It should have been no surprise that the most poignant and refreshing critique of the A.S. Council this year would be accomplished by the master of grandstanding and controversy, Bryan Barton. Whether he knew it or not, Barton’s attempted coup d’etat of the A.S. Council May 5 revealed a great number of useful insights into the structure and attitude of the A.S. Council.
For those who missed a great opportunity to see the creativity of college students, should they choose to use it productively, the events went as follows: Bryan Barton delivered a speech to the A.S. Council during the time alloted for public input. While he spoke, a goat was brought into the chamber to highlight Barton’s point that the A.S Council could be better run by an ungulate. The goat was followed by a number of masked students who marched into Price Center Ballroom and proceeded to stand in front of the elected officials. Barton informed the council that it was, in fact, a coup and demanded that they leave. Upon their refusal, the masked students drenched the representatives with water pistols and water balloons before fleeing.
By itself, this event is the epitome of what college should be like. We at UCSD take ourselves too seriously, choosing to watch other college students’ crazed antics from afar or by watching Animal House late at night. Barton’s event was a small glimpse of what UCSD student life might be like if we relaxed a bit.
However, a much more profound look at student government may be found by examining the A.S. Council’s reaction to this prank.
First of all, it should be said that most of the A.S. representatives did a fine job in reminding the student body that they are actually college students and have a sense of humor. Because the politicking of the A.S. Council is often intense — perhaps because the stakes are so low — anyone should be happy for a moment of anarchy amidst hours of boring resolutions and parliamentary procedure.
However, it still goes to show that the A.S. Council continually takes itself too seriously. While it does have a great deal of money under its command, most of it is safely pre-appropriated (with one-third of the budget allocated toward concerts) so that only relatively minor changes are generally made. Since nearly 80 percent of the student body believes the A.S. Council to be so unimportant that they don’t even vote, the council should not be terribly encouraged by its importance amongst students.
Those students who didn’t have the flexibility to laugh at Barton and themselves, most notably Daniel Gonzales, the A.S. Student Affirmative Action Committee representative, also show great insight into the mind of the A.S. Council. Gonzales said that this “kind of intimidation” really bothers him and that “people literally felt unsafe.” It is ironic that the SAAC representative, who has whined in the past about feeling “unsafe” on campus, says he feels intimidated by the lanky and altogether laughable Barton and his water-wielding followers.
Harish Nandagopal, the A.S. presidential candidate for Students First! during the last election, claimed that his slate was filled only by progressive students — who now dominate the A.S. council, although Harish himself lost. Barton’s display brings to light an interesting definition of progressive. A student who is progressive should not be afraid of change, should be open-minded and should be able to explore all possibilities to alternative ideas. By this definition, Harish clearly was wrong about several of his fellow candidates who cannot relax enough to enjoy a college prank.
Even more so, representatives like Gonzales show rather conclusively that the Associated Students is not a progressive institution, but rather a stagnant status quo. It is true that, politically, this status quo lies far to the left of the current national establishment, but it is a status quo nonetheless. There is intense resistance to change and the sense of self-importance is often so high that any disruption of the ritualistic norm is a violation of all that is holy.
Students First! itself is a stagnant form of assuring the A.S. election victories and the slate elected change nothing from year to year, because, like any establishment would say, they “stick with what works.”
Finally, Gonzales complained that this event might “delegitimize” the A.S. Council with student public opinion. I’d like to point out that Mr. Gonzales is seriously deluded if he believes that the A.S. Council currently has any legitimacy with the students at all. This statement proves that, often, the A.S. Council’s mentality is that the students think they are actual politicians and officials.
The A.S. Council is severely isolated from the student body whether it wishes to be or not. Admittedly, it may not even be the council’s fault. UCSD students are renowned for their ability to remain apathetic even in the most exciting of events. But to assume that Barton’s prank is somehow going to lower the A.S. Council’s reputation in the mind of the students is not only misguided, but it’s actually rather arrogant.
But in the end, while there are always a few students willing to fight for the status quo, this author applauds most of the A.S. councilmembers for their willingness to laugh at themselves and give themselves relief from the temple-pounding monotony that is often the A.S. Council.
And while I will be surprised if Bryan Barton doesn’t get himself drop-kicked out of this campus before graduation, one has to step back and appreciate the people who, for whatever motivation, take us all back to the level where we remember that we don’t matter. There is great comfort in this and A.S. councilmembers would have a lot more fun if they more often realized this.
