Friday, February 16, 2007
Fun vs. AntiFun
I support fun. The Pro-Fun op-ed is written by Daniel Montes, the CalSERVE External Veep candidate for this year. And it looks almost as badly written as one of mine. It's like no one bothered to edit it. I can't even comment on it, it's almost unreadable. This is the first I've seen/heard from this dude, and I'm not impressed. BEARS-United clearly has the better candidate.
The Anti-Fun op-ed is much better in writing style, though far inferior in author name (Nima Golzy and Nalini Padmanabhan?). They're from "Students for a Safer Southside." I'm strongly opposed, and support a more dangerous Southside (apparently).
However, the proposed Social Host Ordinance has created quite a stir in Berkeley, effectively pitting students who like to party against neighbors who have jobs instead of webcasted lectures and, therefore, are more in need their sleep.
Well, not quite. In fact, we at Students for a Safer Southside have come together with this very issue in mind. I'm not sure this style works. I'm still of the "quite" opinion. And I don't even have webcasted lectures.
We're not against partying—we're not even against drinking—but... Hmm... even, you say? It's written like it's some sort of concession to us. "Normal people are against drinking, but we're on your side," huh. That one word tells us so much about the attitude of these fun-haters.
While some opponents of the proposal contend that this reduction is merely a result of people covering up their parties to avoid the fine, there has been no evidence to support this claim. Um, yeah. That's what happens when stuff gets covered up.
Instead, it is probably the case that party hosts eager to avoid the penalty have taken relatively simple preventative measures, such as having a guest list or just keeping an eye on the door, that have contributed to the increase in public safety. How can anyone argue against that kind of common sense? Yeah. How could anyone? Did I mention the firebombing? Everyone knows high school students go away if you ask politely.
UC Berkeley may be all about individual freedom, but do we really want to show ourselves as the city where you can get away with anything, legal or illegal? That's what individual freedom means. I think what the question is supposed to be is "Do we really want to show ourselves as the city where we support freedom, rather than demanding that all conform to the laws that we elders declare." And I think the answer is probably yes.
Support fun! Oppose people who hate fun!
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