Earl Warren College alumnus and former A.S. Senator Dan Palay paid A.S. councilmembers a visit at last night’s meeting. Palay, who had been working on President-elect Barack Obama’s campaign in Missouri, handed out Obama-Biden pins to anyone who wanted one and gave the council a brief pep talk.
“There may be people in here that want different things for the university, but you’re all on this council for one reason, which is to make this university better,” Palay said. “There are bigger things going on outside than the arguments that go on in this chamber.”
One of the bigger issues on the table for discussion was the Resolution in Opposition to California Proposition 8, the council’s symbolic resolution against the passage of the measure that banned same-sex marriage in the state. A few changes were made to the language of the document before the council discussed whether to pass the resolution.
Thurgood Marshall College senior Kyle Samia came to the council meeting to discuss last Friday’s on-campus protest against Proposition 8, for which he was an organizer.
“We were just UCSD community members that wanted to communicate that we weren’t happy with the passage of the proposition,” Samia said. “It’s never too late to make noise against what is so inherently wrong.”
He told councilmembers he hoped they would pass the resolution so that it could be sent to University of California Students Association and then to the UC Board of Regents.
“I think that for the sake of representing the entirety of campus we should be content-neutral,” Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs Lana Blank said. “I just want us all to take a second before we pass a resolution based on our own personal opinions.”
President Donna Bean stepped in to point out that student governments have the right to take a stance on political issues and have done so in the past. Following her two cents, councilmembers continued to explain their feelings toward the resolution.
“Personally I oppose Prop 8, but I’ve talked to students who supported it,” Revelle College Senator Brian Yum said. “I think that we should take all those students into consideration.”
All-Campus Senator Meghan Clair was among the councilmembers who disagreed with Blank and Yum.
“I think it’s our responsibility to our constituents to take a stance on civil rights,” Clair said.
After further discussion, the council passed the resolution. Samia praised the council for its professional behavior during the debate.
Revelle College Senator Katie Hall then made a motion to approve a resolution in support of construction of the Hillel House in the empty lot on the corner of La Jolla Village Drive and Torrey Pines Road, which has been barred for the past seven years by the La Jolla Town Council. The council passed the resolution.
The last announcement of the evening came from A.S. Speaker Jordan Taylor, who made a rare statement by plugging a free performance from the Jakes, an indie rock band from Irvine, at the Grove Caffe at 5 p.m. on Friday.
