Winter 2010/2011

I am no longer involved in the Student Association or SUNY New Paltz campus life.

For contact info, please find me on Facebook or pursue the traditional avenues of communication.

PHEEIAOYVEY

Over the last few weeks, many of those who are somehow connected with the SUNY community have been pondering, and voicing their opinions about, the Governor’s proposed plan to restructure the way SUNY operates. I will not get into the details of the proposal here, since that is not what I want to speak about at the moment. The information is out there if you look and you will see that there are major differences of opinion about how this will affect our campus.

What I would like to say is that as a member of our Executive board, I am still entitled to an opinion which I may come to on my own. There is a general distrust of our college’s Administration which is fueling many of the reservations that students feel about the prospect of putting more power over how our school collects and spends money in their hands. Experiences over the last decade have left a sour taste in the mouths of many students and faculty and when it comes time to choose a position on this proposal, the memories of an SA and College Administration which are at odds with each other are not far off.

Despite this our E-board supports this proposal which will give this Administration (and any subsequent cabinet)  the authority which is now vested in our legislature. One reason for this trust is that we actually do interact with these administrators on a daily basis while many students who oppose this legislation do not. We know that they do want the best for the University despite the many disagreements we might have about other issues. Their focus is not just to make money or make the University look good, as some students believe. I do not think that they would raise our tuition unnecessarily, a belief which I do not hold in regards to our state legislature.

It is understandable that many students don’t have this same trust. The Administration does not appear to be very accessible to the average student. I know one that has tried for weeks to set up a meeting without any success. Despite this, I have faith that the communication between the SA and the Administration will continue and the dialogue will be present if this proposal passes and the University begins to operate under the new SUNY structure. This is a dialogue which we could never hope to have with our distant state legislature which has truly screwed us over and over in the last few years. In fact, it is many of the same voices that cried “fowl” then which are now opposing this legislation and advocating that the state legislature retain this power.

Ultimately, our Executive board is allowed to have our own opinions, both as individuals and as a board. The Student Senate and the Senators who make up its body have the same right. The Senate could even pass a declaration of their feelings about this if they so desire. In the end, the decision will not happen in the Student Union Building or the Haggerty Administration Building. If I have ever been too vocal about my opinions, I apologize. I will say that we have raised the concerns which were voiced by the Senate when we last met with President Poskanzer and his cabinet, which sparked a hour long conversation about how this proposal will affect us. We will continue to pass the sentiments of the Senate, as well as any other students we talk to, along to the Administration. We do, however, retain the right to hold our own opinions and will continue to do so. We have been elected by our constituents to make informed decisions and determinations and that is what we have done here.

Say it aint so, Joe…

I’m not going into depth here, and it really isn’t necessary anyway. Joe Lieberman is one of the worst Benedict Arnold bastards to step into the national political scene (at least in my short lifetime). I am ashamed to share a religion with that heartless nay-sayer. I cannot believe that the people of Connecticut keep electing his Independent ass. I always wonder how Al Gore feels about the whole thing. If health care reform results in a shredded neutered carcass of a legitimate bill, it is such a bummer to know that this tiny little traitor stood in the way and orchestrated its demise.

Bloc Voting

When acting as a member of a deliberative body, you must take a stand. Do not let your friends on the board make your decisions for you. Make your decision and make your voice heard. People talk about running for Student Senate because they want their voice to be heard. But then they get there and their voice is muted and just tags along with the louder voices in the group that they are friends with from outside of Senate. Take a stand! Make your points! Tell it like it is and don’t back down from what you believe in just because your friends have already made the decision for you.

Letters to Editors

The student newspaper of SUNY New Paltz wrote an editorial in their last issue pointing out that the SA does not seem to have much going on. There are certainly issues in saying that, since it isn’t entirely accurate, and many of us freaked out. I wrote a couple of letters which span the range of my emotion as it began as outrage and diminished to vexation. I would like to chronicle that transition here.

