A.S. Meeting #11 – Nov. 2
Special Presentations
Thurgood Marshall College Senior Senator Kate Pillon responded to the recent “Koala TV” segment in which her face was overlaid on an image of an adult-film actress engaged in sexual activity with John Muir College senior Steve York. Pillon expressed her desire to unite the community in the safe expression of opinions.
“No one should be attacked for standing up for what they believe in,” Pillon said.
She also expressed support for legislation before the council at the meeting, primarily an item that banned York and “Koala TV” from airing programs on Student-Run Television. Pillon added that, when it came to the question of the limits of free speech, the Supreme Court does not support speech if it is considered obscene or a defamation of character.
Items of Immediate Consideration
Item A
The bill, sponsored by Commissioner of Student Advocacy Travis Silva, formally denounced York and “Koala TV” for pornographic broadcasts, and banned the show’s staff from airing future programs or entering SRTV premises. Although, at past meetings, there has been a great deal of dissention regarding whether or not it was legal or constitutional to censor SRTV content, the council unanimously approved the legislation in a 17-0-1 vote. It also delegated more responsibilities to SRTV co-managers in monitoring the content of the programs they broadcast, holding them responsible for any breaches of the station’s charter. For full story, see the front page.
Item B
The council passed a resolution upholding the “ASUCSD commitment to a respectful community” which stated that “the [council remains] committed to building a strong educational, social, active and diverse community for UCSD students.” It also, like the previous item, addresses and condemns the airing of pornography on SRTV, specifically the “defamation of a current student and A.S. UCSD councilmember.”
Item C
Accompanying the stricter demands on SRTV managers, the council also approved the creation of an ad hoc task force, which is designed to define the “purpose” for the station, establish a hierarchy of responsibility of SRTV members to the A.S. Council and rewrite and amend the charter by the cutoff date of week six of winter quarter. Several motions to amend the item were proposed, including the addition of two SRTV representatives to the task force designed to govern the future of their station.
While several senators argued that it was fair and necessary for SRTV to have a hand in its own enterprise, others responded that the station officials could have an equally important role without the voting rights on the task force. Ultimately, the motion to include SRTV on the task force failed 2-16-0. Unamended, the item passed in a 17-1-0 vote.
