It's Hard to Get Stuff Done.

It's really hard at Loyola to get stuff done for the students. In the meetings that matter--on budget, curriculum, Board of Trustees, and tuition, the faculty and administration dominate the room. They do not need to listen to the students, and often times they simply do not.
But I think I can get our voice heard next year as President. In my time as VP, I've learned who to talk to in the Administration--who to talk to about money--what people have power in certain meetings--and who has influence on issues that matter.

I'm the only candidate who has that experience. I'm the only one who knows the layout of the University, and knows how to get things done. I'm the one with the best chance of getting the Danna Center fully funded, Student Health really fixed, and communication with student groups actually improved.

I've already done it for a year. If you want SGA to improve on last year's hard work,vote for Bob.

Thanks for reading.

Voting Begins Tomorrow

Hey everyone,

The time has come. The ground has been chalked, bulletin boards have been swamped with flyers, and banners finally hung.
Tomorrow, voting begins at 9:30 am in the O.R. Lounge. Voting is open until 6:30 Monday night, and the 9:30-6:30 Tuesday, too.

I'm asking for your vote for "No Payne, No Gain" these next two days. I hope that I've explained enough of my platform, and why I'm the best candidate for President, enough either in person or here on the internet.

I'll be seeing you tomorrow in the Danna Center...

Bob Payne

Why Do I want to Run?

Hi all,

I got an interesting question from someone at the fine Uptown establishment at which my friend and I were relaxing yesterday evening--why do you want to run for President? While the topic is something I've put a ton of thought into, I realized that I'd yet to discuss the issue specifically in public. I thought this post would be a good venue for me to discuss the two main reasons why I wanted to run for President: impact and ability.

Impact: By impact, I mean making a difference. If there’s one thing I’ve learned on SGA in my year as VP, it’s that one person can really change things at Loyola. The process may be long, tiring, frustrating. The results may not be seen immediately, but may be more gradual over time than most people would like. But one person can absolutely change things at this University. I’ve seen this happen with countless projects and initiatives at the University this year. Certain student leader, particularly Senior Greek student leaders, continued to push graduation site to the top of the President’s agenda. And even if they did not get the result they desired most greatly, their work resulted in a much improved set of festivities for Seniors around graduation. I’ve seen how a small, dedicated group of people could make an organization—the Muslim Students Association—that technically represents a very small percentage of the student population into one of the most active, popular groups on campus. I’ve seen the ability of people on Congress to keep certain issues on the agenda—from lack of communication with the College of Music and Fine Arts, to the run-down facilities of Cabra, Thomas, and Buddig Hall, to the absence of sufficient computers in the Chemistry Lab—purely by bringing them up over and over. They all got results.

Through my own work on SGA, I’ve discovered how one person can change a whole institution. As Vice President, my primary job was to be in charge of Congress—to ensure that Congresspeople actually worked hard at and completed a commitment project that in some way benefited students. In my previous two years on Congress, I had encountered a real lack of communication between the Vice President and Congresspeople. In my freshman year, I was lost as to what my job was on Congress.

So I made the active decision to communicate much in a more frequent and friendly way in order to push Congresspeople to do their commitments. And a funny thing happened after I began meeting with Congresspeople for the second and third times—they would have updates for me on their ongoing projects! There was a significant culture shift within Congress from slacking off and getting by without doing a project, to actually working hard at a project. Congresspeople forced through changes in the University that helped students.

In my time as VP, I have both observed others and seen myself making big differences at the University as only one person. The President of SGA has the unique chance to make an even bigger impact on behalf of the students, because he or she is in so many important meetings that decide things from tuition to curriculum to University planning to physical facility changes.

I have seen that one person can have a real effect on this University.

Second: I have the ability to be the person who makes a difference.

In working as Vice President and watching the President this year, I realized that I have the skills to do a great job as President: my ability to both listen to people and to speak up for what I believe in. I know this stuff may sound overly vague and sort of Guidance-class-ish, but I think this really will help you understand why I think I’d be a great President.

