Racist incidents, protests spread at UC campuses

[Nikki Stone1]

Source: Associated Press

By CHRISTINA HOAG, Associated Press – Tue Mar 2, 9:47 pm ET

LOS ANGELES – A firestorm over racially and ethnically charged incidents at several University of California campuses spread Tuesday as UC San Diego announced a KKK-style hood was found on campus and students in Los Angeles and Irvine demonstrated against intolerance...


...At UC Irvine, about 250 people gathered for a "student solidarity speakout" to condemn the recent spate of racist incidents at UC San Diego that targeted black students and another incident last month at UC Davis, which targeted a Jewish student with a swastika carved on her door, said Marya Bangee, an event organizer.

The protests came on the same day UC San Diego announced the discovery of a white pillowcase fashioned into a KKK-style hood — the third racist incident around the campus in as many weeks — and a day after UC Santa Cruz officials found an image of a noose scribbled on the inside of a bathroom door.

Officials found the hood, which bore a hand-drawn circle and cross, on a statue of children's book author Theodor Geisel, aka Dr. Seuss, outside the main campus library late Monday. A rose had been inserted between the statue's fingers....

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100303/ap_on_re_us/us_black_history_mock_party

---

The same article states that the girl who hung the noose was not black but another minority.

[Ellen Forradalom]

1. What is going on with these kids?

Why the outburst of racial incidents at UCSD? What the hell changed since I was in college 25 years ago?

[Nikki Stone1]

2. I don't know. It's in its third week. And other incidents at other UCs have been reported

see article.

[Skittles]

5. hate radio?

[Lilyeye]

10. Yup!

[Skittles]

11. corporate take-over of news networks

check

[No Elephants]

18. The RW is more extreme now and we have an African American President now.

A DEMOCRATIC African American President, to boot.

Probably some other factors, too, but I imagine those two are near the top.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

22. Was the hood left by a UCSD student?

or by some "helpful" outsider, maybe a white supremacist, or a teabagger, or just some prankster?

Has anyone claimed to have left it there?

:hi:

[Nikki Stone1]

31. No one has claimed responsibility yet.

I'll keep you posted.

[Posteritatis]

27. At least some's probably people trying to be oh-so-edgeeeee

During my BA and MA I'd run into people who self-describe as fascists or something equally ridiculous at a low but fairly steady pace. The whole "the ignorant masses think this is bad, and I'm not the ignorant masses, so I should think this is good" mindset.

[Ellen Forradalom]

38. I think you're onto something

Certainly the guy who said "ignorant n-words" on the air gives off a heavy stench of ironic hipster douchebaggery.

[slackmaster]

60. 1. They're kids. Kids do stupid things. 2. It's not a major outbreak, just some frat boys

Doing stupid shit.

[Nikki Stone1]

66. You haven't been keeping track, have you?

A whole lot has happened.

1. Racist frat party
2. Editor of KOALA ("satire" "paper") calls black students "ungrateful n*****s on the air.
3. Noose found in library
4. KKK Mask found on statue

Lots going on. The campus is in an uproar. The Black Student Association wants to shut the school down.

More than just kids doing stupid things.

[Nikki Stone1]

67. You haven't been keeping track, have you?

A whole lot has happened.

1. Racist frat party
2. Editor of KOALA ("satire" "paper") calls black students "ungrateful n*****s on the air.
3. Noose found in library
4. KKK Mask found on statue

Lots going on. The campus is in an uproar. The Black Student Association wants to shut the school down.

More than just kids doing stupid things.

[slackmaster]

69. Nikki, it's a handful of idiots doing things for attention, not a major systemic outbreak of racism

Giving them attention is not the best way to respond IMO.

[Jax]

71. It IS racism

of course you say it isn't.

[slackmaster]

73. Reading comprehension FAIL

I didn't say it wasn't racism. I have NEVER said it wasn't racism. Of course it's racism. That's obvious.

I said "not a major systemic outbreak of racism", and I stand by that statement. All of the incidents we're discussing probably involve less than 1% of the student population. I think they're getting way more attention than they deserve.

Think about how different things would seem if the headline was:

"Students disciplined for racist acts"

rather than

"Students commemorate Black History Month with a 'Compton Cookout' party"

of course you say it isn't.

Please explain what you mean by that.

[boppers]

87. Some slang to learn: YHBT

Heck, much of UCSD has been... apparently, nerves are so on edge that minor gags, pranks, and theme parties are enough to nearly shut the campus down. The trolls are loving it.

As far as *why* students behave this way, my theory is that they've been taught by society that only the most outrageous, absurd, inflammatory, actions deserve attention.

Is this new? Nope. I can't think of a time since the 50's that college students *weren't* acting in outrageous, inflammatory, ways. What changes is the things society accepts at a given moment in time.

[Rapier09]

3. The way kids are raised these days

Is to pay lip service to tolerance while privately bashing every non-white minority as a drain on society.

Blacks are an easy target for the shallow,the cowardly and the young in California.

Especially as so many of them are upset over the changes in their lives due to the economy;they need a scapegoat.

[Hardrada]

6. My Orange County in-laws don't even pretend to be tolerant.

[Lilyeye]

9. Same here with some of my family members.

They don't even care anymore and just saw the most outlandish things. It makes me sad how disgusting my aunt, uncle and cousins have become to me.

[Lilyeye]

14. I think you're right.

In the last two years, some of the people I know sound angrier and angrier because of what they're going through in this economy. It's like they truly believe that the government only cares about minorities and not them. When in reality...all of us are being screwed. They've been duped by the right wing bullshit. I knew one dude that voted for Obama and now he hates him. He said he was voting for a repuke in the next election. If he said he wouldn't vote at all (fine..whatever), but to go and vote for the idiots who got us in this mess? Ridiculous.

[Ellen Forradalom]

43. I think they know they are on the business end of a class war

that has been dressed up as an anti-racist crusade by the more well-off. They are angry, frustrated, and not expressing it too well, but I believe there is a legitimate political grievance at the core which is, despite appearances, not racially motivated.

[MichaelHarris]

4. The comments

to that article are pretty disgusting.

[Lilyeye]

7. Pretty much with any news article these days.

It's really sad.

[True_Blue]

72. Sadly you're correct

There were some real nasty racist flame wars online over John Mayer's interview. Sometimes it feels like this country is headed backwards instead of forwards.

[Lilyeye]

8. This is REALLY getting out of hand.

[Rapier09]

13. Welcome to California

Seriously you teach people values through example not by telling them to say one thing and think another.

God am I glad this era is over and we can be honest with one another.God willing we will get some real tolerance out of this.

