By MATT EPSTEIN
Staff Writer
 

Student body interest at a low
The seeming apathy of Bates students towards student government reared its head again during last weeks advisory committee elections. The entire student body was eligible to vote for these crucial committees, which advise the President, the trustees and the deans. Despite publicity for the elections, no more than 20 votes were cast by each class for their candidates.

Both the officers and the members of the assembly expressed their extreme concern over this lack of interest. It comes on the heels of the disappointing committee seatings from last week where several seats were left vacant for the first time in years.

Those seats must now be filled at the discretion of President Liam Clarke '98 who was unhappy that the proper procedures could no longer be used in this case.

All in attendance agreed that the current lack of interest in student government is unacceptable. Clarke proposed taking a full page ad in the Student and using the space to publish a letter admonishing the student body for its lack of interest in the RA.

"It seems that as a member of the Bates College community, we all have a responsibility, a certain accountability to ourselves and others, all of us, to become active and participate in the maintenance and improvement of our community," states the letter.

However, the membership had concerns with the length of the letter (9 paragraphs) and its potential cost, which is still under consideration. But the consensus was that some action must be taken to combat the growing apathy of the student body towards the assembly.

"Angry people get things done, so I say we go and piss people off," said Parliamentarian Shu Ware '99. He felt that the RA should use a controversial issue to raise interest in the student body.

Searching for a cause
The particular issue would most likely be the upcoming vote on future NESCAC participation in post-season play. It is felt that most students support continued participation, which would make this an ideal issue to draw the campus together over.

The other possibility would be the upcoming debate over a possible honor code, which was put off this week because of time constraints. Certainly this would have an impact on the entire campus, and hopefully the RA will be able to hear from a much broader spectrum of opinions then just the assembly itself.

Also, between now and the spring the RA must revise its budget guidelines for this year. There is expected to be a major push by several organizations to have the administration's grant to the RA enlarged to reflect the growing number of student groups on campus.

New organizations are a sign of an active student body that reflects well on the in Chase Hall.

The assembly approved a from Solidaridad Latina for an $800 co-sponsorship. The money will help pay for a non-profit concert to be given on campus by a Cuban band.

Also, two co-sponsorships were approved last week: $150 for the Bates Democrats' Welfare Symposium and $200 for the Environmental Coalition.

Jessica Brown '98 reported on the progress of the proposed changes in the graduation requirements under consideration by the faculty. The faculty will take its final vote on the plan on November 3 after amendments are offered. According to Brown "the proposal has a good chance to fail". There will be no fine arts requirement in the plan as it now stands, and the foreign language and cultural diversity requirements are being reconsidered before the final vote.

RA meetings are at 7 PM in Skelton Lounge, all are welcome to attend. Next week the RA is expected to discuss the need for an honor code and possibly the revision of budget guidelines.