Saturday, September 27, 2003
Who wants what?
54-gate. Funny. The more I hear, the less sense it starts to make. Remember, it doesn't matter what you think, it matters what people want.
The University: The university administration probably has one major goal throughout this whole thing: Make it go away and never come back. The university probably couldn't care less about prop 54, student independence, supreme court cases, or shady financial dealings. Number one on their plate is to keep this from getting in the way of everything else. So far, their actions have been minimal, and directed primarily towards avoiding lawsuits. If they feel that the only way to prevent this from happening again is to modify the authority of the student government, than they'll probably do that. Otherwise, they'll leave things as it is. Right and wrong don't figure into it at all.
Jessica Quindel: On the very other side of the coin is GA prez Quindel, who now sees this as a holy war. So far, from her statements and actions, it's pretty clear that she's acting in accordance with what she believes should be allowed, and is completely ignoring what actually is allowed. She's not going to budge unless she's actively removed with enforcement actions, rather than just regulations.
CalSERVE: They may as well call themselves Quin'sBITCH, because it appears they have every intention of following Quindel like so many cultists, or at least of not speaking out against her. Anu Joshi may as well be Quindel's echo.
Kris Cuaresma-Prim: Until he signed his name to a rather weak defense of the actions of the GA, I had imagined that Kris was just going to sit this one out. Had he done so, he almost certainly would've sailed smoothly by without getting hit by this thing, the way Taina Gomez and Gustavo Mata have, by keeping their mouths more or less shut. Since Kris is just a smiling face anyway, there's no real reason for him to put himself on the line for Quindel and Anu Joshi. If he's going to join the cult of Quindel, though, he's setting himself up to crash and burn.
Student Action: Aside from a single, anemic letter, Student Action has kept pretty much silent on this. Maybe they don't want to be seen as trying to take political advantage, but without their voice, the discussion has become one about what kind of power the student government should have (some or none), rather than one of who should be in charge (Student Action or CalSERVE). Unless Student Action presents itself as a legitimate alternative to CalSERVE which doesn't get into these kinds of messes, they aren't going to benefit at all. "Sure, we waste money, but we don't get sued over it."
The Daily Cal: The Daily Cal has been ripping into ASUC and the GA, possibly in righteous retaliation for Quindel's attempt to muzzle them. It was, in fact, The Daily Cal which made this an issue, as before their "aggresive investigative report," (which was devoid of concern for the issue outside The Daily Cal) no one seemed to care. (I find it hard to believe that people didn't know money was to be spent on the issue. Quindel and Joshi weren't exactly secretive about their goals) After their victory over the SOB, this is The Daily Cal's editorial staff's defining moment, and a perfect opportunity to recover from last year's flaccid news coverage.
The Daily Planet: While not really involved, I was rather shocked to find that while I wasn't paying attention, The Daily Planet had become an effective supplemental news source. The story behind the SOB-Daily Cal fights was covered in The Planet, and The Planet was the paper which gave the analysis of the Supreme Court decisions that CalSERVE was invoking to defend itself, not The Daily Cal.
Blogworld: Finally, something to write about.
Notably missing here is anyone who really has reason to sue. It may be that all this flapping may be to avoid an issue which isn't an issue. Maybe.
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