[No Elephants]

19. Who teaches people to say one thing and think another? Hypocrites R Us?

Fighting discrimination means you are fighting, in part, to change how people view members of a minority. And part of that is the language that people use daily, which condititons and brainwashes us, often without our awareness. So, yes, people should watch what they say. But the goal is not to leave their stinkin' thoughts untouched.

[DissedByBush]

24. Newspeak!

You just perfectly described it.

[Nikki Stone1]

37. +1

/

[Skittles]

12. my guess

the election of a black man has sent a lot of racists to hysterics; kind of like how the cockroaches scatter when the lights are turned on

[spicegal]

15. What the heck is going on out there? Sometimes, it feels like our society is devolving,

instead of the other way around.

[Alcibiades]

23. There's a theory about that

In the past this information has been suppressed, but now it can be told. Every man, woman, and mutant on this planet shall know the truth about de-evolution.

[AsahinaKimi]

16. The racist comments after the story make me sad

I thought this country was getting better, but by what I have read, seems nothing has changed. It all makes me very sad for this Country and our Nation. The comment about the "Anti White" media especially so.

[No Elephants]

20. "Anti white media" Uh oh. They used to talk about liberal media, so the RW.

bought up all the media. Now, media ranges from slanted right to raving right.

Now, they're talking about anti-white media. Wonder what's next?

[Nikki Stone1]

68. I hadn't noticed an anti-white media.

Just nuts.

[Lilyeye]

28. That is one of the reasons I don't read those news article comments.

They're sickening and full of disgusting people. It doesn't matter what article it is.

[newfie11]

17. With all the hate talk out there

does anyone else see a similarity to pre nazi Germany.
This is making me extremely uncomfortable.

[No Elephants]

21. Not all comparisons of the RW and brown shirts are off base.

[Lilyeye]

29. .Well their tactics of division are working much more than even I had realized.

People like to see these listeners as a fringe group, but I think they're more than that.

[Nikki Stone1]

35. Some of them seem to have posted comments on the SD Union Trib today:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/02/racist-incidents-protests-spread-at-uc-campuses/

[timtom]

25. Do the racists think Theodore Geisel was Jewish?

:shrug:

Or do they have other issues with him?

[Nikki Stone1]

30. I didn't even think of that but that could be a point.

..

[Igel]

26. "A rose had been inserted between the statue's fingers."

Now, a cross can still have KKK associations. But a circle? Was the cross in the circle?

And on Geisel's statue. Did they think him Jewish? Communist?

Sort of a madonna preaching tolerance?

Did somebody add the rose later, so it should be considered irrelevant?

I don't get it.

[Nikki Stone1]

33. I don't either.

?

[AngryAmish]

32. Alternate theory: UC is being trolled

Some folks like to cause trouble.

[Nikki Stone1]

36. I wonder if your theory could connect with this:

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/mar/03/schwarzenegger-meeting-focuses-on-higher-ed-cuts/

Schwarzenegger meeting focuses on higher ed cuts
BY ROBIN HINDERY, ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 3, 2010 AT 2:56 P.M.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger met Wednesday with leaders of California's colleges and universities to discuss budget cuts that have left higher education in critical condition.

The meeting with representatives from the University of California, California State University and community college systems took place the day before a planned nationwide protest to call attention to declining funding for public education.

Over the past five years, state budget cuts have caused student fees to rise by 61 percent at UC, $8,000 per year for resident undergraduates, and 68 percent at CSU, to $4,900 per year. Fees at the state's 110 community colleges dropped during that period but shot up 30 percent this year.

The schools, which serve a combined 3.5 million students each year, also have been forced to reduce enrollment, limit course offerings and - in the case of UC and CSU - institute employee furloughs and pay cuts.

"The purpose of the meeting is to talk about how we can all work together to provide as much support and resources to higher education as possible under the current budget deficit" of $20 billion, Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear said Wednesday.

Despite the fiscal crisis, Schwarzenegger in January pledged to preserve higher education funding at least at its current level.

He also proposed a constitutional amendment guaranteeing that at least 10 percent of general fund spending would go toward UC and CSU. No more than 7 percent would go to state prisons.

Since Schwarzenegger took office in 2004, prisons have eaten up an increasing share of the general fund - 10.9 percent this year compared to 8.7 percent in 2004.

Meanwhile, higher education funding has consistently lagged behind, dipping below 7 percent of general fund spending in 2006 - the lowest level in at least 27 years, according to the state Department of Finance.

Funding to UC and CSU dropped this year to 7.5 percent of the general fund. Community college funding is covered under a separate section of the fund.

To protest such cuts, a series of marches, rallies, teach-ins and class walkouts are scheduled to take place Thursday at college campuses and public spaces in California and other states. The demonstrations, part of a "National Day of Action for Public Education," will include a rally on the steps of the Capitol.

Wednesday's late-afternoon gathering at the Capitol included California Community Colleges Chancellor Jack Scott, Sacramento State University President Alexander Gonzalez and UC Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, among other top administrators and student leaders.

CSU Chancellor Charles Reed was traveling outside the state but released a statement saying he hoped the meeting would put higher education on the path to recovery.

"Public colleges and universities are the key to the work force engine that will help bring us out of this economic recession," Reed said.

UC President Mark Yudof also did not attend the meeting, but had traveled to Sacramento on Monday to urge Schwarzenegger and lawmakers to address the 10-campus system's funding needs.

[jberryhill]

52. +1

Wanna cause a ruckus?

Leave a prop of some kind laying around, sit back, and watch the fireworks.

[Nikki Stone1]

34. Asian American student comments: interesting

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/opinion/editorials/look-up-you’re-part-of-the-problem/

2nd Gen. Asian-American says:
March 2, 2010 at 11:54 am
ashamed-alumni: Yeah, we’re largely upper-class. In fact, Asian-Americans have the highest educational levels, highest median and personal income, and lowest crime rate. What the f**k does that tell you? That America, and every institution within America, is prejudiced in favor of Asians? That families that had to overcome lingual barriers, exclusionary laws and yes, racism, are somehow privileged? Or that every American, whatever their color or history or personal circumstances, has an equal opportunity to make something of themselves in this country? Think.

This article is ridiculous. To say that I, as a smaller minority than African-Americans in the country, are somehow part of the problem because I don’t think UCSD, or any other “institution” limits black opportunity is insane. We have a half-black president. We have black doctors and lawyers, Supreme Court justices and CEOs, many of whom had to overcome very difficult circumstances. If they could do it, what’s stopping every other black child in this country? And this: “…concept of the inequality from birth between races in our country” rings false. Inequality between the socio-economic levels exists, yes, as it is bound to within our economic structure. But a white child born into a trailer park has the exact same projected level of success as a black child born in a ghetto. Race is not the defining factor here.

