As journalists, we obviously hold deadlines in high regard.

So, when the Oakland University Student Congress announced they had failed to advertise the deadline for OU students to declare candidacy in the upcoming elections, we were chagrined.

Student Body President Benjamin Eveslage sent The Oakland Post an e-mail Jan. 25 explaining they “didn’t realize” the deadline for students to submit their declarations of candidacy was nearing for legislators, the vice president and president.

Buried within this notification was the fact the deadline to apply was on Jan. 30 at 5 p.m. — a mere five days away.

The OUSC bylaws clearly state that candidates for the election must submit their names for the ballot eight weeks prior to the election date in March.

Yeah, as journalists, we should have been playing watchdog and caught the fact that the deadline date was approaching.

Even so, it is OUSC’s ultimate responsibility as the student governing body to inform students of what is going on and to give everyone an equal chance to run.

OUSC is having no problem with forgetting to spend student money this year, however.

They receive $86,301 in Student Activity Fees, which they spend on events, causes and their payroll.

That money is also supposed to be used for advertising.

Advertising for things like elections, that is.

After OUSC announced the nearly missed deadline, they voted to extend the period an entire week to Feb. 6 at 5 p.m.

Because, in a week, all 19,379 students at Oakland will have been well-informed of the election and some may even decide to run.

Last year, four teams of student candidates took the plunge into presidential candidacy, along with 29 legislator hopefuls.

With all of the sloppiness of the current administration and lack of notice, we don’t think everyone has been given a fair opportunity in this year’s election.

Eveslage said he believes one week will be enough time for students (because they are now advertising on social media like Facebook and Twitter), but if there is a lack of applications for candidacy this year, we have to wonder if lack of advertising was to blame.

What’s worse is they missed the deadline for something as important as the next student governing body — the next group of individuals to represent the voice of the students.

How can they forget something that important?

We’re not advocating for continuous election coverage like we see on the national level, but we do think students deserve more than a few days to make that kind of decision.

Especially after last year’s campaign drama, we don’t think it’s a good idea to rush into elections this time around.

Hopefully next year’s administration doesn’t make the same mistake.

We won’t next time.

—–
The staff editorial is written weekly by members of The Oakland Post’s editorial board.

Though the game was considered an away game for Oakland University, there were more Grizzlies in attendance than Mastodons.

The group met early at OU Saturday morning, had breakfast, then rode charter busses out to the arena, enjoying snacks and winning prizes along the way. They were fed lunch upon arrival and even had Jimmy Johns on the bus ride home.

How much did students pay for the trip?

Nothing.

Yes, technically speaking, students paid for it when they paid $25 into the Student Activity Fee Allocation Committee fund, but that’s a negligible amount for what it gets you.

We aren’t advocating for the university to keep raising our tuition so they can provide us with these benefits, but if we have them with the current rate, we might as well take advantage of them.

Many students fail to realize everything the school does for us, things other students at other universities have to pay for in addition to tuition.

Parking is a perennial problem — as are people complaining about parking — but, aside from a few superior spots that are metered, it’s free.

At Wayne State University, students have to pay a minimum of $260 a semester for parking. At Michigan State University, it’s $462.

Yeah, sometimes it may be hard to find a parking spot close the building we need to be in, but we have the Bear Bus and Bike Share bikes to help alleviate the pain.

Another freebie that’s often taken for granted is admission to sports games.

Last year’s men’s basketball team made it to March Madness, but there were a few home games where the student section was not at capacity. That is inexcusable.

Almost every Thursday and Saturday, the OU basketball teams play in the O’rena.

For students, those games are free and sometimes come with free shirts and OU paraphernalia.

The OU Art Gallery located in Wilson Hall? Free.

The Recreation Center? MSU students have to pay $225 for the year. We get it free of charge.

OU students and alumni can also get help with finding a job through career services — all for free. University of Michigan and MSU students start paying for that service about a year after graduation.

Going to go see one of the many speakers OU hosts, play frisbee golf on the outskirts of campus AND tour through Meadow Brook Hall to learn all about OU history? Free. Free. Free.

While we know that all of these free amenities are offered, we don’t know why students take them for granted, especially when they’re paid for as part of tuition.

Yeah, OU doesn’t have everything, but most of what it does have comes free of charge. Take advantage of it.

It’s not you can go to many events outside of campus and park, attend and eat all for free, but it does happen at OU. All the time.
The staff editorial is written weekly by members of The Oakland Post’s editorial board.

In an ironic twist of fate, last week all hell broke loose on the OU campus.

