Government Meeting #2 - Faculty Senate

The faculty senate voted to move the tobacco ban on campus forward for the board of governors to make a final decision at their meeting on Thursday, Feb. 28, 2013.  The ban passed almost unanimously with only three faculty senate members opposed to its passing.  The tobacco ban passed more overwhelmingly with the faculty senate than it did with the student senate last semester. 

The board of governors chair reported the main issue of discussion during the board of governors meeting on Monday, Feb. 25, 2013 was budget cuts. One senator raised the question of if the budget cuts are not as significant will the merging of several colleges on campus still occur. The chair reported that he has not heard the idea of them being merged hinging solely on the significant budget cuts being passed down.

Faculty senate members were able to voice concerns or support for topics being discussed at the meeting.

After about 35 minutes the faculty senate broke into executive order to vote on the commencement speaker.

The next faculty senate meeting will be hosted on March 14, 2013. The topics for the next meeting were outlined during the Feb. 28 meeting.

President Kopp was not present for the Feb. 28 faculty senate meeting and as a result, a chair on the board of governors gave the report of their previous meeting. 

2013 State of the City - Extra Credit

Huntington Mayor Steve Williams delivered the State of the City address Friday and discussed several points he his hoping to achieve throughout the year.

One point Williams made was he and the city council are not proposing any tax or fee increases to balance the budget. Also, Williams stressed the importance of beautifying Huntington and cracking down on slum landlords. The unhealthiness of the area was also addressed during the speech. “We have the opportunity to go from worst to first,” Huntington Mayor Steve Williams said on Huntington’s unhealthiness. Williams also stated he wanted Huntington to be the example that other cities looked to when needing to address an issue, not be the butt of the joke.

Williams began his speech by sticking to the typed version that was handed out and appeared flustered. However as the speech went on he didn’t stick to the order on the handout and seemed more comfortable.

As Williams discussed several points the crowd cheered and clapped.

People filing in for the 2013 Huntington State of the City address. 

Assignment #9 - 2013 State of the Union Address

President Barack Obama delivered his fourth State of the Union address Monday night and shared his plan for the future of the United States of America. In my previous column I shared my predictions of what his likely key points would be. While I was able to correctly predict some, other topics he discussed caught me completely off guard.

             My previous predictions of key talking points were immigration, the economy and gun control. While all of these were discussed at some point throughout the 59 minute and 58 second address, there were several surprises to me.

One topic that I was unable to predict was cyber security. I was caught off guard when this topic came up and was discussed in such great length. “We cannot look back years from now and wonder why we did nothing in the face of real threats to our security and our economy,” Obama said. “That’s why, earlier today, I signed a new executive order that will strengthen our cyber defenses by increasing information sharing, and developing standards to protect our national security, our jobs and our privacy.” While the topic is important I was shocked that it was discussed before gun violence.

After the multiple shootings that occurred recently and public, as well as politicians, calling for increased regulation, I was surprised this subject was discussed so close to the end of the speech. Obama emphasized the topic of gun violence to be brought to a vote. “Hadiya’s parents, Nate and Cleo, are in this chamber tonight, along with more than two dozen Americans whose lives have been torn apart by gun violence.  They deserve a vote,” Obama said. “Gabby Giffords deserves a vote. The families of Newtown deserve a vote. The families of Aurora deserve a vote. The families of Oak Creek, and Tucson, and Blacksburg, and the countless other communities ripped open by gun violence - they deserve a simple vote.” I thought this was a strong point of the address. Obama’s listing of several mass shootings that are still in American’s memories. With the list I thought that Obama really helped drive home the point that something needs to be done in order to prevent even more senseless mass shootings.

The war in Afghanistan also was a key point in the address. Obama said another 34,000 American troops would be coming home from Afghanistan. “And by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over,” Obama said. Obama’s bold statement led to a standing ovation by many. Obama also emphasized equal treatment for all service members as well as equal benefits for the families regardless of if they are gay or straight. Another point also discussed was women serving in combat. As well as investing in veteran’s benefits, education, job opportunities, families and healthcare.