First, my ability to listen to people. I don’t see listening to people as just hearing what they have to say, and then saying my opinion. I’ve learned through participation in my Political Science and English classes, as well as debate in Congress, the ability to actually take other people’s opinions into account when creating my own. I do not just get blindly set in my ways and block out anyone who disagrees. For example, all during this past year, Congresspeople would come into the SGA office with a variety of ideas as to what their commitments should be. I would always have a list of commitment ideas for that particular Congressperson. But instead of just imposing an agenda on 30 representatives, I worked with each and every representative to figure out a project that both made them happy to work on and made life for students on campus better. My ability to listen to people will open up SGA to all other students on campus. I truly take all opinions into account before forming my own.

At the same time, though, once I’ve thought through an issue and figured out on which side I fall, I am steadfast in standing up for what I believe in. On the example of Congresspeople’s projects, for example, there were multiple times this year when a Congressperson proposed funding and running party programming through SGA, or simply came into my office without any ideas. I would not let Congresspeople do projects that did not greatly take advantage of SGA resources in order to make student life better. Likewise, I stood up for the students in all sorts of administrative meetings, from meal-plan meetings with Director of Student Activities Chris Cameron to Pathways meetings with the Board of Trustees. Sometimes, like on the meal plan, I was able to work out a reasonable compromise for the students. Other times, like on Pathways, the other side in the meeting refused to change their minds on the issues. Likewise, I did not change my mind on the fact that cutting those specific programs was an unsound decision. I have stood, and will continue to stand, my ground on the issues that really matter.

So that’s why I wanted to run for President. I hope that helps you realize why I think I’m the best candidate for the job.
Right now? I’m the best candidate for getting some long-overdue sleep.
Thanks,

Bob Payne

Mud-slinging??

Hey everyone, it's Friday, and for most, the weekend is here. I have some SGA VP work left to to today, as well as campaigning and trying to catch up on some schoolwork, but it will be nice to be able to relax a little from the frantic pace of the last 4 days.

First, everyone check out the Debate photos on facebook--they're a lot of fun. Thanks Jonathan. Second, I'd like to talk about an issue that emerged after the debate: so-called negative campaigning. After the debates yesterday, I got feedback from one or two people, as well as saw posted around on facebook, that the campaign was "Getting ugly" or "Turning negative." When we three candidates were told this feedback together, we all had the same reaction:
"What?"
We certainly criticized each other yesterday at the debate, particularly in reaction to the question "Who would you vote for if you were running, and why?" But I think that the candidates have to criticize each other in order for the campaign to actually give students a choice.
The candidates could talk all about their ideas for doing this and that on campus during a campaign. But most students can't put those ideas in a context--is it really feasible to turn the Executive Branch into a staff at the disposal of all student organizations, when SGA needs to run Allocations, advertise, and distribute microchillers in a very efficient and professional manner? Is it really true that only one candidate will have the ability and foresight to be a good voice for the students on the Common Curriculum committee?
For both questions, the answer is no. But without the public scrutiny of people's platforms--which that small minority called "mud-slinging"--no student will know where any of the candidates really stand. If the candidates don't criticize each other's platforms, no one will--and we'll lose the chance to actually have an election more based on issues than on popularity or volume of advertising.

Now, I would like to step back and say for a minute that I don't advocate actual mud-slinging. I don't want candidates calling each other insults or making personal attacks. Clearly, that would be out of line and unproductive for the whole campus.
But criticism and scrutiny of opponent's platforms? That's not mud-slinging: that's good, informative campaigning.

That's all I've got for now. In the meantime, enjoy this youtube video from Scrubs of the Polyphonic Spree.

Have a good Friday,

Bob Payne

Administration, Faculty, and Students

Hey everyone,

Sorry for the late posting--I had a busy day of class, debates, getting a run in Audubon park in to relieve some stress (I was blaring the new Arcade Fire), Greek Week Airband (I loved the AXO "Walk it Out" and the Rick James) and talking to freshmen. Phew. But I'm feeling energetic because I've been talking to a lot of different students on campus about my platform, and I've been getting very energetic feedback.

First things first--Here's a quick Maroon article about my candidacy. I thought the articles on the candidates were nice and generally positive, though I would have enjoyed a roundtable with all the candidates so that we could duke it out. There is also a podcast of the candidates up here. Bob, leading the way into 21st-century campaigning.

