Last night’s A.S. Council meeting was built on a theme of
social awareness as councilmembers entertained discussions about activism,
philanthropy and civic engagement.
Alma Natalia De Castro of the Student Senate for California
Community Colleges spoke during public input about a protest April 21 to oppose
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget cuts to public education. She said
the
with similar events elsewhere in the state. She asked the A.S. Council to send
a representative to speak at the event; the invitation didn’t garner a response.
Eleanor Roosevelt College Senator Stephanie Usry asked the
council to participate in UCSD Cares Week, which is scheduled to take place
during week five. Usry said the event could provide a “last hurrah to give back
to the community” as this year’s council enters its final weeks.
Senator John Cressey took up Usry’s call later in the meeting, asking for
philanthropic brainstorming from his colleagues. Facing a dearth of responses,
Cressey let the lack of an idea slide but still committed to signing up the
council for UCSD Cares Week anyway, presumably with the hopes of identifying a
more specific plan soon.
The council also debated the issue of “dorm storming,” which
refers to nonpartisan voter registration drives entering the domain of student
dormitories.
At issue was a resolution that favored the implementation of
dorm storming with the permission a college’s resident dean in pursuit of
greater civic engagement. The practice seemingly brought two favorite causes of
student leaders into conflict — privacy and voting.
Thurgood Marshall College Chair Lana Blank was first to
express skepticism over the proposed resolution.
“I feel like we should have a certain respect for the
residence,” she said of voter-registering dorm stormers. “It’s one thing if you
can go into OVT, [but] it’s another thing if you can come into my suite.”
Blank also related the prospect of dorm storming to student
complaints about overly nosy residential security officers not being respectful
of students’ privacy.
“Why are we making ourselves just like things we’re fighting
against?” she asked. “We don’t like RSOs going into private spaces.”
CalPIRG representative Daniel Teplitz attended the meeting
to speak on the matter and encouraged the council the pass the resolution in
light of the upcoming presidential election. When UCSD begins Fall Quarter,
student organizers will have less than a month to register voters before the
deadline, an opening that Teplitz said could be used effectively with the help
of dorm storming.
“[With] access to the dormitories … we could register so
many more students on campus than we have [before],” he said. “It’s one of the
best ways to talk to students because they have time when they’re at home.”
President Marco Murillo said that he was worried that the
resolution lacked the strategic wording and concrete details necessary for
administrators to take it seriously and recommended the council postpone the
resolution for two weeks. The council agreed with his suggestion and will
revisit civics later this month.
