A.S. Meeting #6 – Sept. 28
Public Input
Students Raising A.I.D.S. Awareness organizer Pat Allen announced UCSD’s participation in A.I.D.S. Walk San Diego 2005, to be held Oct. 1 at Balboa Park. Information is available at http://www.aidswalksd.org.
Items of Immediate Consideration
Item B
The council approved a contract with Cloud 9 Shuttle Service to provide “reliable and personalized” shuttle service for students participating in the A.S. Safe Rides service by a vote of 17-1-0. Under the deal, the council agreed to pay Cloud 9 a fee of $9 per hour, plus a one-time charge of $60.
Item C
Voting by consensus, the council also retroactively approved a contract with appliance company Micro 101 to provide refrigerator, freezer and microwave units for the campus residence halls for the 2005-06 school year.
Reports
President Christopher Sweeten
Sweeten reported the recent resignation of Vice President External Kevin Mann due to unspecified personal reasons. He announced the interim appointment of Samantha Peterson, an administrative liaison for the external office, to fill Mann’s position until applications are reviewed at a later date.
Council Caucus
The recent controversy over pornographic images on Student-Run Television became a topic of debate for councilmembers as amendments to the A.S. Media Charter were being contemplated. The inclusion of the three-pronged Miller test of obscenity, which is designed to prevent airing of “obscene broadcasts” at any time, was debated by some as violating the First Amendment as well as previous Supreme Court rulings against censorship.
Earl Warren College Sophomore Senator Daniel Palay argued that the Miller test could ban potentially inoffensive material such as sexual health videos from being seen by students.
Members also addressed the ability of SRTV officials to monitor content and stop offensive broadcasts before they air to the public. SRTV co-manager Andy Tess said that proactivity, while potentially able to solve some content problems, would “open up the door” to potential legal troubles.
“Don’t sit around and tell me that you can’t be proactive, because you can,” Thurgood Marshall College Senior Senator Kate Pillon said in response to Tess’ statement.
When revisions of the charter were addressed, councilmembers debated whether or not immediate changes would be the best course of action for the A.S. Council to take.
“A change to the charter would be reactive, and it would be in error,” Tess said.
The media charter currently does not apply to SRTV.