For whatever reason, there were multiple cases of crime reported to the OU Police Department on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Aside from a non-student pulling a knife on a group of students at a party over the weekend, there were several larcenies reported throughout campus. One case was right next-door at WXOU, where two laptops were stolen in broad daylight.

With the increase in crime, Grizzlies need to remember to use caution on campus (or in any public place for that matter).

OU is a public campus with a constant stream of students and non-students walking around. Just because our campus is located in Rochester doesn’t mean there aren’t sketchy individuals looking to snatch up your valuables.

Despite the fact we all get along well at The Oakland Post, we still lock up our laptops and other valuables before leaving our office. With the amount of people that walk through our doors each day, we can never be too sure.

So, instead of leaving computers on tables while you go grab lunch in the food court, bring your stuff with you.

Yeah, you may lose a seat, but that’s a far less significant loss than a laptop or other expensive items.

The same goes for your residence. Rather than running out of your dorm without locking the door, stop being lazy and take an extra 30 seconds to secure all of your belongings.

Also, neglecting to lock your cars doors is possibly even more ignorant, since it’s a lot easier for thieves to slip in and out within the sea of cars.

If it is absolutely necessary to leave valuables in your vehicle, just remember the saying “out of sight, out of mind.” Lock it in the trunk.

When you are responsible for your things, it saves everyone at the police department a lot of time and energy.

With the tanking economy, there is an increase of crime all around the nation — not just around campus.

It’s a good idea to be mindful of your environment in any public situation.

If you know that you’ll be on campus after dark, try to park near a well-lit area. In addition, when you’re walking to your car at night, use the buddy system and walk with a group of friends.

Just keep in mind, if you ever feel threatened or scared, it’s OK to give OUPD a call. They’ll give you an escort, no questions asked.

On that note, reporting any suspicious people or activity to OUPD can possibly prevent future crime.

If someone looks out of the ordinary, we encourage you to speak up, no matter how stupid you think it is.

We just think it’s important for people to be aware of their surroundings, since unfortunately, we can’t trust everyone who sets foot on our campus. Just use some common sense.
The staff editorial is written weekly by members of The Oakland Post’s editorial board.

Recently, it seems as if Oakland University has made their mission to renovate various campus buildings and create new ones.

The new design of O’Dowd is supposed to be more efficient and cost effective in terms of an energy standpoint, but will cost the university $4.5 million.

Built in 1981, the building had a 25-year longevity, according to Terry Stollsteimer, associate vice president of facilities management.

Thirty-one years later, the building is ailing and has been for years. The windows have long leaked air and water and now the university is going to pour more money into recreating it’s glassy exterior.

Design-wise, the building also looks like any general building on campus — boring. Without the glassy exterior, it’s going to be foreign to those students who use it as a campus landmark.

It makes us wonder how many other buildings have these faulty issues on campus and why are we not correcting these problems from the beginning?

We’ve also noticed that the university is making a lot of pointless alterations.

Last year, the university decided to create a new entrance to the Oakland Center front and back, which not only took a lot of time and money, but also did not create any useful changes,  mostly ornamentation.

Though we do appreciate a prettier campus, we think the money would be better spent on other improvements:

Housing

Earlier this year, there was an unexpected overabundance of students wanting to live on campus. Because of the influx, 100 male students were moved into an off-campus hotel for the duration of the fall semester.

Instead of constructing a duplicate of a building we already have (cough Science and Engineering building) why not create additional student housing to allow more students to live on campus?

And with a university that seems so concerned with increasing the student experience, they should start at the beginning: parking.

The new Human Health building is being built in the corner of P1, the busiest parking lot on campus.

What’s going to happen when classes start in 2013 and there’s a sudden increase in student traffic?

It’s already busy enough there as it is. Why not use the money wasted on irrelevant building updates to create another parking garage in a better-suited area?

Hannah Hall

Though we know the university is currently working to restore some of the labs in the 51-year-old building, we think more attention needs to paid to smaller details.

There are many broken chairs in the building, old side tables that have been carved into, not to mention an accessibility issue, but we’ll get into that another time.

While the university is busy trying to engage students and create a more productive campus community, they should start focusing on students and less on the façade of the buildings.

Sure, the overall look of the campus may be beneficial when doing campus tours, but there’s a way to do it that both benefits the university and the students who go there.
The staff editorial is written weekly by members of The
Oakland Post’s editorial board: Nichole Seguin, Megan Semeraz and Kevin Romanchik.

