I have had plenty of stuff to write about over the past few days, but I have been overwhelmed. One reason is the Undergraduate Student Government election. The ticket I was volunteering for encountered several obstacles. On Tuesday we were banned from campaigning for 36 hours. Then on the last day of the election the ticket was completely disqualified. Minor transgressions were punished with harsh rulings by a biased elections commission. One of the other tickets has made similar and more extreme violations, yet has seen no punishment. I don't want to rant, I was very frustrated and now I am just indifferent towards USG and their structure. We ran an honest and educated campaign and I am proud regardless. My friend Mat said that this is just politics, which it is, but usually there is some form of checks and balances like another commission that we could appeal to. One biased student geared the hearing towards unfair results. She claims that she only did what was right, but it is only right if you apply those harsh standards to all other tickets. Not only is this a sad situation for my campaign, but also for all the students who voted for Owen and Maya.
The Daily Trojan editors wrote, "Discarded votes are worse than unchecked boxes. When students on this campus exercise their right to abstain from political involvement, it can be disappointing. When that same bloc shows up to the booths to say who it wants to see elected and is ignored, it is disgusting…Undergraduate Student Government is muting the same voices it has so much trouble encouraging to sound off in the first place.”
For additional reading on this situation, check out two Daily Trojan articles linked below. Also, read the student responses. Some are eloquent describing the unfortunate situation and some tell the election commissioner to burn in hell... This is quite the election year.
Caine-Babla barred - Elections Commission said promise of $10,000 for student groups violate USG bylaws.
USG needs to address lack of transparency.
Due to my busy schedule I am unable to watch a lot of live tv, so I catch up on shows on my computer. I was watching a little Jon, then a little Colbert, then a little Conan... and I stumbled upon this brilliant video!! Enjoy the Conan and Colbert dance off!
It is incredible what Colbert can do with invisible string. I am quite jealous. I have been practicing and have yet to successfully lift my eyebrow.
On the topic of entertainment, I am really excited for the Watchmen movie. It is a movie based on one of the most celebrated graphic novels of all time. I recently re-read it on my plane flights to and from New York to get even more pumped for the movie. Not only is it an exciting moving for comic book fans, but it will be a remarkable film regardless of your Watchmen knowledge. Below is a video that shows how they are bringing Dr. Manhattan to life. So incredible! The Wired website has additional videos that go behind the scenes of Watchmen. Midnight showing anyone?
For a few years I have been a huge fan of the New Zealand folk comedy duo, Flight of the Conchords. They are getting big now, but I am proud to say that I knew about them before their wonderful HBO show. The group just ended a poster competition on their website and I missed the deadline!!! It ended at 11:59 AM EST, but I assumed it was midnight along with several other participating fans. Either way, I am not too sad because I didn't actually finish the posters I was working on. I did create one (below) based on the Conchord's Hiphopopatamus vs. the Rhymenoceros song. I got flows that glow like phosphorus...
Now off to do some laundry. A presto!
PS - cutest thing ever!!! Kittens!!!
2 comments:
Okay, that kitten thing truely was the cutest thing ever... Its so cute when the one falls off, belly up! Ahhhh I want a kitten!
Haha I hope I didn't sound like it was "just politics"... this is really egregious, even for USG. In the 1970s, there was apparently a member of the Student Senate that had to flee USC and hide for several days out of fear for his personal safety. Oh yeah. And Watergate was apparently engineered by Student Senate alums.
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