While a change of face did not do much to disrupt the course of events of last week’s A.S. meeting, a new location at computer science and engineering building and the appearance of an unexpected visitor certainly did its share to stir the pot this time around.
Acting Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life Gary R. Ratcliff appeared before the council during public input, effectively warning that the revised Student-Run Television charter up for an A.S. Council vote would not affect the administration’s decision about whether the station would be turned back on. According to Ratcliff, the council has not yet devised a charter complying with the 17 demands made by administrators in order for the station to return.
“The key item missing in the new charter is a programming review board,” Ratcliff said. “A content review board would apply your content rules and regulations before programs air.”
Although Ratcliff said that establishing such a board to review programs would “not be difficult,” SRTV Station co-Manager Andrew Tess asserted the opposite.
According to Tess, a review board could ultimately make the university more legally liable for unwanted airings, rather than the contrary. As anticipated, the administration’s refusal to return control of the station back to the council also became a topic of heated debate.
“Here, we’ve been given the control of our own editorial [decisions],” Tess said. “Once it’s been given, taking it back is never a good idea, and judges do not smile on it.”
When Tess had finished, Ratcliff asked Vice President Internal Angela Fornero if he could speak again in response to Tess’ comments. Denied the opportunity, Ratcliff left the meeting before a vote on the charter was even discussed by the council.
It took the better part of an hour for the issue to move beyond simple amendments regarding, among other things, grammar, gender neutrality and word choice. In the face of Ratcliff’s demands, the council voted to — as put by Earl Warren College Sophomore Senator Daniel Palay — “screw the administration.” The new charter was passed by a vote of 17-1-0.
Following the dissolution of the old charter and the approval of the new one, the next item on the agenda was the re-appointment of Tess as the SRTV station manager. However, this proved to be more troublesome than it originally appeared.
“I feel that [Tess] was extremely negligent, and I would urge the council not to approve him,” Sixth College Senior Senator Matt Corrales said.
In his own defense, Tess claimed that during the November airings of John Muir College alumnus Steve York’s pornographic material, he was acting under advice of his legal counsel in choosing not to take preventative action.
“We all had lack of communication in general,” Tess said. “But if you weren’t to appoint me and you were to appoint someone else, whoever you appoint would be influenced by my judgment heavily.”
Ultimately, the council decided there was no better candidate for the position, and voted 14-3-1 to keep Tess on board.
