Just when I thought those crazy kids on UCSU had their act together, they’ve once again fallen into a mindless conniption, kicking and screaming about like a puppy who just got spanked for peeing on the carpet.
Now they want what essentially amounts to a special-interest discount on the use of facilities in the university’s cost centers, such as the UMC. After severing official ties with CU, the fraternities technically aren’t a university-sanctioned student group. They are no longer beholden to CU, but also don’t get the perks. They have to pay full price to use the cost centers, just like any other non-CU entity.
What the “Bill for Fair and Equal Access,” or what I like to call the “bill that essentially grabs every cost center on campus by its metaphorical testicles,” basically amounts to is blackmail. Give us the same pricing as student groups, or we’ll cut your UCSU funding. (Read more about the bill here.)
I’m not exaggerating – the legislation’s wording says so in black and white: “Any cost center that has not been certified to be in compliance with this legislation, shall not be awarded an SOR (Supplemental Operational Reserve) request or any other monetary allocation from the UCSU Finance Board,” the bill states.
Let me get this straight: The frat boys don’t want to follow the university’s rules, so they essentially secede like a bunch of redneck Confederates stuck in 1860. Okay, I can deal with that. That was legit.
But now they want special rights. It’s like Affirmative Action for frat boys. Plus, this measure would force the cost centers to violate university policy. So there’s either an extra chromosome floating around in someone’s DNA, or UCSU wants a showdown with CU administrators.
That, I cannot deal with. The fact that the members of UCSU are so willing to put the cost centers between a rock and the fiery pits of hell is utterly detestable. I supported the UCSU last week in its efforts to keep student fees low and cost-center budget increases non-existent. I still support that. But the idea of yanking funding over something so silly is inexcusable and irresponsible.
I believe Carlos Garcia, the director of the UMC, said it best (view his words here.): “I’m very disappointed the UMC is being held hostage; we had nothing to do with this policy. We didn’t create this policy,” Garcia said. “We are being put in middle, used as pawns. It’s unfair; we did nothing.”
If that isn’t blackmail, then I don’t know what is. This measure benefits a small minority of students, and frankly, it stands to do irreparable harm to every student.
Plus, it is the responsibility of our elected representatives to actually represent the needs and desires of the average student. Given that the vast majority of this school’s nearly 30,000 students are non-Greek, it’s safe to say this bill doesn’t represent those needs.
Oddly enough, it does seem to represent the interests of:
- Charles Johnson, tri-executive and member of Sigma Phi Epsilon;
- Andy Aitchison, tri-executive and member of Sigma Pi;
- Chris Kline, Legislative Council vice president, Interfraternity Council president and member of Zeta Beta Tau;
- Amit Mathur, UCSU Finance Board chairman and Sigma Pi member;
- Scott McEachron, Legislative Council representative at large and Sigma Pi member;
- Ryan Hatch, Legislative Council representative at large and Sigma Pi member;
- Bill Holway, Legislative Council representative at large and Alpha Epsilon member;
- Chance Heath, representative at large and member of Pi Kappa Phi.
My, what an interesting coincidence.
The bill should be discussed at the next Legislative Council meeting at 7 p.m. Thursday in the UMC.
I would encourage you to go and speak out against it.
And I’d encourage UCSU to burn the damn thing.
The Gregorian Rant is a weekly column tackling the issues facing the CU community in a decidedly unsavory fashion. Send death threats and hate mail to Campus Press copy editor and resident sonovabitch Greg Schreier at Gregory.Schreier@colorado.edu.