[Nikki Stone1]

39. Dept of Anthropology: Letter of support

Department of Anthropology Graduate Student Statement of Support

The graduate students of the Anthropology Department stand in solidarity
with the Black Student Union, their allies, and all those who have been
affected by and/or are protesting against the recent racist incidents on
and off campus. We condemn all racist and sexist acts with the
understanding that such events are not isolated but are situated within a
broader context of institutionalized inequality. UCSD administration,
faculty, staff, and students must address these conditions. The BSU list
of demands offers a constructive model for dismantling the institutional
forces that limit the representation of and support for historically
marginalized and disempowered groups in our university. We must hold the
administration accountable for addressing the demands in a concrete and
timely manner.


At this critical moment when substantial hikes in UC fees and tuition and
the increasing privatization of the university system threaten to further
restrict the representation of underprivileged groups in our campus
community, we recognize the urgent need for structural change that can
increase retention, yield, and access. Further, the BSU’s focus on
increasing spaces that encourage students to interrogate issues of race,
ethnicity, class, gender, and sexuality is crucial given proposed funding
cuts to departments and programs that threaten to reduce the availability
of such spaces. In the midst of this crisis, we strongly support measures
designed to preserve and encourage critical thinking.


As we monitor the administration's actions, we are compelled to reflect on
the ways that we as students, faculty, and staff may also be implicated in
institutional and interpersonal racism and have a responsibility to enact
substantive change. The graduate students from the department of
anthropology acknowledge that current events have incited a sense of fear
and mistrust within the university. We reach out with empathy to all those
affected and remain committed to addressing injustice as members of the
campus community and as anthropologists. We would like to thank the
organizers for their tireless work and dedication.

[Happy Hippy]

40. Trolling

I doubt the KKK has infiltrated UCSD.

Based on my research these tactics are known as "IRL Trolling". Think about it. You are in your late teens or early twenties, and you realize the University community will go ape doodoo over finding nooses or hoods - so you plant a few just to watch the reactions at the University, in the community, on the internet, and within the national news outlets. Yeah there is some risk involved with getting caught but the ROI in butthurt is huge.

Think about it....Did you ever play ring and run as a kid. Knock on door / use doorbell and run off? Now.......

All you have to do is place a hood on a statue and wala.....

The event is covered on the national news, you have protests, marches, irate blogs, the university is vilified, letters to the editor, Facebook groups, "showings of solidarity" etc. All you had to do was put a pillowcase on a statue.

I'm not trying to justify it, I do understand how younger people could see this has an opportunity to cause a great amount of butthurt in the community with very little effort.

I'm willing to bet if the university ignored it, then it would stop.

[Nikki Stone1]

41. Even if it were, it has upset the African American students to such an extent

that they don't feel safe or welcomed. I don't rule out trolling, but the concerns of the Black Student Alliance need to be addressed regardless.

[Happy Hippy]

45. Exactly

Sure the BSA is upset about it.

But notice how all this outrage has been caused not by violence or direct discrimination but by mocking racial stereotypes, leaving a noose, and placing a hood on a statue. Even minorities are involved in the mischief (at least in the case of the cookout and the noose). The trolls are exploiting an uber sensitive issue.

Essentially, the trolls are exploiting the political correctness that is to follow such events. I know we would love to pin this on "conservative extremists" acting out on anger over Obama's election. But that doesn't support the facts. To make the matter worse, you have groups stepping over each other to prove how "angry" they are over this, so that they can bask in their own sense of self righteousness - which just feeds the trolls.

With each protest, AP article, cable news coverage, "showing of solidarity", etc. - the trolls dine on teh lulz.

[Name removed]

47. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Name removed]

54. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Nikki Stone1]

61. It is illegal on DU to accuse people of being trolls. You've been alerted on.

Have a nice day.

[Nikki Stone1]

49. The fraternity's "Compton Cookout" is part of a pattern going back 3 or 4 years at least

http://www.colorlines.com/article.php?ID=248

The Rise of the Ghetto-Fabulous Party
By C. Richard. King and David Leonard
Sept/Oct 2007

In January, students at Clemson University in South Carolina and a number of other institutions of higher learning opted to mark Martin Luther King Jr. Day with what were called “ghetto-fabulous” parties at which white students dressed in blackface, drank 40s, wore fake teeth grills, flashed gang signs and, in some cases, padded their posteriors to conform to their stereotypes of the Black female body. A month later, white students at Santa Clara University in California threw a “Latino-themed” party, where young women feigned pregnancy, the young men played at being cholo and everyone reveled in the symbols and spectacle they associate with Mexican Americans.

Although not a new phenomenon, it seems that over the last year “ghetto,” “gangsta,” “south of the border” and “taco and tequila” parties have become college chic and cool. Parties at more than a dozen colleges and universities received national coverage in the past year, with countless others going unnoticed save for the pictures posted to sundry websites. It is tempting to interpret such events as clichéd racist expressions. They are, after all, contemporary minstrel theaters that allow middle- and upper-class white Americans to cross moral and social boundaries by racial crossdressing. But such easy explanations keep us from fully appreciating the circumstances on today’s college campus that make minstrel parties pleasing and powerful for so many.....

[Lilyeye]

56. Interesting and sad that anybody would want to have parties like this.

Considering how often this occurs, there is a deeper problem than some want to admit.

[Nikki Stone1]

59. Yes, there is a deep issue here

And if the university plays weak, it can't be eradicated.

[Lilyeye]

55. To add on to Nikki's post. The "ungrateful N*******" comments

also helped sparked tension.

[Nikki Stone1]

62. Yes. I'd say that was the match to the gasoline.

:(

[LanternWaste]

57. Precisely what leads you to believe that...

Precisely what leads you to believe that to be the case in this instance?

[Nikki Stone1]

42. Statement from Scripps Institute of Oceanography

Chancellor Fox,

We, the community of Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UCSD, will not tolerate racism or hate at our school. This institution is a place of higher learning for people of all ethnicities, socioeconomic standings, genders, religions, and sexual orientations. Brilliance knows none of these boundaries, and we actively reject discrimination based on any of these personal identifying backgrounds. The purpose of this letter is to unite SIO in support of the individuals who feel hurt by recent racist acts, and to ask that administrators recognize the need to actively mend the rifts these acts have highlighted.

The February 2010 acts of individual members of the UCSD community involving the racially offensive "Compton cookout", the use of the "N" word on the student-run TV station by the Koala, and the display of the noose at Geisel Library are divisive and abhorrent. These individuals' ignorance, gross insensitivity, and hatefulness have no place at UCSD.

Intellectual communities, like social communities, are enriched and stimulated by diversity. As we strive for the best intellectual environment at our institution, we recognize that we must fight for the inclusion and protection of underrepresented groups. We embrace these groups and value their contributions to our community. We will absolutely not accept threats and hate towards them. Furthermore, as members of the SIO community, we recognize that in our position of privilege, it is unethical to fail to defend minority groups that are abused by members of the majority. We will not stand for it. Not in our community.

