The morning after student body elections on Tuesday, I anticipated the coverage the winners and run-off candidates would receive in the Skiff, as they do every year. Instead, I was appalled at the miniscule textbox, with an even smaller font, merely listing the winners. No quotes, no voter turnout, no referendum results, and certainly no “Check out more at www.tcudailyskiff.com.” I later found an article covering the elections on the Web site but only because I was seeking it out, not because the Skiff told me it was there. There is no reason that the SGA election article shouldn’t have been printed in the first place.All of the candidates were e-mailed questions to answer in regard to their platform, why they should be elected, and their experience in student government. Where are those answers? Candidates put much time and thought into questions that were supposed to be printed Tuesday in an effort to educate the student body on the elections. This is the fourth student body election I have seen and this is by far the worst coverage provided by the Skiff. For the 2003 and 2004 elections, an entire spread was given to the candidates, listing their basic information, positions held in SGA and on campus and goals if elected. It was a great opportunity for students to learn about everything the candidates had to offer. Unfortunately, students running for positions this year were not given that chance.

I was once again appalled to read the Skiff View on Thursday, Nov. 10. Yes, there were less than 2,000 students who voted. Why is that? SGA did their part to advertise the voting, but the Skiff did next to nothing. There was a weak article the day of elections, claiming that more information on the candidates could be found on the Skiff Web site, which proved to be a false statement. The Skiff says it wants more effort to be put into getting SGA’s message out through forums and sidewalk fliers. Our current student body officers promoted the student fee referendum through ground stakes, mailbox stuffing and personal letters. This resulted in students complaining that SGA should stop spending students’ money on stakes and give it back to students through organizations and programs. It seems like that was a situation that could have been solved by a couple of articles printed in the Skiff – at no cost to the student body. Lastly, I would like to point out that the Academic Affairs Committee for SGA had two large events the week of Oct. 31. As the committee chair, I was interviewed and answered questions that I assumed would be used in articles to promote both the Plus/Minus Forum and Peer Advising. I contacted the Skiff, I sent out mass e-mails, I put up fliers, but the Skiff did not deliver. I suppose I should not have assumed that the Skiff would provide the students of TCU with information regarding events and goings-on that affect them directly.

Mandy Velasquez, senior speech pathology major and SGA Academic Affairs Committee Chair.