I'd like to write about one question that came up today at the debate, and that I thought would be interesting for everyone to read about (this isn't exact wording, but it's close):
"The Board of Trustees and Administration have recently begun devoting more of their attention to the faculty on academic issues. How can the President of SGA make sure that students gain back the focus of the Board and Administration?"

I'm going to post a pretty similar answer to how I answered the question today.
First, let me give you the context of this question: Pathways. Pathways cut off the relationship between faculty and administration, and for a period of time between students and administration. Because of the actuality and threats of no confidence votes, the Board and Administration have devoted more of their time on the major planning/academic committees to working with the faculty. SGA has gotten kicked out of Board of Trustees meetings multiple times this year so that they could discuss faculty issues--including me and fellow Academic representative Casey Trahan.
Now to the actual question at hand--"How can the President of SGA make sure that students gain back the focus of the Board and Administration?" The answer, unfortunately, is not as easy as "The SGA President needs to promote unity with the faculty." Unity sounds great in theory--we'll all be happy, friendly, and dancing with our Economics professors to a brass band in the Quad.
I'm all for dancing. Especially to brass music.
But unity is not the policy that best represents student interests. Instead, the SGA President must work through each issue on an individual basis in order to see where student interests line up with the interests of faculty or of administration, and then cultivate those relationships in order to get results for students. For example, on the issue of tuition increases--which faculty often advocate for, because they get raises--then SGA should disagree with faculty, in order to represent the student voice.
Effective representation of students means precisely that we do not always have unity. There will be disagreements. But in order to make those disagreements into positives for students, the President needs to be willing to negotiate out positive solutions, on issues from tuition increases to Common Curriculum reform to increased service learning.

That answer was a little hard to give in the debates. The reality of the faculty- administration- student relationships is much more subtle than a soundbite in a debate allows for. But I think the students in the room gained a sense of the reality of the situation.

I hope you did from by post--and if you didn't, or if you disagree, please say something! Send me an email, post on the blog, call me, throw rotten eggs at my window. Well, don't throw eggs. But I love sitting down with people and talking about this--so let's get into it.

Thanks all--see you tomorrow out at Third Friday with Green Abita! Yes.

p.s. new chris rose article dropped Tuesday, go out and donate.

Bob Payne

How SGA Will Improve Under Bob: Part II

Hey everybody,

It's coming towards the end of another busy day of March Madness (GO CREIGHTON, GO BOB) here, and I wanted to get another post in before getting up tomorrow for the debates.

First things first--please try and come out tomorrow to the debates. They're at 12:30 in the St. Charles Room in the Danna Center. They really will provide everyone with some idea of how the candidates differ. Come out and ask a question of the candidates--we're here to serve you and answer your questions.

Second, I wanted to add to the list of "Ways SGA Will Improve Under Bob." I'd like to tell you about how SGA can better serve all student organizations.

SGA needs to improve the way it serves other organizations on campus. As the actual governing body of the students, we have the duty to (among other things) a) encourage co-programming, b) responsibly allocate money to organizations, and c) reach out to groups so that they know who to come talk to when they have a problem.

On encouraging co-programming--we need to work to put more money from Allocations into co-programming events--like the extremely popular Greek Week events this week, and the Third Friday parties--and less into repetitive events that cover the same topics. In addition, I am hoping that in the Danna Center renovations, I can advocate for a change in office space for student groups. Student groups should be housed together in one big, interactive office, that unites student leaders into a cohesive group with diverse ideas and skills. I have the ability to make that interactive space a reality.

On responsibly allocating money to organizations: SGA always needs to get better at Allocations. As Vice President, I co-led the Allocations Process, which gives out over $60,000 of student fees to student groups. Though the other two candidates were also on the Committee, I am the only one who has extensively dealt with student groups before, during, and after the process--so I'm the only one who knows how to make the whole process better for students. As President, I will be able to make the process even smoother for student groups. SGA needs to make the process easier.

Finally, I pledge that SGA will do a better job under a Bob Presidency in reaching out to student organizations. The President this year, Daniel, started up the President's Committee, which was supposed to get all the Presidents of different organizations on campus together to discuss the pressing issues on campus. The idea worked when SGA was able to effectively reach out to group that don't normally work with SGA. Conversely, it failed when the meeting turned into the same old SGA-UPB-Res Life people talking about the same issues. SGA needs to reach out to groups to ensure that more groups get invited to these meetings, and that they happen more frequently--in the form of the bi-weekly leader meetings I want to hold. I'd like to have small group meetings with different groups of student leaders, so that SGA continues to get diverse input on issues.

