will definitely impact the school. Anything bearing UNF's address would have to change.

"We would have a long period of time to transition when we have both addresses, so we would simply replace letterhead, business cards and so forth with the new address as we ran out of these materials," Ashton said.

The funds to make these changes could mean that students might have to pay more for certain services on campus.

This in return would affect students' wallets; however, no figure has been calculated.

"I would be angry because I already pay enough money. I am a poor college student, and I don't want to be poorer. I think all of the other students here feel the same way," Klemka said.

"We plan to appeal the decision to deny 1 UNF Drive within the next few months," Ashton said.

Though it is possible the process of getting the address changed will take time, money and some effort, the effects will be positive. "I think UNF Drive works, since it's the name of the school," Klemka said.

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Love/Hate project gets students thinking

By Matt Coleman
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR

Ace Stryker

Kari Khalif, a sophomore criminal justice major, signs the "Religion" Love/Hate board on the Green Feb. 19. The boards were part of a three-pronged initiative by the Baptist Collegiate Ministry to provoke discussion about the real meaning of love and hate among students, said Robby Angell, the project's leader.

For the past few weeks, their presence on campus has been an enigma. With the polarizing words of "Love" and "Hate" emblazoned on either side, the origins of these signs remained hidden.

It was recently revealed that the group involved with the placement of the signs was the Baptist Collegiate Ministry, a part of the University of North Florida's Campus Ministry department.

Robby Angell, a senior criminal justice major, is the student responsible for leading the love/hate project. He said he first heard about the idea while attending a Baptist Collegiate Ministry conference.

"LA Tech in Louisiana did this on their campus," Angell said. "After hearing about it, I felt very inspired to see this happen at UNF."

The vice president of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry on campus, Angell worked closely with the Campus Ministry and Student Affairs in bringing the "Love/Hate experience" to school.

"The purpose of the project was to provoke discussions among students on campus," Angell said. "We wanted them to consider the words love and hate and discuss what these words really mean."

Angell said he and other members of the Baptist Collegiate Ministry started the project Feb. 12 by placing 250 signs throughout the campus. The group originally planned on placing 500 signs, but their shipment was delayed. The other 250 signs weren't used because they were damaged.

The next phase of the project Feb. 19 consisted of the placement of large boards on the Green where students could write what they love or hate about certain topics.

The boards were removed Feb. 22 by the BCM leadership team and the 35 to 40 members looked over the results. New boards were placed on the Green on the night of Feb. 25 integrating the findings of the previous signs. Angell said the point of the new boards is to ask for forgiveness from the students on campus.

"We are putting up these apology boards as a way of saying that we are sorry," Angell said. "We studied what students said they hate about Christianity and religion, and apologized for them. We want to be forgiven for not being perfect Christians."

Ben Smith, the campus minister for BCM, was involved in the planning of the "Love/Hate experience." He said those involved spent an estimated 15 to 20 hours working on the project.

"Everyone involved put in a tremendous amount of work," Smith said.

The source of the project was kept anonymous to eliminate bias among students who participated.

Angell said if it was known that a Christian group spearheaded the "Love/Hate experience," their results might not be as accurate.

Students may have also noticed that the Green has seen more traffic from religious speakers during the "Love/Hate experience."

Angell said he is unsure what organization represents the speakers, but they are unaffiliated with the Baptist Collegiate Ministries.

Smith said it might have been a "divine intervention" having these speakers on the Green during the project.

"It was interesting that we were talking about love and hate while these speakers were on the Green," Smith said. "We were trying to clarify what Christianity is about while these guys were distorting it. We hope we improve the campus's perception of Christianity."

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Task force works to raise body image issue awareness on campus

By Justina Stoescu
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Feb. 26 through March 2 is National Eating Disorder Awareness Week and the University of North Florida is getting help to raise awareness from one of the most famous figures in the world - Barbie.

The Department of Health Promotions and the Body Image Task Force are sponsoring a weeklong series of events across campus featuring Barbie to raise awareness of body image issues and eating disorders in men and women.

"National Eating Disorder Awareness Week is a touchy subject," Purser said. "The events are not to take away from the devastating facts, but to open eyes and make the situation more positive."

Throughout the week, a life-size Barbie cutout and facts poster will travel through campus to demonstrate the measurements of what society considers perfect. .

