Political involvement low among students
Low voter turnout continues even as process becomes easier

By Hemi Ahluwalia
staff reporter

Less than 10 people turned up for the last TCU College Republicans presidential debate party last week.

Kelly Howard, president of the organization, said the parties are poorly attended because she can’t gather enough students who are interested in politics together in one room. She said she didn’t expect many students to attend the last debate party Tuesday.

“College students don’t like to talk about politics,” she said.

As the presidential elections draw closer, the candidates are holding debates, forums and town hall meetings to encourage potential voters — even college students — to get out and make a difference.

But many college students are too involved in the college atmosphere to give some time to researching the issues and making an informed decision, said James Riddlesperger, chairman of the political science department.

Rusty Simmons/ASSOCIATE EDITOR Paul King, a professor of speech communication, oversees a group of 30 TCU students as they watch Tuesday night’s presidential debate in Moudy Building South. The students volunteered to grade the candidates throughout the debate for research purposes.

“College students do not have as much of a vested interest in politics as older Americans do,” he said. “They have not had a chance to develop strong voting habits and many may not have registered yet.”

Some students on campus do not think their vote will count in this election, said Tonya Antle, junior computer science major. Antle said she watches the debates because listening to the candidates’ views will help her decide who to vote for.

“Many students that I have talked to feel that Gov. (George W.) Bush will win Texas so there is no need to vote for anyone,” she said.

Another problem that plagues many college students is they register to vote in their hometown and then go away to college. It makes it twice as hard for them to vote because they have to meet the absentee deadline, which is a considerable time before Election Day, Riddlesperger said.

Getting college students to vote is a hard process because, in the eyes of many Americans, college students are seen as a powerless group in terms of the political process, said Alison Byrne Fields, creative director for Rock the Vote, on the official Web site (www.rockthevote.org).

“We have been trying for the past 50 years or so to make the voting process more open to voters, but each election since the voter turnout has dropped,” Riddlesperger said.

To encourage TCU students to vote in the next campaign there has to be some way for the students to learn about the issues and have a chance to voice their opinions with other students, Howard said.

“Currently (College Republicans) hold presidential debate parties on campus and everyone is invited to attend,” Howard said. “TCU should also try to hold forums on campus to allow students to talk about what issues they feel is important to them.”

Forums and parties might not be enough to stir up student interest in politics, though.

With the last of the debates held on Tuesday night, students will have to decide if they are going to vote and if so, for who, Antle said.

“Voters will have to make up their own mind if they will vote,” Riddlesperger said. “Words do not do any good, the decision that the voters make will be the most important.”

Hemi Ahluwalia
hemia@hotmail.com

Sid Richardson flood inconveniences some
Cost of water damages to be evaluated

By Sylvia Carrizales
senior reporter

The carpets are still drying and the audio-visual system equipment will be taken in for repairs, but the Sid W. Richardson Building lecture halls were open for use Tuesday.

Larry Kitchens, director of Instructional Services, said the audio-visual system in Lecture Hall 1 is operational, but Lecture Hall 3’s system will be taken in to be cleaned and repaired. It will not be available for use until Friday.

Michael Slattery, a geology professor, had to cancel his 9:30 a.m. class in Lecture Hall 1 and said the damages caused some confusion with his class schedule.

“I did end up canceling class because of some misinformation from the registrar,” Slattery said. “I planned on doing class but then two men in formal dress and tie said the fans in the room could not be turned off.”

The Registrar’s Office later called and said Slattery could shut off the fans to teach his class but he had already canceled it.

“It ended up being a bit of a mess,” he said.

Even with the loss of audio-visual consoles in the lecture hall, Slattery said he would adjust.

“If I can’t use Power Point, it’ll just mean I’ll go to my hard copy backup.”

Richard Bryan, associate director of the Physical Plant, said the flood began when a valve was left open on a pump as workers refilled the new water heating system.

“It is a brand new system,” Bryan said. “The broilers will be fired up for the first time.”

Bryan said to install the new heating system, all of the old broilers and steam pipes were removed from the building.

Further damages to the carpeting were not yet assessed, he said.

“As soon as the carpet is dry, we’ll know whether or not we have to replace it,” Bryan said.

Sylvia Carrizales
sylviacarrizales@hotmail.com

Reliable rookie
‘Reserved’ officer is newest addition to TCU Police

skiff staff

Officer Donnie Bryeans fits the campus police profile for a perfect employee. He is responsible, reserved, relaxed and rock-steady, co-workers said.

Special to the Skiff Donnie Bryeans is the newest addition to the 18 officers who work for TCU Police. The 25-year-old took the police officer’s oath on Oct. 2.

The 25-year-old is the newest addition to the 18 officers who work for campus police. He plans to study criminal justice at TCU.

Bryeans took the police officer’s oath on Oct. 2, but his co-workers still consider him a rookie, he said.
“I don’t mind; I know I am a rookie,” Bryeans said.

The tall, brown-eyed officer said he knew he wanted to be a cop since he was a young boy.

“What we like about him is that he has a very comfortable demeanor,” Assistant Chief J.C. Williams said. “The way he talks with students is very relaxed.”

Bryeans said the students he has encountered have been pretty cooperative so far.

“As long as you are fair with them, they are usually fair with you,” he said.

He said he plans to talk calmly with disobedient students and reason with them, rather than using a tough attitude.

Besides being a calm and relaxed officer, Bryeans was at the top of his academic class at Tarrant County College Police Academy, Williams said.

“He will be a great fit for the university,” Williams said.

Cliff Jaynes, training coordinator for the TCC Police Academy on the Northwest Campus, said Bryeans received some of the best scores in his class.

“If I were the chief of police, he is the kind of person I would want to hire,” Jaynes said. “Donnie is good people.”

Bryeans was a quiet and very diligent student, Jaynes said. He said Bryeans had to work exceptionally hard to get where he is today.

Bryeans had to take over the family business at a very young age when most of his peers were partying or going to school. He took care of business instead of being a kid, Jaynes said.

When Bryeans was 15-years-old his father suffered a neck injury that left him unable to work, he said. Bryeans took over ownership and operation of his father’s Texaco service station in his hometown of Burleson, which is about 15 miles south of TCU.

“It is a lot of work to own a gas station,” Bryeans said. “I wasn’t ready I just wanted to be a police officer.”
The family sold the service station when Bryeans entered the police academy, he said.

“Consistently through his training, Bryeans was the most stable in his class at the academy,” Jaynes said.

Jaynes said Bryeans performed equally well in all areas of police work, but excelled at people skills.

“Anything dealing with people I would expect him to excel in,” he said.
Bryeans plans to stay at TCU for a while, probably working the night shift from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m., he said.

“It’s fun,” Bryeans said. “It’s a small environment and that is pretty nice. TCU is a good community and I like working here.”

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