Too often, SIO is cloaked in apathy owing in part to its physical separation from both the main UCSD campus and less privileged areas of San Diego. Today, however, we take action. We come together to support diversity and justice. We are committed to those who feel emotionally burdened by recent events and who struggle to fulfill their duties both to research and to our hurting community. We are also committed to the underrepresented groups that already reside at our institution, and we are fighting to retain them in an atmosphere that is welcoming to all individuals.

The current friction on campus affects far more than the 2% of students directly targeted by the hateful acts. It affects all students, faculty, and staff members who value our community. By signing this letter, we are supporting our classmates and colleagues, both at SIO and on upper campus, pledging “Not in our community!” We will stand against hate and insist on administrative action to improve the campus climate. We will listen to the concerns and fears of our classmates and colleagues, and dedicate the necessary time and resources to mend our fractured campus. Together we promote compassion, empathy, respect, and intellectual exchange for all members of our community.

Thanks and Peace,

Proud Advocates for a Diverse and Inclusive UCSD and SIO

Lauren Shipp (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Levi Lewis (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Noelle Bowlin (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Mike Navarro (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Paola Lopez-Duarte (Integrative Oceanography Post-Doctoral Scholar)
Jennifer Gonzalez (Integrative Oceanography Staff)
Christian Briseno (SIO Graduate Student)
R. Cotton Rockwood (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Randie Bundy (Geosciences Graduate Student)
Rebecca Asch (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Guillermo Mendoza (Integrative Oceanography Staff)
Kerri Fullam (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Scott DeWolf (Graduate Student)
Elizabeth Tram Anh Vu (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Joseph Campanale (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Jill Harris (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Lyall Bellquist (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Geoff Cromwell (Geosciences Graduate Student)
Du Niu (SIO Graduate Student)
Geoff Cook (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Henry Carson (Integrative Oceanography Post-Doctoral Scholar)
Talina Konotchick (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Kelley Gallagher (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Jenan Kharbush (MCG SIO)
Ethan Deyle (Applied Ocean Sciences student)
Joshua Reeves (SIO Graduate Office Staff)
V.D. Vacquier (Professor Emeritus of Marine Biology S.I.O.)
Kaitlin Frasier (Graduate Student, Biological Oceanography)
Peter Cross (Undergraduate SIO researcher, IOD)
Amro Hamdoun (SIO Assistant Professor)
Matthew S. Leslie (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Queer-J Brad (UCSD Faculty)
Aly Fleming (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Ruth Musgrave (Physical Oceanography Graduate Student)
Richard D. Norris (Professor of Natural History)
Daniel Yee (Graduate Student, Scripps Photobiology Group)
Sarah R. Smith (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Tycho Huussen (PhD student National Oceanography Centre, Southampton and exchange student at SIO)
Ayana Elizabeth Johnson (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Jay Barlow (Biological Oceanography Adjunct Professor)
H.J. Walker, Jr. (SIO Marine Vertebrate Collection)
Grant Galland (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Ken Hall (SIO Administration)
Stuart Sandin (Assistant Researcher, SIO)
Jeremy Jackson (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Gary Moy (Marine Biology Staff)
Melissa Garren (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Brian Zgliczynski (SIO Graduate Student)
Danwei Huang (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Christian Anderson (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Greg Rouse (Marine Biology, Professor)
Emily Bockman (Geosciences Graduate Student)
Serena Moseman-Valtierra (SIO alumna)
Peter Franks (Director, IOD)
Mindi Summers (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Dominick Mendola (Sr. Development Engineer, UCSD-SIO
Liza Guzman Ramirez (PhD student UNC-Chapel Hill)
Summer Martin (Biological Oceaonography Graduate Student)
Phillip A. Morin (Ph.D., Southwest Fisheries Science Center)
Katie Cramer (Marine Biology Grad Student)
Penny Dockry (Staff, SIO Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation)
Miriam C. Goldstein, Biological Oceanography Graduate Student
Christine DelMastro (Integrative Oceanography Staff)
Dave Beza (Marine Biology Research Division Staff, UCSD Alumnus c/o 03)
Paterno Castillo (SIO Professor)
Krystle Shertz (SIO Graduate Office)
Megan McKenna (Biological Oceanography Graduate Student)
Kelly Roe (Geoscience Graduate Student)
Diego Melgar (Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics)
Nellie Shaul (Marine Chemistry and Geochemistry Graduate Student)
Jill Leonard-Pingel (Geosciences Graduate Student)
Peter Sutherland (Physical Oceanography graduate student, Marine Physical Lab)
Amanda Frossard (Graduate Student)
Gabriela Chavez (CASPO Staff, SIO)
Kevin Uhlinger (SIO, Marine Biology Research Division Staff)
Nadia Rubio-Cisneros (graduate student marine biology)
Lauren Franck (Climate Science Graduate Student)
Farooq Azam (SIO Professor)
Edwina Riblet (Assistant Director of Development, SIO)
Martin Gassmann(Applied Ocean Science Graduate Student)
Cynthia Button (Biological Oceanography, Graduate Student Alumna)
Jennifer Sanderson (Integrative Oceanography Staff)
Cameron Coates (Graduate Student CMBB)
Timothy Ray (Applied Ocean Science Graduate Student)
Phil Bresnahan (Applied Ocean Sciences)
James Traer (Graduate Student, Applied Ocean Sciences)
Theresa Boucher, SIO
Lisa Zeigler (SIO Graduate Student, and JCVI)
Tito Lotufo (Professor, LABOMAR-UFC Brazil, visiting scholar at SIO-MBRD)
Tristan M. Carland (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Ty J. Samo (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Dimitri Deheyn (SIO, UCSD)
Brian Seegers (Integrative Oceanography Staff)
Dan Cartamil (SIO post-doc)
Yvonne Firing (Physical Oceanography Graduate Student)
Lanna Cheng (Researcher MBRD, SIO)
Bryan Overcash (Staff Research Associate IOD)
Clinton Winant (Professor of Oceanography)
Cassandra J. Gaston (Marine Chemistry Graduate Student)
Geoffrey Gearheart (Doctoral Student, SIO)
Roland Kersten (SIO grad student)
Jackie Mccoy (Development Assistant, SIO)
Karen Stocks (SDSC/SIO)
Juan A. Ugalde (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Emily Lau (SIO, UCSD)
Dave Stegman (Assistant Professor of Geophysics, SIO)
Bic Pham-Le Cory (SIO Administration)
Amanda Netburn (Masters Student, CMBC, SIO)
Karen Weitemeyer (SIO-Postdoc)
Andrea Cornell (Development Assistant, SIO)
Tali Vardi (Marine Biology Graduate Student)
Aaron C. Hartmann (Graduate Student, SIO)
Peter D. Bromirski (IOD/SIO)
David R. Hilton (Geosciences Research Division, SIO)
Bonnie Ludka (Physical Oceanography Graduate Student, SIO)
Phil Hastings (SIO Professor)
Currie Dugas (Marine Ecology SRA, SIO)
Amber R. Fehling (SIO Administration)
Robin Westlake Storey (CCE LTER program, SIO)
Sandrine Rakotonarivo (Post-graduate researcher, SIO)
Helen Amanda Fricker (Associate Professor, SIO)
Mona Morshedabbasi (SIO Administration)
Caitlin Denham (Scripps Communications)
Sara Kerosky (Staff Research Associate SIO-MPL, UCSD alum)
Kerry Key (Assistant Researcher, SIO)
Chris Garrod (Minister of Networks Emeritus)
Laura T. Carney Integrative Oceanography Division)
Gary Wellwood (SIO)
Ray Weiss (Professor of Geochemistry and Associate Dean)
Amanda Cummins (Staff Research Associate, MPL)
Susan Matheson (CASPO staff)
Ed Parnell (SIO, Integrative Oceanography Division)
Cynthia Button (Biological Oceanography, Graduate Student Alumna)
Yvonne Firing (Physical Oceanography Graduate Student)
Roland Kersten (SIO grad student)
Guangming Zheng (SIO Graduate student)
Maureen McGreevy (Integrative Oceanography Staff)
Ralph Keeling (SIO professor)
Kim Spalding (Staff Research Associate, Geosciences Research Division)
Ravi Menon (Graduate Student, Applied Ocean Sciences)
Gretchen A. Robertson (Staff Research Associate, Geosciences Research Division)
Lisa R. Gilfillan (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Bruce Cornuelle (SIO/UCSD)
Andrew G. Taylor (SIO graduate student)
Dr. Jerome A Smith (Researcher, SIO)
Mary Hilbern (SIO, IOD, staff)
Susan Piercy (Physical Oceanography/MPL Staff)
Anaďs Orsi (Climate Sciences Graduate Student)
Matthew Huelsenbeck (Masters Student in Marine Biodiversity and Conservation, SIO)
Melissa Carter (Staff Research Associate, SIO)
Tony Koslow (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Rita Bauer (Admin Analyst, IGPP)
Gina McCollough (SIO Library)
Susan Becker (SIO staff)
Kai Hally-Rosendahl (Physical Oceanography Graduate Student, SIO)
Lelia Hawkins (SIO climate graduate student)
Jennifer E. Smith (Assistant Professor, OBP, SIO)
San Nguyen (Climate-Ocean-Atmosphere Program (COAP) Graduate Student)
Tim Stoesz (SIO)
Hannah Bassett (Staff Research Associate, Biological Oceanography)
Minerva Nelson (Integrative Oceanography Division/SIO)
Carlos Neira (SIO, UCSD)
Ethan Roth (Marine Physical Lab, SIO)
Callie E. Megargle, SIO
Yuri Fialko, SIO faculty
Rebecca Morales (former grad student CMBC)
Michelle Jared (Administrative Specialist, Integrative Oceanography Division)
Russ Chapman (Executive Director, CMBC, SIO, UCSD)
Walter Munk (SIO)
Sam Billheimer (graduate student)
Mark Ball (Birch Aquarium)
Magdalena Carranza (Physical Oceanography Graduate Student at SIO)
Joni Duke (Center for Clouds, Chemistry and Climate, SIO)
Valerie Sahakian (Graduate Student, Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics)
Jeff Skinner (Development Engineer, SIO/MPL)
Anne Simonis (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Alain de Verneil (Biological Oceanography Student)
Jesse Traller (Marine Biology Staff)
Jesse Vavrek (Grad Student, SIO)
Matt Woolery (Third College Graduate, 1989)
Brant Chlebowski (Volunteer)
Jesse Traller (Marine Biology Staff)
Kelly M Brunt (Post-Doctoral Scholar, IGPP, SIO)
Paul Ponganis (Scripps Institution of Oceanography)
Matthew J. Forrest (Marine Biology PhD candidate
Andrew Delman (Physical Oceanography graduate student)
Cynthia Klepadlo (Assistant Curator, Marine Vertabrates Collection, SIO)
Tobias Gulder (CMBB postdoc)
Paul Henkart (Geophysical Analyst, Emeritus, SIO)
Lena Gerwick (PhD, Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine, SIO)
William Jones (Biological Oceanography graduate student)
Luciana Astiz (IGPP/SIO)
Lauren Paul (SRA, Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine)
Timothy Myers (SIO Graduate Student)
Luciana Astiz (IGPP/SIO)
Lauren Paul (SRA, Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine)
Robert R. Hessler (Emeritus professor, SIO)
Debbie Zmarzly (Project Scientist, Birch Aquarium)
Michelle Hofmann (Interpretive Programs Coordinator, Birch Aquarium at Scripps)
Mark D. Ohman (Professor, Biological Oceanography)
Lihini Aluwihare (SIO)
Becky Burrola (SIO Graduate Office Staff)