While we may not be looking forward to the proposed “end of the world” as the Mayan calendar suggests, we are looking forward to some notable OU advancements:

The opening of the human health building. The 161,000-square-foot Human Health Building is scheduled to finish before the end of the year. The building, which will be home to the School of Health Sciences and the School of Nursing, was first approved in 2008. The $62 million building, which was paid for via grants, state funding and general revenue bonds, will include a geothermal heat pump system and will be the first “green” building on campus.

More student housing. An unexpected increase of demand left many students without dorm rooms at the start of the fall semester. After 100 male students were placed in hotel rooms at a local hotel, administrators began to develop plans for an additional housing facility. The city of Auburn Hills also approved and have begun constructing a facility for graduate students from OU, Cooley Law School and Oakland Community College. The building, which will be located in downtown Auburn Hills, will include 97 units, an attached parking garage and a separate study facility. The building, which is being paid by the city and a private contracting company,  is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

The remodeling of O’Dowd hall. The building, notably known for it’s glassy exterior, will be remodeled beginning this year to fix problems with air and water leaks. Costing less than $6 million, it will go through an entire transformation with hopes to increase its energy conservation measures.

The development of a new engineering building. At the last Board of Trustees meeting, a budget of $60 million was passed for the development of a new engineering building. The building is expected to double the amount of engineering students enrolled in the school.

Our new redesign. In case you haven’t noticed, Oakland Post staffers have been working hard to redesign the newspaper, paying close attention to the things you want most. After receiving input and conducting focus groups, we are pleased to present our new look, complete with a brand new staff.

The development of the OU brand. After two large-scale branding focus groups, two 4-credit courses and many ideas, the main thing we’re looking forward this year is the launch and implementation of the university’s new brand. We’re hoping that having a concrete identity will help abolish second thoughts of the school as a university and place to get a credible college diploma. We’re hoping it will not only drive more enrolment, but create a sense of campus community and a place for Grizzlies to call home.

Now that 2012 is upon us, what are you looking forward to most on campus? Tweet us at @theoaklandpost.

The staff editorial is written weekly by members of The Oakland Post’s editorial board.

The end of the semester is here and students are all winding down into the homestretch filled with papers, last-minute cramming for exams and scrambling to get final projects completed.

Professors are completing their final lectures, catching up on grading and preparing for final exams. As an aside, professors are not permitted to schedule any tests during the last week of classes during the fall or winter semesters.

It’s certainly been an eventful semester for Oakland University as well. National attention has been given to the school twice this semester and the response has been tremendous.

But the work doesn’t stop now. OU President Gary Russi is preparing to inform the campus of the direction the school is heading and the progress that has been made with achieving goals set forth through the Vision 2020 plan.

The school is also preparing to implement a new branding strategy, which is being spearheaded by Janell Townsend, an associate professor of marketing.

The work shouldn’t stop for you, either. We don’t mean to suggest you should study all throughout break, cancel your planned vacations or work yourselves to the bone.

What we want you to do is continue to think of ways to contribute to this campus. It was great to see the excitement drummed up by events like the Republican presidential debate and the men’s basketball game against Tennessee, but the excitement needs to carry through the rest of the year.

That way, we can each make our own mark on the campus and make an impact on the quality of campus life.

Be proactive about affecting the campus and there’s no better time to do that than after finals.

It takes minimal work now to start a student organization, which requires only four students, an adviser and the necessary paperwork that is now available online thanks to the GrizzOrgs system.

If that’s not your thing, consider at least perusing GrizzOrgs and finding a club or two to join.

Creating a vibrant campus atmosphere helps the school and students alike. Consider ways to contribute to that.

The first step is to get informed about happenings on campus and picking up this newspaper is one of the best ways to do that.

Get involved and be proactive about changing things you don’t like, too.

Are you unhappy about free Scantrons not being readily available at the OU Student Congress office?

What about the decrease in the size of the newspaper readership program? You can get involved with Student Congress and have a say in what they do as the governmental body that represents students.

We have asked for your feedback in this product and are continually seeking it. The work doesn’t stop for us, either.

We will continue to work through this break as well and keep giving you information that you need to know. We are also working on a new look for the paper, which will debut in January.

We are improving the student newspaper and are telling you to help improve the campus.

This break, don’t just fade into the background. Get involved with your university.

A main concern for students who are looking at colleges, working their way through or preparing for graduation has always been the cost, and in effect, the amount of debt they will face after graduation.

Since a recent Republican primary debate was held on Oakland’s campus, a strong focus and point of interest in the candidates related to this idea and how our potential president will handle the crisis of a near $1 trillion student loan debt.

Although all of the candidates are aware of the problem — and made that clear — we are still waiting to hear how it will be solved.