Those are three ways in which a Bob SGA will make life for student groups easier. I'll continue my blogging tomorrow, after the debates.

So remember: Thursday. St. Charles Room. 12:30. No Payne No Gain.

Thanks,

Bob

How SGA will improve under Bob

Hey everybody,

So when I was getting interviewed for the Maroon earlier today (IT DROPS FRIDAY), Danny Monteverde asked me a really good concrete question that I think I'd like to write about for a little bit: How will SGA improve with a Bob Presidency?

I think that SGA has been moving in the right direction this year on everything from relationships with the Administration, to student engagement, to Board of Trustees meetings, to working to make student life better right now.

But we can always do better--and under Bob, we will do better. I know what we can do better at because of my experience in leading the organization this year.

Right now, I only have time to talk about one of the ways in which a Bob Presidency will be better than a Presidency of anybody else. I'll keep posting them later, but for now, here's one:

-Getting better two-way communication with students. First, this means finding out what students want and need more effectively. I will have SGA figure out a way to do more comprehensive surveying that finds out what students think about changes in the University, so we're better informed when we go into meetings. This isn't rocket science--it just means looking up some survey methods and implementing them.
Second, we need to do a better job of telling students what we do--from keeping tuition lower to allocating money to Greek Life and service groups to working with the Board of Trustees on improving academics. And it's not that i want SGA to brag to the students for kudos. Telling students what's going on through the Maroon and a better web presence will make for a more knowledgeable student body, and a more accountable SGA. It ensures that we're doing our job--fighting for you.

More to come later....

Platform Part Three: Engagement--Social Justice and Increasing Student Communication

Hope everyone is having a good day, even though it's wet and dreary and hump day. I have to finish this post quickly before running off in my personalized Jets Jersey (Name: Bob. Number: 08) to an interview with the Maroon, and a series of meetings that I'm speaking at all day. Look for the guy with poofy hair in a green jersey today, and say hi if I don't to you.

Here's the last part of my platform: engagement. I see SGA doing a better job of engaging both the city and all students.

First, on New Orleans, I want SGA to help the city by encouraging more community outreach. As President, I will support existing service projects more strongly, run more campus-wide efforts like Wolves on the Prowl, and create incentives for student organizations to help rebuild New Orleans. I also will make sure that social justice remains a component of every department of the University, from Residential Life to the Fine Arts department to Admissions. The University needs to do a better job at supporting New Orleans, and I know I can push Loyola more in that direction.

Secondly, I want SGA to do a better job of listening to students through three major initiatives. I will make SGA design more effective surveys on the important issues on campus.

Moreover, I will make SGA have a closer relationship with the Maroon. The Maroon has done a very good job this year in covering issues on campus, but there are still many things—from Board of Trustees meetings to the evolving campus-wide facilities plan to the University Budget Committee meetings—that students need to know about. I will make SGA more proactive in its relationship with the Maroon in order to get the information out to students.

Finally, as SGA President I want to meet with small groups of student leaders--from Greek life to LUCAP to on a bi-weekly basis in order to get better feedback and advice on specific issues facing campus. If elected President, my ideas will help SGA become more engaged with the student body.

Thanks for reading--I'll post with an update later!

Bob Payne
Candidate, SGA President

Platform Part Two: Ideas

Hey everybody,

I'm feeling energetic after another busy day of campaigning. I really feel like I've been connecting more with people on campus, talking in quads and dorms about everything from Pathways to community service to more ideas about campaigning (Burning my name into the Res Quad on Election Day? Not quite an option.).

Now, I'd like to write about the second part of my three-part platform: ideas. Beyond experience, I also have the right ideas to improve student life on and off campus in the coming year. As SGA President, I will make sure that the student’s view is listened to as student life enters a period of massive change.

For one thing, Residential Life is undergoing a long overdue overhaul. For too long, our dorms have been dens in which you sleep, eat and watch television. I will make sure that the Residential life policies and structure start to transform the dorms into truly social places that encourage better living and learning for on and off-campus students. I have the vision to put student-focused ideas at the center of the department’s mission.

