Homecoming raises concern

Guest Commentator Steven M. Wolfe

Once again, Homecoming will be upon the student body here at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. And once again the Homecoming Committee has decided to discriminate against students from participating in a campus community-building event by not allowing them to run for Homecoming Court.

The Homecoming Committee has been allocated $17,000 from the Student Activities Budget Committee. However, the requirements for candidates for the 2000 Homecoming Court disenfranchise a majority of the student body.

First, the 2.75 cumulative-grade-point average requirement is higher than members and officers of the Student Government Association Assembly and student members of the Assembly. Their responsibilities are less than these student leaders, so why should a higher grade point average be required?

Second, the requirements of the student membership in a UM-St. Louis student organization and outside leadership off campus discriminates against many students. Many students have to work and barely have time to be involved in outside activities. We need to encourage student involvement and not crush it. A student running for Homecoming Court may decide to get involved in student activities.

For these reasons, I am filing a grievance with the Student Court regarding the discriminatory procedures set up for candidates of Homecoming Court 2000. All students pay for Homecoming activities, including the election.

The Homecoming Committee with these requirements has forgotten that we are not the University of Missouri-Columbia. In Columbia, a larger portion of the student body is involved in student activities than here. UM-St. Louis is a nontraditional campus, and we need to encourage involvement in activities among all students, not just the minority of students who participate in student activities. These two criteria need to be changed to encourage student involvement--not decrease it. If it is not changed, maybe students should boycott the Homecoming Court elections and the dance.