[gtar100]

44. Good for the students who gathered together to condemn the racism.

That should be celebrated. They know not to just let it go.

[Ellen Forradalom]

46. In the Department of Not-Unrelated...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/3-la-teachers-suspended-over-black-history-month-celebration-of-simpson-rodman-rupaul.html

[Nikki Stone1]

48. Oh crap....

:(

[Ellen Forradalom]

75. And a posting from Womanist Musings

http://www.womanist-musings.com/2010/03/what-if-that-pebble-becomes-boulder.html

I think I detect a trend here :(

[Nikki Stone1]

78. Fantastic (if depressing) article

Thank you for posting it.

[Ellen Forradalom]

81. Womanist Musings is wonderful.

I learn a lot by reading her.

[Nikki Stone1]

82. Thanks for introducing it to me.

:)

[seeinfweggos]

89. cool link nt

[Lagomorph]

50. A lot of college kids are stupid.

I saw it on Jaywalk.

I think as long as we keep hitting the websites and slamming away at our keyboards "THEY" will be happy with the income.

[Hosnon]

51. California and the West Coast are just full of racists and bigots.

I'll start a petition to force their exclusion from the Union.

[Odin2005]

53. This isn't gonna end well.

:scared:

[warm regards]

58. California...The new Alabama?

[Nikki Stone1]

65. OR maybe the old one.

:(

[True_Blue]

70. Did all the Liberals move out of Cali?

I thought they were one of the more Liberal states.

[paulflorez]

76. Lots of conservatives moved into California during the 2000 boom years

I noticed that the Inland Empire (where I am from) particularly seemed filled with Texas license plates over the years. It's turning into Orange County II except without the beaches and the wealth, which is sad.