On and off-campus safety is another major issue for all students. Loyola plans on partnering with Tulane to provide a variety of shuttle services, including nightlife, grocery, and mall shuttles. I will make sure that these shuttles are not just used by the University as a PR move to show a concern for safety—instead, I will make sure that shuttles actually address the everyday safety of all students. Moreover, I will ensure that Loyola is proactive in transforming the other recommendations of the Safety Task Force into actual policy that makes students safer.

Thirdly, I want to improve student life by ensuring that Loyola meal plans successfully crosses over to Tulane’s dining facilities. Creating more food options creates a better sense of residential community. This initiative is already in progress, and I will make sure that it happens as quickly as possible.

I have a whole other list of ideas SGA should take on in the upcoming year—from re-examining the N.O. Arena site for graduation, to encouraging co-programming amongst groups in order to have bigger, more effective events, to creating mentoring programs for incoming freshmen by academic department.

My ideas add to my experience. They will help me make all new Loyola initiatives student-centric.

Tomorrow morning will come the final part of my platform: Engagement. I'm going to talk about how SGA needs to get students more involved in New Orleans, as well as get better student feedback. Come back and read it.

Platform Part One: Experience

Hope everyone's been having a great Tuesday--it's beautiful outside, and I've really enjoyed going outside and meeting people in the sun.

I'd like to tell you about the first part of my platform right now: experience.

My experience will allow me to get the most work done for the students out of any candidate. Normally after elections, the new SGA President and Vice President need 3-4 months to meet everyone on campus and figure out how to turn their ideas into actually helping students. I know this from having gone through this process last year as Vice President.

But since I already have worked with all of the major people on campus over the last year as Vice President, I can begin implementing positive changes for the students (student-centric changes) right away after elections.

The upcoming Danna Center renovations, which with my strong student voice can begin this summer, provide one example of the advantage of experience. The administration is considering a 5-phase renovation, which would begin with refurbishing the walls, furniture, and carpets, and end with a completely renovated exterior to fit in with the other buildings on campus.

Our student center needs to be made into a friendlier, more open area in which students can spend their free time, even late at night. With me as President, SGA will take the lead on convincing the upper levels of administration and Board of Trustees that the Danna Center renovations should be funded in the coming months. I have the relationships with all of the important players in the University that will allow the students the best chance of fixing up the heart of campus, the student center.

My experience will also help students as the University begins to try and improve academics at Loyola. This long-term project, beginning in the coming months, will try and adjust the Common Curriculum and make other academic changes in order to help improve student retention. As the process begins, my experience with academic meetings over the past year will help make sure that reforms are focused on the students, not on the interests of particular departments.

Since I already know all of the players involved, I will also be able to do a better job at making sure the realignment of Counseling and Career Services remains student-friendly. In a stressful post-Katrina world, the University needs to do a better job at offering mental counseling and job opportunities for students. I can help the University figure out the best way to make these departments provide better services for students.

Similarly, my familiarity with all student organizations, having worked extensively with them during Allocations, will help me encourage co-programming among student groups. Co-programming makes for better, well-attended events for all groups on campus. It also makes Loyola a more welcoming place for everyone.

What’s the key to making sure all of these initiatives receive the most dedicated and detailed attention? It’s my experience.

Thanks for reading! The next post will be later tonight, and will include the next part of my platform: Ideas.

If you have any questions or comments, please don't hesitate to post a comment. I'll respond next time I look.

Bob Payne
SGA President Candidate

No Payne No Gain

Hey everybody--welcome to the new No Payne No Gain blog. I'm going to be adding different parts of my platform to this blog every day this week, as well as blogging about particular issues facing campus--and anything else that strikes my fancy. I hope that this can become a good forum for students to read about the issues facing Loyola and SGA, and how I am the best candidate to respond to and fix those issues.
My platform has three main themes: experience, ideas, and engagement. I think that the combination of my experience as Vice President, ideas on how to make everything at Loyola more student-centric, and engagement with New Orleans and the student body, makes me the candidate who can get the most done in the next year.
On Tuesday, I am going to start explaining my platform by outlining experience--why I know that my year as Vice President makes me the best possible President of all of the candidates.
See you tomorrow,

Bob