Congressman Ron Paul presented a plan that would effectively eliminate loan programs and the Department of Education while providing tax credits. Paul hinges this plan on the idea that if there is competition for schooling, quality would rise and costs would fall.

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich is pulling for more interesting ideas that will push the “outdated boundaries of education.”

Gingrich proposed the idea of using the model set forth by work-study colleges. Students would work on campus 20 hours a week to pay for books and tuition, then 40 hours in the summer to cover room and board.

Mitt Romney, who is currently the frontrunner in this race, has no specific plan to target the problem.

No candidates aside from Gingrich and Paul tout any solutions for making higher education affordable.

That’s all fine, but how do we get there from here? What happens to us, who are already in the debt pool? And how do we implement a plan when we still lack the actual means for progress?

We don’t mind if candidates like Paul believe the federal student loan program is a failure and believe the program — or even the Department of Educa-

tion — must be eliminated, but a solution must be presented in order to replace these current programs.

Gingrich said during the debate that to move to a workstudy model would be a culture shock to students entering college, because they would be expected to work for their education, study, graduate quickly and “do the right thing for four years.”

What is it he thinks we’re all trying to do now?

We’ve met myriad students on campus who work several jobs in addition to taking classes full time (12 credit hours), balancing families, friends and extracurricular activities.

The fact of the matter is that education is far too expensive forustokeepupwithanda solid solution has not been proposed by candidates.

If we eliminate loans completely, as per Paul’s plan, how long will it take for the education market to fall to a cost students can afford following their high school graduation?

How many work-study posi-

tions would have to be created if we choose to go with Gingrich’s plan? It seems implausible that all 19,000-plus students currently attending OU would have an on-campus job to support them.

The College of the Ozarks, which Gingrich referenced does run on that system, but the school in Missouri has a student population of about 1,600.

Will there be time for students to hold internships and have work experiences pertinent to their desired field of study?

There are so many questions but only a limited number of open-ended answers.

Though Gingrich and Paul were the ones standing in the O’Rena last Wednesday, we won’t stand any longer for politicians from both sides of the aisle talking about much-needed change in Washington while not proposing much else that is new or different and further ignoring ways to cut down the cost of higher education.

There needs to be change. Now.

And while it seems unfair, students must remember that Oakland University is simply a venue for the event — the debate is being hosted by CNBC and the Michigan Republican Party, not  OU.

A lot of misconceptions have abounded regarding the planning of this event, something we’ve reported multiple times and have been reminded of.

We’ve been witnessing floods of social media entries complaining about the paucity of tickets available and how difficult it was to obtain one.

The fact of the matter is, it’s not up to OU.

Learn the facts and be informed, even if it isn’t about politics or the upcoming election.

The guest list is up to the discretion of the Michigan GOP and the school was fortunate to have access to the amount of tickets received.

This event should be treated like any other outside event being held on campus.

Just because a wedding is being held at Meadow Brook Hall or in the Oakland Center doesn’t mean that all 19,000-plus Golden Grizzlies are invited to attend.

Though politics may not matter to you (the professors on page 4 present some arguments on why this shouldn’t be so), what should at least matter is the university you chose to attend and pay tuition to.

It may seem strange that a public university is holding a partisan event, but students must once again remember that Oakland is simply playing the role of a host in this event.

These debates play an integral role in elections and, by extension, the democratic system.

Another misconception being circulated is yet another perceived lack of parking being available this week.

The university has responded to this accordingly by creating an additional 410 parking sports to offset the occupation of various parking lots from Tuesday night to Thursday morning.

Yet again, parking may pose a problem, as we reported in last week’s edition of The Oakland Post. But think about the trade-off in this situation.

The university is receiving what President Gary Russi estimates to be millions of dollars worth of television time.

That kind of exposure lends to OU’s rise to prominence as a nationally recognized public university.

This isn’t the be-all-end-all route to becoming renown, but it certainly is a huge stepping stone that has presented itself to the university, especially now as we try to redefine ourselves and our image.

This event represents the first time in which a large-scale national event has been held on campus.

That’s why you should not only care about the debate, but welcome both the event and the inconveniences it may pose.

It’s not a matter of whether you hold an interest in the politics or the Republican Party, it’s about creating a future for the school that will boost the value of an education attained at OU.

In exchange, we’ll have to make room for the hundreds of media organizations for a day or two.

Other universities that have held similar events have reaped the benefits of this type of exposure, according to Russi and there’s no reason we shouldn’t take advantage of it and embrace the hosting of this event.

CNBC producer Samantha Wright said at a panel Friday that  OU was chosen as the venue for the debate because of the administration’s willingness to cooperate with the debate’s host.