DISCLAIMER: I  no longer feel the same way I did in the first letter. I am putting this here more as an example of what NOT to do, since I think the more recent responses are be much more effective. The final letter here was written mostly by our President, and published in this week’s issue on behalf of the entire Executive Board. The first was never meant to represent anyone’s views besides mine.

—

#1 – Sent on October, 27th, Later withdrawn before going to print:

Dear Editors,

I would like to reply to last week’s editorial attacking the Student
Senate and our Executive Board. Not only am I personally offended by
these remarks, the student body as a whole should be incensed at this
assault on their intelligence by their school newspaper. In specific
regard to the accusations that our E-Board is apathetic, I would like
to say that this could not be further from the truth. Each of us is as
passionate as can be and are entirely dedicated to the projects we are
working on. The SA does not exist in a bubble and we can not just make
university policy whenever we please. Efforts like pushing for organic
athletic fields, for example, are a process which takes time and it is
ridiculous to expect that we have significant updates about them each
week.

Members of the Oracle editorial board need to start paying attention,
rather than casting stones in an effort to drum up controversy to
increase interest in their periodical. These attacks are especially
incredulous after considering some of the reporting the Oracle has
done about the SA this year. The previous week’s factually inaccurate
article about the Judicial Board provides a perfect example of the
Oracle being unable to properly report the news. This attack proves to
be no exception.

I hope that students will take this as a call to action and will get
involved. I do agree that our Student Senate ought to be doing more,
and we will always need passionate students to run for Senate each
semester.  If there are projects which students would like the SA to
work on, please speak up. Although this job is incredibly time
consuming, involving many many meetings each week as well as emails
and phone calls at all hours of the day and night, we would love to
see any additional projects get put forth.

Oracle, if you would like students to be more involved, don’t insult
them. Inform them. Tell them what the Student Association has to offer
rather than what we are doing wrong. After all, that is what they are
paying for.

Abe Uchitelle
Executive Vice President

—
#2 – Drafted on November 4th, Never submitted

Dear Editor,

On behalf of the entire SA Executive Board, we would like to respond
to last week’s editorial regarding the performance of the Student
Association so far. It is important to keep in mind that there are
many essential functions to keep the day to day operations of the
Student Association running which, although not very exciting, are
indispensable to the student body. One such task was the restructuring
of SA Graphics, a print service available to clubs for event
marketing, which involved interviewing, hiring, and training two
graduate students which will be overseeing the service. We have also
put together a comedy show with a highly acclaimed performer for
November 18th.

In regards to last years student association creating the Loop Bus,
and also having senate meetings which ran late into the night, it must
be made clear that we are NOT last years SA. Senate debates were often
circular and at times redundant, not running until midnight because of
the content which resulted from the meetings, but rather from the
controversy which was allowed to impede the legislative process. As
far as the Loop is concerned, we must remember that it took nearly two
years to get the bus on the ground from when it was first proposed.
Projects like trying to have the loop run on weekends and pushing for
organic athletic fields are long term processes which involve many
other agencies and departments besides the Student Association.

For many of us, this was our first taste of negative press. At first,
the response which many of us exhibited was an over-reaction, and we
hope that we can move beyond it and use this opportunity to strengthen
our relationship with the Oracle. We will do our best to be thorough
and comprehensive when we report to our constituents at Senate or
Council, so that the student body will have a better understanding of
what we are working on and what sorts of progress we are making.
Additionally, the Senate is aware that they have not had the heaviest
legislative work-load so far. This was one of the main topics of
discussion at the Senate retreat and our legislative body is
addressing this concern.

We realize that the conclusions made in last week’s editorial are not
entirely inaccurate considering the observations that may be drawn
from our reports. We pledge to do our best to work more closely with
the Oracle to bring the student body up to speed on what we are
working on. We hope that this exchange will result in a stronger
relationship between the SA and the Oracle in which we are considerate
of the role of the press in the political process as well as our need
to present the most complete message of what it is that we do.