[Nikki Stone1]

77. Why would Texans leave for the Inland empire?

It's not like there's an ocean there.

[paulflorez]

79. Inland Empire is closer to ocean than a majority of Texan cities.

The only city that's probably as close to the ocean as the IE is Houston. San Antonio is 2 hours away. Dallas is a whopping 4 hours and 30 minutes away. Unless you live in someplace like Houston or Corpus Christi, moving to the IE actually brings you closer to the beach.

[Nikki Stone1]

86. Oh, ok. So even the Inland Empire looks good

Of course, if you're in Arizona, 4 hours doesn't look so bad. :)

[warm regards]

80. Actually, more Mexicans moved to California in the 2000's than any other demographic.

[Codeine]

84. And the IE started out pretty conservative

from the earlier wave of immigration from the Midwest in the 40s and 50s and the generally conservative tenor of Hispanic Catholics around here.

On the good side, every election we come a little closer to ousting Ken Calvert.

[John Kerry VonErich]

63. It was found on Dr. Seuss

So either the perpetrator has a problem with butter side up or butter side down. (twisted thought though)

[Nikki Stone1]

64. And here's KOALA... whose editor yelled the n-word on Student TV--and they want student money!

http://www.ucsdguardian.org/opinion/former-koala-editors-we-will-win-this-fight/

Former Koala Editors: We Will Win This Fight

Posted on 04 March 2010

Tags: MEDIA ORGS, THE KOALA

By Erik Kapernick, Bryan Barton, Brad Kohlenberg, Nicholle Pierro and David Gregory
Erik Kapernick-Koala Editor, 2003
Bryan Barton-Koala Editor, 2003-04
Brad Kohlenberg-Koala Editor, 2005-07
David Gregory-Koala Editor, 2007-08
Nicholle Pierro-Koala Editor, 2008- 2009


An open letter to the Associated Students Council and the UCSD administration from the Koala Editor Alumni Association (K.E.A.A.):
You are going to lose.

We are going to beat you again.

It is just a matter of how badly we will beat you, and how much time it will take.

You have two options in your attempt to shut us down:

1) You can make the temporary funding freeze permanent.

2) You can attempt to rewrite the funding rules in such a way that will allow the other 32 student media orgs to receive funding and refuse funding to the Koala.

If you choose to go with option one and cut off all funds to all student media orgs, this would be appealed until all on-campus appeals are exhausted. Now, we realize that you will drag your feet on this and try to play games, but eventually, you will have to say that there are no more UCSD appeals. At which point we will go to real court, in the real world, with real laws. In a country where the First Amendment is what our civilization was founded on, and the “principles of community” hold less weight then a marsupial pouch. It will become clear that your intent for cutting funding was because of the content of one org. You’ll probably lose in court, and perhaps get an injunction against you that will forever guarantee Koala funding.

But for the sake of argument, lets say that you win, and manage to cut off all media orgs’ funds. They will all die. Except for one …

The one that has been around for 28 years. The one that has a self-sustaining sister publication at SDSU. The one with the most dedicated staff. The one with the most committed alumni.

Ironically, your attempt to silence the Koala will destroy every newspaper except the Koala.


Let’s say you go with option two and, using your bureaucratic wizardry, you manage to write up some rules that include funding for every media org but the Koala. How you will be able to do that, we don’t know. As the only objective difference between the Koala from the other media orgs is that the Koala is twice as popular as the second most popular media org, with a readership of 66 percent of the campus (based on a 2001 A.S. election survey). You may think that the Koala not being able to get a professor to sign on as an adviser would differentiate us … but you would be wrong.

But for the sake of argument, let’s say that for once, we are not able to beat you at your own game, and we get defunded. This would be appealed until all on-campus appeals are exhausted. Now, we realize that you will drag your feet on this and try to play games, but eventually, you will have to say that there are no more UCSD appeals. At which point we will go to real court, in the real world, with real laws. In a country where the First Amendment is what our civilization was founded on, and the “principles of community” hold less weight then an AIDS patient. In this scenario, you don’t just lose, you get crushed and humiliated by Foundation for Individual Rights and Education, the American Civil Liberties Union, the Student Press Law Center and of course … us.

You might even have to pay us for the pain and suffering you caused! Wouldn’t that be rich!


It’s like we are in the TV show “Lost”: We are Jacob, and you are the Man in Black. We are mortal enemies, but always play by certain rules. By cutting our funding, you just broke the rules.

We are currently working on contingent plans that are so out-of-the-box, your conformist minds won’t be able to comprehend them — even as we start to roll them out. We have by no means pulled all the strings in making your lives miserable.

Administration:
How about a Koala feature called “State Assemblyman of the Month”? How would you like to take calls from Sacramento asking why a UCSD newspaper has a picture of the Speaker with a *&^% in his mouth?

Associated Students:

Do you know that you are considered “public figures” on this campus? Do you know what that allows us to do to you? No, you don’t, because us watching you debate First Amendment rights is like Socrates watching a debate on “Jersey Shore.”
We consistently beat you in your games with the rules that you wrote.
You have been trying to shut us down for 28 years and you have failed for 28 years. There is no reason to think it will be any different this year. We are smarter then you. We are slicker then you. We are quicker then you. We are defiantly funnier then you. And believe it or not, a large percentage (if not a majority) of the student population supports us.
Look, you guys are in a lose-LOSE BIG situation here. Just bite the bullet; apologize to us and tell us privately that our funding will be restored after everything blows over. This way, you still lose, but just not as badly.
Share and Enjoy:

« Mar. 04, 2010Under Frozen Funds, Divided We Stand »
26 Responses to “Former Koala Editors: We Will Win This Fight”
OtherSchool says:
March 4, 2010 at 10:42 am
As an alumnus from a university on the east coast, I am horrified at this letter. We have our own, extremely conservative, student-run publication on campus. They have done some offensive things in the past, but they have never put out a letter as atrocious as this.

The writers of this letter do not seem to recognize the importance of mutual respect for the other people in your community and sound utterly immature and ridiculous. The taunting tone and counterproductive message you send are an embarrassment to UCSD and to the editors who have signed their names onto this document.

While I think defending your right to free speech and to funding as a college publication is perfectly fine, I am truly disgusted as the way you have crafted this letter.

Steve York says:
March 4, 2010 at 10:56 am
For the record my name does not appear on this letter and for very good reasons; Grammar Cop Man’s head is going to explode if he sees this.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 10:56 am
Mutual respect should always be encouraged, but can never be mandated in a context where the First Amendment applies.

Besides, in terms of the outcome, the authors are exactly right. AS has no hope of winning this encounter. The only question is whether the university wants to spend tens of thousands of dollars (easily) to hear a federal judge lecture them on free speech and smack them down.

