The PodCat is live!!

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Note: I've moved it to a new location, so take note.

Grad student and Pima County Board of Supervisors candidate Bennett Kalafut writes in today's Wildcat Mailbag concerning the continuing conflict between ASUA and GPSC. ASUA remains largely silent about the issue. Meanwhile, the letter announces the URL of an independent blog that seems largely dedicated to supporting GPSC against ASUA.

Uagradvoice.org is one of those blogs that doesn't know it's a blog. I'll give them a chance on the bad formatting since I made the same mistakes myself in the past. But as they always say, content is king, and the blog's content is nothing more than unsourced, recycled arguments.

I do suppose, however, that a bad argument always wins against no argument. Speak up, ASUA.

Update: I implied/stated earlier that GPSC is responsible for Uagradvoice.org. This is not true; it's independent according to the disclaimer at the bottom of the page.

Update 2: GPSC's website indicates that one of the blog authors, Anne Murdaugh, is a representative of the College of Science to GPSC. That explains the recycled arguments.

Michelle Malkin has been doing the best job with this. Ironically, something I found in a book I'm reading for a political science class says it best.

"The relative difference between this and other waves of immigration is that these immigrants want to share in the distribution of the nation's material goods, but they are hardly interested at all in identifying with the political values of the same community."

Jean Leca in "Questions on Citizenship"
Dimensions of Radical Democracy (Chaltal Mouffe, editor)

Update: Laura posts in agreement with Michelle Malkin over the divisiveness of the protesters' reactions in relation to "reactive culturalism".

I'm getting hints that people (including big fans) don't check as often as I update. Try one of the syndication tools now on the right of the page, especially the email one if you're not familiar with RSS or Firefox live bookmarks.

Today's print edition of the Wildcat contains an article from the Indiana Daily Student concerning fake profiles on Facebook. The article notes at minimum a fake profile based on sports analyist Lee Corso and a group "with a few curse words in it" according to a student.

Facebook indicates that "Fake/celebrity names are not permitted, everyone knows that you aren't Paris Hilton.", but this is the first mention I've heard of the policy being enforced.

Current bogus Facebook activity at the University of Arizona includes a group dedicated to bogus profiles, Ghengis Khan, "Chocolate Covered Strawberries", and -- my personal favorite -- Bill O'Reilly.

ASUA University Relations Director and former senate candidate Brad Burns has notified me that an open forum on the proposed mandatory student union fee has been called. Burns will be debating in opposition to the fee against University Activities Board President Bridgette Gallagher at 7pm in the Union Kiva.

This upcoming Wednesday, March 29, ASUA and the Young Democrats will be hosting an open forum concerning the Student Union fee proposal and referendum being held on April 11th and 12th. Students and members of the public will be able to ask questions and engage a proponent and an opponent of the fee, University Activities Board President Bridgette Gallagher and ASUA University Relations Director Brad Burns, respectively.

The forum will be hosted debate style between the proponent and opponent of the fee and will be followed by a public question and answer session for both Miss Gallagher and Mr. Burns. During this time period, we invite any interested student or media outlet to express concerns or questions regarding the fee proposal and referendum.

Topics about the fee that will be addressed include the fee’s justification, distribution, and subsequent student oversight.

Moderator: ASUA Senator Rhonda Tubbs
Proponent: UAB President Bridgette Gallagher
Opponent: ASUA University Relations Director Brad Burns
7pm on Wednesday, March 29th in the SUMC Kiva Room

Sounds fun.

I was expecting to see something in the Wildcat this morning about the Dean of Students office dropping charges against ASUA President Cade Bernsen. Nothing at all, not in the Wildcat, not in the Star, not in the Citizen.

Granted, my only source is Cade Bernsen himself. Developing...

Update (28 March): The Wildcat tells me that they're trying to confirm Bernsen's claim with the Dean of Students office.

According to a letter sent to me by ASUA President Cade Bernsen, the Dean of Students office has dismissed the charges of sexual harassment. The time of receipt was 3:23 P.M. local time.

3-24-06

Dear Friends,

After months of living under the burden of false accusations, I am pleased to announce that the charges of sexual assault and indecent exposure against me have been dismissed by the Dean of Students.

As you may recall on November 29, 2005, I was confronted by a certain group of students who wanted me out of office and was informed that, if I did not resign as ASUA President within the next few hours, I would be publicly humiliated with charges of sexual assault and indecent exposure. I refused and was subsequently treated to the lurid spectacle in the Arizona Daily Wildcat that was repeated in other papers around the country. I was surprised and ashamed that our college newspaper would print a story with no adequate investigation and write the article as if the graphic and fabricated incidents were true. I am now requesting that these papers print that these accusations have been dismissed.

There were people who assumed my guilt. I was tried by rumor, hearsay, innuendo, and every other unfair way. When I said that I had heard of secret meetings as early as September, 2005, by individuals to plot my removal from office, I was ridiculed and told that the idea was preposterous. People in those meetings and some of my accusers denied that any meetings took place. As witnesses have come forward, these certain individuals have been forced to confess that there were indeed multiple meetings to plot my impeachment and embarrass me into resigning.

During the Christmas break after much prayer and consultation with family and friends, I made the decision to stay and fight these accusations. Regardless of my innocence or guilt, many thought I should resign to preserve the so-called status quo and avoid the inevitable pain that would accompany such an ordeal. They were wrong. I did not ask for or cause this situation to occur. I will not back down and I will not give up. When I took office I promised the students that I would be a warrior. While this is not the way I envisioned it, I believe I am keeping that promise. I will also be ever mindful of those who stood with me during the darkest days of this ordeal and those who scurried as soon as the going got tough.

I thank God, my family, friends, and all those who have expressed their support during this most difficult time. I also want to thank the many witnesses who came forward to speak out on my behalf despite being discouraged and even threatened. There were certainly people who wanted to sweep this situation under the rug and make it go away, but that is not going to happen. I am blessed that despite all the pain and agony these charges and their irresponsible publication has caused, an investigation has taken place and the charges have been dismissed.

David Cade Bernsen

Good Night and Good Luck

I need a copy of Nancy Fraser's Unruly Practices: Power, Discourse, and Gender in Contemporary Social Theory after having misplaced it. Essay due Monday. Will pay $5.00 above list price.

Out with elections, in with issues.

I noticed a two-page flyer in my Japanese classroom today regarding ASUA unjustifiably "claiming to represent" graduate students. This is a field in which I have absolutely no experience other than articles in the Wildcat, so let's get down to the issue and fire up some debate.

Question of the Week will hopefully become a weekly feature on the Factor. EMAIL your response here. DO NOT RESPOND IN THE COMMENTS. Additionally, if you have suggestions for future questions of the week, email me in the same fashion.

The question: Does ASUA represent graduate students well? What exactly should a separation between GPSC and ASUA constitute?

What can I say? This is too much to cover in the amount of time that I have to do things like this. The lack of candidate response doesn't help, either. Perhaps I'll just stick to mockery via graphics projects. I might not even vote, simply out of protest.

Apologies/special thanks to Albert Borgmann.