That attitude should carry through to students as well.

While we aren’t qualified to form a legal opinion on the Baskin vs. Michigan Attorney Grievance Commission Case, we do know one thing: Attention shouldn’t shift to the board of trustees only during times of ‘scandal.’

Members of the board make decisions that have far-reaching effects that  span  the entirety of campus. They affect faculty, staff and students.

This Monday’s meeting was rife with examples of why campus community members should pay attention to the board.

Bonds and a schematic design were approved for the construction of a new engineering center.

Its expected cost will top $74 million.

This seems ironic, considering the board recently approved a budget that included $42 million in “cost containment initiatives” such as the elimination of positions, the reduction of program offerings, the deferral of needed maintenance and the renegotiation of contracts with union employees.

A $74 million building? Now? Really?

The plan is that most of the cost — about $40 million — will come from private support and external grants.

Meanwhile, the state of Michigan has promised an allocation of $30 million in support of the construction of the building. That will make a dent. But only if it surfaces.

There is a possibility the state money may not come through, though. Vice President for Government Relations Rochelle Black assured the board it would be unprecedented if the state were to pull the funding, but at the same time she said that action should be taken immediately in case the state begins “phasing things out.”

That would leave OU — and its students — to foot much of the entire bill for the building, which is arguably oversized. Keep in mind that the Science and Engineering building is only 14 years old.

School of Engineering and Computer Sciences Dean Louay Chamra boasted that the building will be able accommodate more than double the current amount of engineering students. He cited that the fact that this year’s freshman class increased 35 percent over last year.

However, according to the Office of Institutional Research and Assessment, the growth in the number of total credit hours being taken by students in the School of Engineering and Computer Sciences was only 0.7 percent.

We wonder about the prudence of this decision in such an unstable economic climate. We got the sense that even members of the board were dubious about this plan based on their myriad questions about debt being incurred by the school.

That makes us even more nervous. There are ways for the university to continue to guarantee a first class education without possibly jeopardizing its financial stability and risking the need for further tuition hikes.

To their credit, the board did approve some plans that will gain revenue for the school.

That includes a biomedical science program that will require no additional infrastructure. The program, which is designed to be profitable and accommodate students interested in pre-med seems like a given increase for enrollment, which will also help with keeping tuition costs down.

Another is a lease for extra space in Oakland County for the School of Education and Human services. Yes, it will cost $27,000 per year, but that’s a bargain compared to the new engineering center.

Yet during that same time period, union negotiations between the Campus Maintenance and Trades union and the university dragged on for 15 months.

The Professional Support Association, which represents all hourly employees who perform clerical services, was also affected by the day-to-day contract extensions that spanned from 2008-09.

Both unions are once again in the midst of negotiating new contracts and CMT, which represents all university-employed grounds and maintenance workers, has reached a tentative agreement with OU.

A quick turnaround on an agreement represents a positive step in the relationship between the union and Oakland, since the union’s contract expired at the end of June. But the proposed contract changes are a disturbing development.

According to a summary of the contract agreement obtained by The Oakland Post, current custodians will have their hourly pay rate slashed by $3 per hour by next November, an almost 12 percent decrease in pay.

The agreement has already been signed by union leadership and was up for a vote this morning.

If union members ratify the agreement, it will go up for approval from the Board of Trustees at their next meeting on October 31. OU administrators cannot talk about negotiations that are not yet finalized, however.

“At this point, I can’t really discuss because they (union members) are the ones who need to decide if they support (the agreement),” said OU President Gary Russi on Friday.

It is estimated that custodians make up more than half of the union’s membership. If the vote to ratify the agreement fails, custodians speaking on conditions of anonymity with The Oakland Post said union officials have threatened to outsource all campus custodial services.

Services are currently being outsourced at four campus buildings.

At the same time, custodian pay is being slashed. Non-custodians, such as groundskeepers, mail clerks and skilled tradespeople, will receive a 2 percent pay increase during its 2012-13 contract year and a 1 percent increase during the 2013-14 contract year.

Though they are members of the same union, custodians are being shafted by this tentative agreement. Even the fact that they’ll end up receiving a lump sum payout of 2 percent in 2012 and a 1 percent payout in 2012 doesn’t make up for the fact that they’ll be absorbing pay cuts while fellow union members are receiving raises.

The scenario that these workers are being forced into is unfair and uncalled for. Twelve percent is a staggering decrease in pay when there is no room for agreement negotiation, especially when threats of outsourced services are reportedly involved.

Employees should never feel like they’re forced into an unfavorable agreement in order to save their careers.  We hope the PSA fares better during their negotiations.