Inez says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:14 am
@ OtherSchool:

Please don’t call the Koala conservative. They are most definitely not. You’ll hear protests from both sides, the Koala and conservatives. Neither wants to be identified with the other, because they have completely different, and, on many points, totally opposing ideologies.

Thanks.

Person says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:21 am
Looks like nobody before 2003 wanted to contribute to this letter. Isn’t 2003 also the year that Lost started? I would say the Koala is more like Miles, the Asian guy on the show who doesn’t really serve much of a purpose except to occasionally ridicule the feature cast of Lost and communicate with ghosts. He is one of the less attractive characters, but not as bad as Hurley. Bryan Barton is like Horace.

Lisa Seiler says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:51 am
Lisa,

I’m sure you were a hot piece of ass back in the day, but are you really
so daft as to not notice that you just made fun of US for who WE ARE?

Man, I’m glad UCSD has come a long way since the olden days of silly
rhetoric. Were you too busy sucking cocks to recognize that we live in
an entirely different world where the kind of OMG IT’S RACISM metrics
don’t apply? I guess you don’t.

All the best,
Kris Gregorian
Editor-in-Queef
The MOTHERFUCKING Koala

p.s. You’ll be glad to know I’ve personally put my penis in numerous
SigKaps and they’re definitely the tightest at UCSD. Good job! You
must be proud.

Lisa Seiler wrote:
>
>
> I am one of the charter members of Sigma Kappa Sorority and an alumna
> of the Class of 1979, Third College presently know as Thurgood
> Marshall. I am ashamed to have even brought the Greek system to UCSD
> after all of these recent racial tensions. We fought so hard back in
> the 1970’s to pave the way for equality for all, regardless of
> religion, race and gender. And to what avail? So that this present
> generation of spoiled students could destroy the strong foundation we
> built for you?
>
> Get your heads out the sand and stand up and fight for what is right.
> At this point of our history, NO ONE should be made fun of or
> demeaned for who they are. Focus on making the world a better place,
> that’s what we did and we’re proud of it.
>
> Lisa DeLucchi Seiler
> Class of 1979

nice touch says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:55 am
The was a nice touch.

otherperson says:
March 4, 2010 at 11:55 am
“based on a 2001 A.S. election survey”

that survey is kind of old. a decade is a long time.

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 12:01 pm
Seriously, this is the best response that a group with their own published ‘paper’ can come up with? Beyond the events that your ‘work’ (and I use that term with a very large amount of sarcasm) caused and the rightful indignation/hurt that should then be felt from your remarks, sits the truth this letter shows:

You are piss-ants. You speak large and loftily, hiding behind what is simple effluvia. I won’t speak toward the larger situation. I will only state the obvious, that your position is tenuous and you are missing the wider scope… you are guaranteed the right to publish stupidity, but the University does not need to fund that.

In closing, if you are going to make a retort on an untenable position at least come off as having greater than a fourth-grade reading level.

Person says:
March 4, 2010 at 12:07 pm
I wouldn’t be surprised to know if the Koala is still the most popular newspaper on campus. People tend to enjoy the easiest jokes that one can make. If you look at back issues, the jokes have remained the same, but the the events and people made fun of have changed. UCSD students eat it up. But it’s like trying to tell someone that Family Guy is a retarded show. You can’t convince someone that something they enjoy is not funny when it’s plainly funny to them.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 1:34 pm
Justice,

Legally, their position is not only tenable, but manifestly correct. The delivery was childish, but the law is clearly on their side.

i dont have a name says:
March 4, 2010 at 1:48 pm
The U.S. Supreme Court stated the general rule regarding protected speech in Texas v. Johnson (109 S.Ct. at 2544), when it held: “The government may not prohibit the verbal or nonverbal expression of an idea merely because society finds the idea offensive or disagreeable.” Federal courts have consistently followed this. Said Virginia federal district judge Claude Hilton: “The First Amendment does not recognize exceptions for bigotry, racism, and religious intolerance or ideas or matters some may deem trivial, vulgar or profane.”

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 1:48 pm
I think you’re missing the point of what I’m suggesting. The law is indeed on their side. If the University, or for that matter anyone, silenced them that would indeed be against the law (the letter and intent of). That does not mean that there is any legal obligation of the University to financially support them.

Indeed, if you look at the first page of the AS constitution:

The Council shall have the power to:
(a) control all ASUCSD funds and appropriate those funds as they see fit…

And further, if you want to get a bit more broad and say that isn’t exactly what they meant:

§1.1. Structure, Powers, and Responsibilities of the Office
(a) President
(1) If a situation arises that is not provided for in the rules of the Associated Students, the President has broad authority to make any decision that is consistent with the spirit of the rules.

So again, just so we’re clear the law (US law) is on the side of their ability to print, regardless of the worth of the content. The A.S. ‘law’, which is the people letting them have money, is not (unless you’re able to find some evidence I am overlooking).

Bryan Barton says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:10 pm
@ Inez
Thank you for clearing that up! The Koala is not a Right wing or Left wing political organization. (It’s members often hold very different political views.)
However, it is frequently involved with UCSD politics.
Interesting article about the difference between national politics and UCSD politics:
http://www.ucsdguardian.o...cus/ucsdsvariedpoliticals... /

@ Person
Horace… what the hell?!? Can’t I at least be a main character? Miles on the other hand; is important… he talks to dead people for crying out loud! I am sure this will come into play again before the end of LOST.

@ nice touch
Could not decide whether it should have been: muhahaha or bwahahaha.

@ other person
Yes, that survey is pretty old. But it was the only official tally of readership of UCSD’s newspapers. After they saw the results, they chose not to do it again.

@ Justice
Give us a break! This our first step up the big league of the Guardian.
About the university not needing to fund the Koala… the courts will decide that, not you or I. The letter was just us saying how we strongly predict the courts will rule.
Also, since we write at a fourth grade level how do you expect us to know what “effluvia” means?

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:16 pm
No. The Supreme Court has addressed this issue. In Board of Regents of the U. of Wisconsin v. Southworth (Decided in 2000), a unanimous court said that if student groups are funded through student fees, funding decisions and policies must be content-neutral. That is, they cannot be based on the organization’s opinion on any political or social issue. That means that if the government can’t punish you for saying it, then the University can’t de-fund you for saying it.

RB says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:17 pm
I can’t stop laughing at how the writing in this article sounds like an 8th grader bickering.

“You are going to lose.

We are going to beat you again.

It is just a matter of how badly we will beat you, and how much time it will take.”

LMAO

Bryan Barton says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:26 pm
@ RB

Looking back at it, you do make a good point!

The Koala has never been accused of being mature.
But for this article in particular we wanted to be as simple and clear as possible.