Obama also announced an overhaul of the American school system. A redesign of America’s high schools was announced in order to better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech economy. Also, Obama discussed the affordability of college and said colleges must do their part to keep costs down.

I think I did an okay job of predicting what the president would discuss. All three topics that I predicted were discussed throughout the address. My predictions were 100 percent discussed. There were other topics that I was unable to predict though for example, cyber security as well as the war in Afghanistan and the state of the military.

            The article by NBC News said gun policy and healthcare were top concerns for voters as well as the economy and federal deficit. In my opinion, Obama somewhat discussed what America wanted to hear. Obama definitely spent time on gun policy and the economy. However when it came to healthcare, not a lot of time was spent discussing it compared to the other two topics.

            In my opinion the 2013 State of the Union address touched on a variety of topics and was very well delivered.

State of the Union Predictions 2013

With President Obama’s fourth State of the Union address – the first of his second term – rapidly approaching, there is a lot of speculation as to what he will discuss.

This year I predict the big topics President Obama will spend a considerable amount of time addressing are immigration, the economic outlook of the country and gun control laws. President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union address lasted one hour and four minutes while addressing a variety of topics. Student aid, clean energy initiatives, immigration and job growth were key points in last year’s address.

According to a New York Times article President Obama plans to discuss and emphasize public support for immigration reform.  Administration officials said immigration reform is at the top of Obama’s second-term agenda after failing to achieve it in his first term. In President Obama’s 2012 address, immigration was key issue. “I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration,” Obama said. “We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now.” The article also states Obama will fill in details of his own plan during the address.

Another topic likely to be discussed during this year’s State of the Union address is the economy. The economy was a key point last year during the President’s State of the Union address as well. “No challenge is more urgent,” Obama said. “No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules.” A chart featured in the article in The Economist compares the first terms economy to the second term of the last 11 two-term presidents. The presidents featured are Clinton, Coolidge, Reagan, Truman, Johnson, F. Roosevelt, T. Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Wilson, Nixon and Bush. The chart shows the economic performance of the two-term presidents worsens by 4.2 points from the first term to the second. All 11 two-term presidents shown in the chart featured the economy in their State of the Union addresses and unfortunately were unable to produce a successful turn-around.

Gun control laws are another topic likely to be discussed in great detail during the 2013 State of the Union address. Earlier this year Obama discussed the nation’s gun problem following the Sandy Hook and Aurora movie theater shootings and since then, New York governor Andrew Cuomo passed aggressive gun legislation in the state. “While reducing gun violence is a complicated challenge, protecting our children from harm shouldn’t be a divisive one,” Obama said during a recent speech. “I asked (Vice President) Joe (Biden) to lead an effort, along with members of my cabinet, to come up with some concrete steps we can take right now to keep our children safe, to help prevent mass shootings, to reduce the broader epidemic of gun violence in this country. And we can’t put this off any longer.” With all of the recent gun violence I believe gun control laws will make up a significant portion of the address.

While another New York Times article argues a second term allows the commander-in-chief to follow through on any unfinished business, it also argues that a second term could be a curse. Obama’s second term could compare to President Eisenhower’s. Both presidents have lost or will lose a key member of their staff.  Eisenhower lost his chief of staff; Sherman Adams and Obama will lose his secretary of state, Hillary Clinton. The change of staff has the potential to cause speed bumps in the new term.

Also, with a Democratic Party majority in the Senate and a Republican Party majority in the House, making significant ground on any of his key points could be difficult for the President. “The President and Congress must be willing to work together, which in a deeply partisan Washington may be difficult to accomplish in the next four years,” Richard Norton Smith, presidential scholar at George Mason University, said. “And like other modern presidents, Mr. Obama must cope with a ‘snarky’ news media, which glare at a president, magnifying anything that looks like success, or, especially, failure.”

I will see how many of these predictions Obama discusses when he presents his blueprint for the country on Feb. 12.