Diversity focus of 1st debate
In the first of four debates, UI Student Government presidential and vice-presidential candidates will speak about campus diversity today.
The event, hosted by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allied Union and the OutLaws, an organization of law students, will officially kick off campaigns for the four tickets.
This is the first time the 35-year-old union, which has approximately 50 active members, will sponsor a UISG debate. UI sophomore Mark Anthony Dingbaum, who represents the union on the Undergraduate Activities Senate, originally conceived of what he calls the "Flaming Forum" after several of last year's candidates showed up at one of the group's events to take questions.
"It was Ally Night, but the reason they came was a little different," Dingbaum said, adding this "changed the dynamic a little bit." He decided a formal debate would be "more organized" and give the group time to prepare questions.
The questions the group members will fire off this time around will focus on gender and diversity issues. Dingbaum said candidates will be asked to speak on campus diversity, the possibility of unisex bathrooms, and statewide issues affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
"I think it's important for candidates to be aware of the concerns of the entire student body, not just those who are usually heard," Dingbaum said, adding gays and lesbians are facing "a very intense time politically."
The OutLaws, which Dingbaum describes as an "activist group," contributed questions and helped locate a moderator for the event.
"I hope the forum will bring more attention to the different [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] issues this school faces - especially military recruitment on campus, as the military openly practices employment discrimination against [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] persons," said Brian Raimondo, an OutLaws co-president.
UI law adjunct lecturer Erin Buzuvis, a self-described "openly gay" faculty member, will moderate the debate. She was tapped for the job by Dingbaum, who sent the professor a supportive e-mail after she criticized Kinnick Stadium's pink visitor's locker room on her blog, inciting a storm of controversy last fall.
"This debate will help ensure that the next administration is responsive to issues of particular concern to [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] students," Buzuvis said. "But I also think [it] will help UISG just as much because it promotes participation in the election process and governance in general."
Current UISG President Mark Kresowik said the debates are more about "presentation and creativity."
"Showing yourself to be eloquent and able to articulate a point is more important than the substance [of what you say]," he said.
E-mail DI reporter Anne Wilmoth at:
anne-peterson-1@uiowa.edu
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Flaming Forum
What: UI Student Government debate sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allied Union and the OutLaws
When: 5:30-7:30 p.m. today
Where: Iowa City Public Library Meeting Room A, 123 S. Linn St.
The event, hosted by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allied Union and the OutLaws, an organization of law students, will officially kick off campaigns for the four tickets.
This is the first time the 35-year-old union, which has approximately 50 active members, will sponsor a UISG debate. UI sophomore Mark Anthony Dingbaum, who represents the union on the Undergraduate Activities Senate, originally conceived of what he calls the "Flaming Forum" after several of last year's candidates showed up at one of the group's events to take questions.
"It was Ally Night, but the reason they came was a little different," Dingbaum said, adding this "changed the dynamic a little bit." He decided a formal debate would be "more organized" and give the group time to prepare questions.
The questions the group members will fire off this time around will focus on gender and diversity issues. Dingbaum said candidates will be asked to speak on campus diversity, the possibility of unisex bathrooms, and statewide issues affecting gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
"I think it's important for candidates to be aware of the concerns of the entire student body, not just those who are usually heard," Dingbaum said, adding gays and lesbians are facing "a very intense time politically."
The OutLaws, which Dingbaum describes as an "activist group," contributed questions and helped locate a moderator for the event.
"I hope the forum will bring more attention to the different [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] issues this school faces - especially military recruitment on campus, as the military openly practices employment discrimination against [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] persons," said Brian Raimondo, an OutLaws co-president.
UI law adjunct lecturer Erin Buzuvis, a self-described "openly gay" faculty member, will moderate the debate. She was tapped for the job by Dingbaum, who sent the professor a supportive e-mail after she criticized Kinnick Stadium's pink visitor's locker room on her blog, inciting a storm of controversy last fall.
"This debate will help ensure that the next administration is responsive to issues of particular concern to [gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender] students," Buzuvis said. "But I also think [it] will help UISG just as much because it promotes participation in the election process and governance in general."
Current UISG President Mark Kresowik said the debates are more about "presentation and creativity."
"Showing yourself to be eloquent and able to articulate a point is more important than the substance [of what you say]," he said.
E-mail DI reporter Anne Wilmoth at:
anne-peterson-1@uiowa.edu
---
Flaming Forum
What: UI Student Government debate sponsored by the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allied Union and the OutLaws
When: 5:30-7:30 p.m. today
Where: Iowa City Public Library Meeting Room A, 123 S. Linn St.