Campus spirit group Triton Tide’s purchase of sexually
suggestive novelty foam fingers over summer came under scrutiny by A.S.
councilmembers at their Oct. 17 meeting, where they debated and ultimately
passed a finance bill granting the group an additional $4,000 to buy more
merchandise.

The $2,100 shipment of foam fingers arrived at the start of
the school year and was immediately prevented from distribution upon inspection
by A.S. President Marco Murillo and Vice President of Finance and Resources
Sarah Chang.

The foam fingers resembled a sexual hand gesture known as a
“shocker,” which is similar to a trident hand gesture that UCSD fans wave at
athletic events.

The novelty items have since been put into a trash
compactor.

“My reaction was, ‘Oh my God, what just happened?’” Chang
said of her first sighting of the foam fingers. “We saw a few reactions from
female students and staff workers … and an executive decision was made not to
distribute [them].”

Murillo said the fingers’ gesture was also not what he had
envisioned as the design.

Chang said after she and Murillo spoke with Triton Tide
Director Dave Payne, they greed on sponsoring $4,000 finance bill for the
spirit club in order to allow Triton Tide to buy appropriate custom-made foam
fingers. The bill passed by a vote of 13-9-3.

The discussion between Chang and Payne became part of the
debate about the additional funding.

“[Payne] was promised $4,000 to purchase new foam fingers,”
said All-Campus Senator Meghan Clair, a supporter of the item. “From that I
formulated my decision that it would be in the best interest of A.S. [Council]
to give the money to Triton Tide.”

Chang refuted claims that she had promised money to Payne,
and reiterated that she had told him that the finance bill would be on the
agenda but a majority vote by the council would decide whether the funding
would be granted.

At the meeting, Thurgood Marshall College Senator Kyle Samia
joined Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Long Pham in strongly
opposing the finance bill, and the two still stand by their objections.

“Clearly, there was a lack of judgment … [but] no one is out
there to get Triton Tide,” Samia said. “We just want Triton Tide to be held
accountable.”

Samia characterized the incident as one of fiscal
irresponsibility and poor leadership, questioning Payne’s decision-making
ability.

“It’s really, really irresponsible,” he said. “What does
that say about us if we fund people flippantly? [Payne] didn’t show anyone
anything … he just bought them. When Triton Tide makes a mistake, they
shouldn’t be pardoned. There are some people who have no concept of students’
money.”

Samia noted a lack of communication surrounding the purchase
of the foam fingers. He said that when the council endorsed Payne’s idea of
buying foam fingers late last school year, there was no further discussion
about which foam fingers to purchase.

Triton Tide followed through with the purchase plans by
buying foam fingers from a retailer who specializes in “shocker” merchandise,
Samia said.

Although Samia saw the council’s willingness to let Payne
make the buying decision on his own as a “big misplacement of trust,” Clair
said that Payne shouldn’t be blamed for making a decision on which no one else
provided input.

“No one except Dave had been involved in purchasing them,”
she said. “I hope that the people who found them inappropriate are involved in
the purchase of the new fingers.”

Clair said Triton Tide has already allocated its funding for
this year, which is why it did not have its own additional funding to draw on
to replace the unusable fingers.

“Other student organizations received additional funding
this fall too,” she said.