Besides we only got the education that UCSD gave us right

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:30 pm
And if the school enacts a new policy that finds a way to exclude Koala on some technicality, a Federal Judge will see that they are trying an end run around the First Amendment, and will

1) rebuke them harshly for trying to subvert the First Amendment,

2) grant the Koala’s request for a permanent injunction,

3) award the Koala attorney costs,

and 4) possibly assess exemplary damages.

That’s after the school spends several tens of thousands of dollars on its own attorneys (at least). The University has no hope of winning. Southworth is binding precedent and it’s directly on point.

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:48 pm
@Michael: I’m fairly certain that is incorrect. While it speaks to the idea of viewpoint neutrality, the basic statement of the ruling simply says that the university can charge the fee to students, even if they don’t like where the money is going. This would of course be pointed toward the idea that you cannot sacrifice or abridge the view/speech of a group by the will of the minority or majority (referring to viewpoint, not race here). The viewpoint neutrality portion of the ruling shows me no wording which would suggest that it is a REQUIREMENT of an AS organization to fund whoever comes calling.

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 2:56 pm
One other point to mention would be that an easy out in regards to the situation (because yes, certainly the ruling can and perhaps will be argued in court for this whole situation)… would be for the AS to continue to not fund any organization (going back to the AS constitution). The Koala could then continue to complain about not receiving funding from the school until the end of time, but it would be impossible to prove then that the removal of funding was directed at them. This would be regardless of if it indeed is a directed measure.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:01 pm
They don’t have to give money to everyone who asks, obviously. Of course there can be criteria according to which funding (which is a limited resource) is awarded. But whatever criteria are used must be content neutral. If the University decides, based on content, to change the rules with the purpose of denying funding to a particular group, then then no matter what reason they claim for their action, the real reason was the content of the viewpoint. If the University’s purpose in acting was to silence a publication for engaging in speech protected by the first amendment, then it is unconstitutional.

If the Koala can prove that the motivation for the change in rules was the content of its expression, then the action is unconstitutional. Given Ustav Gupta’s public statements, they can prove that easily.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:34 pm
From Southworth:

“When a university requires its students to pay fees to support the extracurricular speech of other students, all in the interest of open discussion, it may not prefer some viewpoints to others.”

This means that the Koala’s offensive speech may not be the basis of a decision to deny or withdraw funding. Social and political commentary fall under the term “viewpoint,” as do satire and comedy (however tasteless or poorly executed). None of these can be the basis of funding decisions, including a decision to change the rules for the sole purpose of denying funding to the Koala.

Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Making the current funding freeze permanent might work, because in that case the university isn’t creating a forum, and you can’t require viewpoint neutral funding policies if there isn’t funding.

But then again I wonder if only de-funding media orgs is good enough. I mean, they fund other student groups that haven’t been de-funded, and those groups have lots of opinions about lots of things. AS may have to stop funding any student groups of any kind in order to avoid breaching a duty to viewpoint neutrality. Maybe not. Either way, they’d be throwing out the baby with the bathwater and greatly limiting the free exchange of ideas. I wouldn’t want to go to a school that willingly chose to shut down so much expression just so one offensive jerk could be silenced.

i dont have a name says:
March 4, 2010 at 3:59 pm
@Koala dudes. I love your shit, as long as you keep writing it, i will be reading it!

This bitch is reading Koala at a CHURCH! You got to put it into your next issue:


Michael says:
March 4, 2010 at 4:03 pm
Last one, I promise. From Rosenburger v. University of Virginia:

“deologically driven attempts to suppress a particular point of view are presumptively unconstitutional in funding, as in other contexts”

Justice says:
March 4, 2010 at 4:35 pm
Michael, I am still of the personal opinion that it’s not violating the intent and wording of the judgment to just stop funding an org ‘as they see fit’, much like how in California, work is ‘at will’. Going further would be the point at which lawyers from both sides get involved, etc.

Regardless, the point I made earlier about simply removing funding to all organizations, is completely valid legally speaking (verified this with the company lawyer who was going to go into education law… an aside, but anyway). Basically, everyone seems to want the Koala shut down, it’s an easy out for the school should they chose to take it. I’m not judging the ‘correctness’ of doing so one way or the other.

And… spent too much time on this, moving on now!

[saigon68]

74. `

[Codeine]

83. College kids are -in the main - spoiled little douchebags

with massive feelings of entitlement and a smug sense of superiority that blinds them to the needs of anyone else on the planet. I'm not sure why that always seems to surprise folks at DU.

[Nikki Stone1]

85. Depends on the kids and who is supporting them.

I have found that kids who are on work-study or who are paying at least part of their tuition are much more mature and much less bratty.

[Nikki Stone1]

88. LA TIMES: Students are channeling their anger

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-banks6-2010mar06,0,7776818.column


Racial incidents at UC San Diego illuminate a younger generation's fears and hopes.

By Sandy Banks
March 6, 2010


The adults in the church sanctuary were itching for a fight, eager to redress years of indignities absorbed growing up black in San Diego.

The black UC San Diego students were nursing a different sort of wrath: the psychic pain of hardworking high achievers, envisioning post-racial acceptance but reduced to crude racial stereotypes instead.

The generations met at a San Diego community forum that drew more than 600 people who were upset over a string of racial incidents spawned by a party promoted by white fraternity members from UC San Diego, "in honor of" Black History Month, that promised a taste of "life in the ghetto" -- cheap clothes, watermelon, malt liquor, gold teeth.

When I first heard about the "Compton Cookout," I was more disappointed than angry. I wished somebody would round up those frat boys, drop them off in Compton and let those "thugs" and "ghetto chicks" they mocked have at them.

I cringed when black students responded with demands and black politicians with press conferences.

Can we not play the "victim" card? I thought. Let's denounce the ignorance and move on.

But the church forum and a visit to campus this week taught me that I was wrong.

Like so many things involving race, the incident was not the issue; the party was just the spark. The problems it unmasked and the venom it unleashed -- waves of anger and backlash -- are far more troubling and dangerous......

[classysassy]

90. Racism

in america is as old as america it self.The founders were full of greed and racism,they stole the land murdered the land owners and called them savages because they tried to defend themselves.The invaders tried to enslave the natives,but they knew the turf better than the euro/thieves,so the invaders decided to import some cheap labor( free),so they went to the dark continent,the local chiefs and other black crooks were more than willing to sell their brothers and sister to the heartless slave traders they didn't feel guilty because the sellers were the bad guys,they were doing the blacks a good deed by bringing them back to a land of milk and honey(milk and honey for the whites),slop and left overs for the new comers.This country was founded on racism,deny it as much as you like,but facts are facts.

[L. Coyote]

91. Making national incidents of student stupidity may not be a good idea.

Part of the problem is misplaced focus.