Dear Editor,
Clubs Should Vote for Meredith and Delight
ASUAF Elections are on April 16 and 17; on these days UAF will be voting for the 08-09 student body President and Vice President. I am hereby endorsing the candidacy of Meredith Cameron and Delight Kennedy for the Presidential race.
Meredith Cameron is a natural selection for President. As a member of the AAIP Statewide Student Advocates, Meredith has worked very closely with current President Hamburg on such major issues as the $100,000 Needs-Based Financial Aid bill currently going through the Alaska State Senate.
This issue of affordability, along with many others such as sustainability and student engagement, are essential for students at UAF and should naturally be continued next year by someone with familiarity and passion for these issues.
For almost two years now I have worked as the Student Organizations Program Assistant, which has afforded me the opportunity to get to know the people and the needs of the over 120 different student organizations here at UAF; these groups represent over 4,000 UAF students.
One of the major means of funding and networking for these groups is Club Council, and it is the primary job of the Vice President to chair Club Council. In my experience Delight Kennedy has been the most active student representative on Club Council in these two years. She has helped to organize multiple precedent-setting fundraising events that have benefited a wide range of student groups and she has worked closely with current ASUAF Vice President Ryder. Like Meredith for President, Delight is clearly a natural selection for ASUAF Vice President.
If you are one of the 4,000 members involved in a student organization, I highly, highly encourage you to vote for Meredith and Delight. In my opinion, they are clearly the best choice for clubs in 2008.

Finally, ASUAF Elections are about more than the electing candidates. Having been Elections Director last year, I can attest to how important it is for students to vote as this is one of the only measurable indicators of student activism on campus, which then directly links to activities, funding, and other opportunities for the students.
If we want the students and the needs of the students to be taken seriously by ASUAF, then we as students need to take ASUAF elections seriously. On this Wednesday and Thursday, GO VOTE!

Mariah Acton
Student Org Program Assistant with the Leadership Program
The views expressed above are those of Mariah Acton’s and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Leadership Program.

Dear Editor,
The Lola Tilly Commons feeds an average of 700 to 1000 students a day. To ensure that all clients are fed, it produces a little more than is expected to be eaten. When the Tilley closes at 8 p.m., all the surplus food is tossed out. An average of five to six garbage bags of uneaten plate scraps are also tossed out. I thus wrote an ASUAF resolution to create more efficient and sustainable use of the surplus goods.
On Saturday, Mar. 15, I traveled to Fairbanks’ food bank, accompanied by the Nana General Manager of Dining Services Linda Bahr, her counterpart Jeffrey Pellissier the Resident Dining Manager and the Associate Director of Auxiliary Robert Holden. Together we toured the facility, with the hopes of somehow working out a deal that would put into action ASUAF Senate bill SR170-001 (aka Surplus Food Resolution) that was passed a month earlier.
We were able to open up talks between the Food Bank and UAF. The FFB has since been picking up cardboard boxes to fill with donated food and then transport this to local families. The food however is more complicated to be reused because it has already been processed.
When alerted of the surplus food, the Tilley began a sustainability project. They got rid of the trays in order to reduce the amount of food students tossed. The amount of food that was saved was phenomenal. Thirty-two gallons of wasted food were saved. The students however disliked the new system and the Tilley got rid of the project. Dining Services however has not given up and has some other ideas hitting the tables shortly. I am also optimistic about the processed food situation because talks are now underway.

Adrian Triebel
ASUAF Senator

Dear Editor,
In response to Ms. Grosvold’s Editorial in the Apr. 8 issue of the Sun Star, I would like to say that people don’t have to feel the burden of credit cards, mortgages, and loans for extended periods of time.
Credit cards are great if used properly, as insurance instead of the first option. The word mortgage breaks down to “Pledge of Death” and can be broken with proper information on how they work and how to beat the system. Most people are trying to be frugal just to pay off their debts, some succeed, while the majority fail. They usually pay the highest interest first, or the smallest debt first, but it is not always the best strategy. Also, most people think that paying extra on each card or a bit more on the highest debt work also, but I have proof that this is ineffective. The others usually just cut up their cards, and pay cash. This is a better strategy, but you lose that “insurance” factor of a card.
About 2% of America already knows how to use money to their advantage, and the other 98% are doing what they are told. There is a saying that those who understand interest collect it, and those who don’t pay it. My question for the day for you is this: Would you pay interest on a candy bar? Everyone would say no, but continue to do every time they make their monthly payments on their debts. I have a way to show you how to stop.

DJ Jennings
Owns Alaska Debt Elimination Services
UAF Undergrad in the Business Program