The Student Association Executive Board
SUNY New Paltz

—

#3 – This was written mostly by our President and ultimately became our official response printed in the November 5th Issue

Dear Editor,

On behalf of the Student Association, the Executive Board would like to respond to last week’s editorial regarding the performance of the Student Association thus far. Several of the issues discussed in the article in regards to Senate and the Executive Board were not false but also not entirely true. The question was how much work could the Senate be doing when meetings are ending early and legislation is not being brought to the table? This is something that Senate themselves have also noticed and at the Senate Retreat in October it was a topic of discussion. The Senate meeting following the retreat, senators stayed until 11:30 at night discussing possible legislation they want to bring to the table and ways for them to be a more effective body.

In regards to the Executive Board it is important to keep in mind that there are several essential functions to keep the day to day operations of the

Student Association running which, although not very exciting, are indispensable to the student body. It was mentioned that all we do is sit office hours and attend meetings; however, that is essentially our job description. From an observers perspective, it may not seem as though we go above and beyond our call of duty, nonetheless, we are constantly serving hours outside of our scheduled hours to cater to students needs and complete tasks that we have taken up.

Keeping Senate and Council up to date to what the Executive Board is doing is our way of keeping campus up to date; and we have noticed that we have become relaxed with our reports and not as detailed as we need to be. Therefore, the oracle’s perception is justifiable but not an accurate description of what we are doing.

In the last month we attended SUNY Student Association Assembly, conducted a rally against Budget-Cuts while organizing a petition, and finalized the direction of Student Association Graphics. That is what has been done as an Executive Board as a whole. Individually, Yazmin oversees SA Graphics, Brenna finalized dates and planning for our Constitutional Convention; which would be November 14^th and 15^th. Kevin and Yasmin with Student Association Productions are conducting a comedy show with a highly acclaimed performer, Ralphie May, for November 18th. Stephanie and the Senior Committee started the planning of their first program, “Dress the Part,” which will be in the first week of March for the senior celebration.  Jen is spearheading the program that will be put on by Student Association E-board this month for students to come to us with all issues they may be facing this year that they want advocated for. Hana continues to try to move council in a direction of giving input to legislation and Abe continues to have an active role in local government.

In regards to last year’s student association creating the Loop Bus, which was not a project that happened overnight. The discussion and planning of it happened for two years and projects such as those happen overtime. Therefore, having the loop run on weekends and pushing for organic athletic fields are long term processes which involve many other agencies and departments besides the Student Association. Work on these projects has not stopped; it just takes time.

For many of us, this was our first taste of negative press. Our initial reaction was to take it as a personal attack and we have learned from the experience. Ties between the Student Association and the Oracle have not been broken but rather strengthened. We pledge to do our best to work more closely with the Oracle to bring the student body up to speed on what we are working on. We know that this exchange will result in a stronger relationship between the SA and the Oraclein which we are considerate of the role of the press in the political process as well as our need to present the most complete message of what it is that we do.

The Student Association Executive Board

SUNY New Paltz

—

The last letter above is probably the more mature and permissible of the three. I really wanted to tear into them, but I’m glad I didn’t because they actually had some good points. I do disagree with some of it, but they have a constitutional right to say it and I am sure as hell not gonna mess with that.

On the Ballot

I just want to say that anyone who votes against gay-marriage in their home state is a bigot. There is no way to frame it otherwise. Last night voters in Maine rejected same-sex marriage in the form of a propositional ballot measure. This is a growing trend across the country to reject marriage equality and it is incredibly disheartening to see that so many Americans are still hateful homophobes. There is no reason other than hatred and ignorance that anyone would vote against marriage equality. Our country still has many daemons and it seems that they work really hard to promote hatred at every opportunity. If you are reading this and you oppose marriage equality?…Guess what? You are a bigot.

Slim chance

I’d say there is a slim chance that anyone cares or will look at this with any regularity, but here goes… It’s blog time…..