"The Body Image Task Force hopes to increase awareness of eating, weight and body image problems," said Dr. Julia Watkins, Department of Public Health assistant professor and task force member. "We want to increase consciousness of a healthy body image versus following the social standard."

A jeans drive will be held throughout the month of March. The donated jeans will be used to show how many different sizes there are and to show the real deal. All of the jeans will be donated to the Hubbard House.

"We hope to get to one person to rethink how they think about themselves," Purser said. "They need to know what's really perfect and what's not."

Both the Body Image Task Force and Health Promotions hopes to continue the education of the ongoing misconception of body image, Purser said.

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Proposal would expand student health care options

By Heather Camp
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Americans ages 19 to 29 are the largest group of the country's population without health insurance, and 20 percent of full-time students ages 19 to 23 are uninsured, according to a 2006 study by The Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that aims to improve health care through independent research.

The University of North Florida is addressing the problem by improving health insurance for students.

A new health insurance plan offered through Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida has been proposed for the 2007-2008 school year because the student health insurance coverage UNF currently offers through BCS Insurance Company is limited, said Doreen Perez, director of medical compliance at UNF.

The current BCS Plan covers emergency room services up to $2,000 for each injury or illness after co-payment and co-insurance. Other policy items, such as room and board, miscellaneous day surgery expenses, and X-rays and laboratory expenses also include dollar maximums, according to the policy. In addition, student athletes cannot be covered under the policy and prescription drugs are also capped at $500 maximum per policy year.

"All it takes is one catastrophic illness like appendicitis and you'll be paying medical bills bigger than your student loans," Perez said. "We need appropriate coverage that is affordable for students."

About 500 students - less than 4 percent of the student population - elect to purchase the current health insurance plan from the university each year, Perez said. Insufficient coverage options are likely to blame for low enrollment numbers, she said.

Perez said more students don't have insurance because of its costs. While UNF offers coverage for $883 per year, costs cannot be covered by financial aid and must be paid in a lump sum per year or per semester, Perez said.

Some students would consider campus health insurance if there were different payment options available, she said.

"I think it would be a lot easier if payments were monthly," said junior chemistry major Samme Fulk. "That's how other insurance companies bill."

Junior advertising major David Gonsalves agreed.

"I would like a plan that has payments spaced out over time. It would allow me to budget," she said.

Gonsalves is also included in the growing number of students with no health insurance. While many students know insurance is important, they choose to go without policies.

"I think I'm invincible. I haven't been sick a lot so I'm pressing my luck," Gonsalves said.

Vonda White, president of Collegiate Risk Management and UNF's insurance broker, visited the university Feb. 19 to discuss the proposed policy for fall 2007. White also discussed the Florida Consortium of Colleges, a group of 26 state and independent schools that joined together through CRM to find an insurance policy that offers sufficient coverage at affordable rates. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Florida offered an attractive health insurance plan for almost every school involved, White said.

"By grouping schools together, we can create a much better policy that increases coverage and decreases rates," White said.

The proposed health insurance plan eliminates almost all dollar maximums that were present in UNF's current policy, reduces deductibles and co-payments and offers coverage for student athletes. Premiums would also be reduced to $850 per year with the BCBS policy, White said.

Currently, UNF's health insurance coverage is voluntary. Should the university decide to switch to a "hard-waiver" policy for insurance coverage, individual premiums under the newly proposed plan would decrease to $599 per year, White said.

A hard-waiver policy would require students to purchase student health insurance through the university unless they can provide proof of comparable insurance coverage, White said. Aside from lowering premiums, a hard-waiver policy would ensure all students on campus have health insurance.

Students currently without insurance coverage do have options for affordable care, Perez said. Open enrollment for UNF's current student health insurance plan is the first 30 days after the start of each semester. Also, Student Medical Services will provide care to any current student, regardless of insurance coverage.

"We are a normal family practice and can provide services like any other doctor," said Karen McSheffrey, office manager at Student Medical Services.

There is no fee for diagnosis and treatment of illness or injury at SMS and gynecological exams, immunizations, allergy injections and lab services are available at a low cost for students, McSheffrey said.

For students off-campus or those who need care after hours, Solantic urgent care is an option. Solantic treats sore throats, sprains or fractures, burns and other common ailments.

"The insurance model that we have, accepting insurance and low-cost pricing, is definitely something that is attractive to college students," said Barrett Cook, director of public relations for Solantic.

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