Dear Editor,
While I do not typically feel the need to respond to the incessant rants of the editorial board, when the articles read more like a tabloid than a newspaper, I feel I should say something. First, this ‘lazy’ A.S. Council has undertaken some of the most substantive projects in the last decade.
Currently, the A.S. Council is drafting a syllabus policy so students will have the right to know what will be expected of them at the beginning of the quarter and end the practice of arbitrarily changing the grading or assignment criteria after the add/drop period. Additionally, the A.S. Council has taken part in drafting a new sexual assault policy that will expand the rights of victims and their accessibility to key services. These examples are only a fraction of the crucial committees and meetings that the A.S. Council participates in every week. And in regards to the ‘extravagant retreats,’ the A.S. Council spent $200 on a retreat for 50 people. That’s 1/3 the price of one advertisement in the Guardian. This A.S. Council has and will continue to dedicate the sweat equity that is required to enact substantive change for the student constituency. So I leave you with one more New Year’s resolution for Ms. Mendoza; stop by the fourth floor of the Price Center every once in a while before you smear the very people who work tirelessly to ensure that your rights are protected on a daily basis.
[Editor’s note: According to A.S. Council records, the retreat in question was for 30 people and cost more than $200.]