Two Candidates Snub Project 100's Forum for TSC Trustee Places 6,7

Project 100's candidate forums at TSC's Gran Salon are part of a program with a stated goal of gaining 100% voter turnout among the student population.  The irony is that only 50% of the candidates for TSC Trustee, Places 6 & 7 showed up Wednesday night for the event.

Tad Hasse, candidate for Place 6, and Robert Uresti, candidate for Place 7, did participate in the event, while their opponents, Reynoldo Garcia for Place 6 and Ramon Champion Hinojosa for Place 7 were no shows. "

"One told us two weeks ago he couldn't make it, while the other confirmed a couple of days ago that he wasn't coming,"  stated John Wood, Professor of Communications.

"I think both of those guys think they have the election won,"  offered one observer.  Both of the non-attenders have a background in academia, while Hasse and Uresti could be considered atypical candidates.

Hasse, ITT Manager for the Brownsville Municipal Court, regarded in the community as a creative problem solver, visited with us before the forum.  "The first thing I did after I announced was to read all of the minutes of trustee meetings for the last 20 years.  It gave me an idea of where everyone stands on certain issues and what has come up in the past."

During the forum, Hasse emphasized the need for lower fees.  "We don't want students coming out with so much debt that they can't get married or start a family."  He also stressed curriculum flexibility.  "Universities pushed engineering and law to the point that we ended up with a glut of engineers and lawyers.  We need to ask the business community 'What type of skills would allow you to employ a person for the next 10 years?"

Uresti, a retired teacher and now a community activist, is also noted as an idea man.  Last fall when the city's financial manager stated that he had cut the city's budget to the barest of bones, Uresti quickly rattled of 5 or 6 cuts that could be made.

"We have enough space at TSC.  It's simply not utilized properly."  Looking out over the Gran Salon auditorium, Uresti continued:  "We could even make several classrooms in this building, both upstairs and down."