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Thursday, August 30, 2018
ASUI
SUPERHEAD
A presidential search UI Faculty Federation pushes for larger role in presidential search Ellamae Burnell Argonaut
Olivia Heersink | Argonaut
ASUI President Nicole Skinner and Sen. Jacob Lockhart meet in her office before the senate convenes Wednesday, Aug. 29.
‘Giving a voice’ to students ASUI responsible for bridging gap between administrators, undergraduates Olivia Heersink Argonaut
For Jacob Lockhart, the decision to join ASUI — University of Idaho’s official student government — was an easy one. “I wanted to have a part in my community,” the UI junior said. “I wanted to find a place in Moscow, and if at all possible, work my way to make it a little better by giving a voice to issues I thought weren’t really being represented … I found that in ASUI.” Having participated in similar groups during high school, Lockhart was aware of the importance of organizations like ASUI, before arriving to campus.
Founded in 1904, UI’s governing body is comprised of a legislative and executive branch, whose members advocate for students’ needs through a variety of methods, such as allocating funds or influencing administrative policy. They also facilitate various entertainment and service events, such as Finals Fest, Party at the Polls and Dance Marathon. “ASUI really tries to (support) students in every way we possibly can … fulfilling whatever need they have at a particular moment,” said Nicole Skinner, ASUI president. Elected last spring, Skinner oversees the latter branch with the help of her appointed cabinet, which includes 11 positions, ranging from chief of staff to director of diversity. She said the cabinet works to inform the presi-
Olivia Heersink | Argonaut
ASUI senators outline committee plans before the first meeting of the fall semester Wednesday, Aug. 29. dent on campus issues and complete projects in order to achieve “the overall vision of the administration” who prevails in the election. The executive side, which Skinner said is “a
lot more specialized than the legislature,” is also comprised of the funding, public relations and vandal entertainment boards. As a freshman, Lockhart served on the public rela-
tions board — then known as the communications board — before running for a senate seat at the end of his first year. SEE ASUI PAGE 4
Three months after the announcement Chuck Staben will not return as the University of Idaho President next academic year, the search for new candidates still has yet to begin. The State Board of Education (SBOE) expects to name an executive search firm to manage the search for UI’s next president by the end of this month or by September, said SBOE Chief Communications and Legislative Affairs Officer Mike Keckler. The State Board and the University of Idaho Faculty Federation have said the search would ideally produce a president who can begin by July 1, 2019. “Once we name a firm, a candidate screening committee will be appointed made up of students, faculty and alumni,” Keckler said. UI’s Faculty Federation, affiliated with the American Federation of Teachers, has expressed frustration with how presidential searches have been conducted in the past. They cited issues with candidates procured through executive search firms to the make-up of search committees. Two weeks ago, the union group sent a letter to the State Board with a list of requests on the search’s design and asked that it begin “immediately.” In the letter, the faculty group said the last three searches produced just one female finalist candidate out of 12 publicly identified. “There was some concern that things that are important — not only to the faculty, but to students and I think the community, such as having a good pool of diverse candidates, had not been a priority of search firms,” said John Rumel, the federation’s president. SEE SEARCH PAGE 4
POLITICS
Reclaim Idaho visits Moscow Ellamae Burnell Argonaut
A founder of Reclaim Idaho, the group that led the charge to put Medicaid expansion on the November ballot in Idaho, expressed confidence that public support for the measure is growing in his visit to Moscow this week. “In Boise, and other places around the state, people are asking, ‘Who has the most power — the yes side, or the no side? Which side has more money?’” said Luke Mayville, who helped start the ballot-initiative campaign, at a Monday night gathering in One World Café, “Today we are
gratified to have support on both sides of the aisle.” Volunteers with Reclaim Idaho, along with paid signature-gatherers, cleared both the state’s thresholds. The group painted a 1997 Dodge camper bright green, plastered with “Medicaid for Idaho” across both sides and drove across the state. “Looking back, I think we made a simple decision at that point,” said Mayville. “We’re not going to go to the people with power, we’re going to the people who have none, we’re going to the people who have a passion.” The Medicaid expansion initiative, to be called
Proposition 2 on the ballot, is one of two that will be on Idaho ballots this November. The other seeks to legalize “historical” horse racing machines in certain places. The two are the first citizendriven initiatives to qualify for the ballot after the Legislature in 2012 added geographic requirements for petition signatures, on top of the required signatures from six percent of registered voters. If approved by a simple majority of voters, Medicaid access would expand to a wider range of low income groups to include everyone under 133 percent of the federal poverty limit. Most
namely, it would expand access to people who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid and too little to be eligible for subsidies through the state health insurance exchange. The actuarial firm Milliman estimated there are 59,000 so-called “Medicaid gap” population in a state commissioned report released late July. The gap exists because Idaho, along with 18 other states, has not expanded Medicaid to include a broader range of low-income individuals covered under the Affordable Care Act. SEE MEDICAID PAGE 4
Reclaim Idaho stops by Moscow to campaign for Medicaid expansion
Nina Rydalch | Argonaut
Luke Mayville, a cofounder of Reclaim Idaho speaks Monday in downtown Moscow to a group of volunteers.
IN THIS ISSUE
Idaho Alum Jerry Kramer honored. SPORTS, 8 News, 1
Sports, 8
Opinion, 11
UI needs a presidential change. Read our view.
Moscow woman’s dream becomes a reality.
OPINION, 11 University of Idaho
ARTS, 5 Volume XXX, Issue no. XX
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