CalTV... Finally Here?
http://www.fictionfelicis.com/berkeley/
If anyone remembers the 2003-2004 ASUC election, former President Kris Primm ran his entire platform on creating Cal TV. I remember talking to then-Senator Primm about his issues. He told us "what has the ASUC done for you?" and he told em "I'm going to create a Cal-TV station" (which he actually promised me I could make an appearance on).
Now, two years later, we hear about Cal TV on as a WEBCAST, not a TV channel, but a Webcast! These conatin "clips of stduent life." Any idea of how many people use CalTV? So the campaign of an ASUC president was entirely based upon a shoddy project completed 2 years after his inauguration. Interesting.
Here are some more campaign promises of our elected officials:
Lauren Hubbert in 2003-2004 and Shaudi Falamaki in 2002-2003 proposed off campus swipes for our meal plans. Currently they don't even work in the Bear's Lair. I was promised Cafe Milano swipage.
Christine Lee promised a huge network that joined all the clubs together that would eventually eliminate a lot of flyering on Sporul. The result? live.berkeley.edu... who has used that?
Mengly Tiang in 2004-2005 ran on the CalTV platform. She proved that Kris Primm the year before didn't do his job.
Many senators run and win on some sort of safety platform; who agrees that safety on campus is better? Whenever you ask them about safety on campus and why it's getting worse, they respond with "Well we spent $XYZ this year on..." when you realize they didn't do anythign meaningful.
Yvette Felarca has several occasions run on a platform of "Removing Ward Connerly from the UC Regents." She claimed victory when he "ended his term." That's not an accomplishment, his term ended last year! Also, she claims to run on a platform of bringing affirmative action back to Cal... something only accomplished on a statewide referendum.
The bottom line, the ASUC sepnt a lot of money developing this CalTV initiative for several years and we're just hearing about its existance now. It's not even CalTV, it's a webcast low-quality mpeg. Even the Cal Patriot was able to do a better job, webcasting every senate meeting so we know how accountable our senators are.
posted by DTI @ 7:25 PM
12 comments
12 Comments:
What does CalTV have to do with ASUC? Is there still an association between them?
CalTV was a project that the Office of the President started, spent a lot of money on and never completed anything on it at all, in 2003-2004. It just goes to show the failure of ASUC "projects".
What do the projects have to do with anything? I'd say it "just goes to show the failure" of ASUC. Do you disagree?
I defintiely agree. The ASUC projects are just an example of executives spending money on things we will never see or will never benefit from.
CalTV was always going to be webcast - there was the possibility of putting it across campus dorm rooms, but the crux of it was going to be a 24-7 webcast. I understand its "vodcast", or basically just recorded video clips, which is a cop-out.
There are certain issues that run their course and EVERY politician runs on them, but can't implement. Off-campus meals swipes, class pass on BART, and on-campus safety is always a big one. The campaigning senators are usually as ignorant as you are in voting for them - they get into office, research their campaign promises, and find they're virtually impossible. I can promise you Im going to put big-screen TVs in every dorm room; the trick is whether you're ignorant enough to believe me.
live.berkeley.edu - a)wasn't founded by Christine Lee - she glommed onto it once she saw the potential and helped promote it, and b)lost a lot of credibility after its founder hacked the ASUC webpage.
What would the benefit of a 24/7 Webcast be? Maybe I'm just unfamiliar with Webcasts in general, but aren't they where people have those little Digital Cameras and they broadcast their life from within their room 24 hours per day? Or is that something different?
Andy, you're right... which is why we just shouldn't have the ASUC. Why do candidates year after year from every party run on complete lies? At the best this is simply parties manipulating their candidates to promising the world so they can maintain power in the senate (and these senators are never held accountable). At the worst this is fraud. At the best the guilty people are party leaders; at the worst it's the politicians themselves.
I did forget about the BART pass. But the real question is are the students really this ignorant to know what the ASUC does to them on a daily basis? Or is it that they don't care?
It's like asking a liberal/paleocon, do you really blame Bush or do you blame the system?
There are many problems with the ASUC. No one disagrees that the student population must be represented, but the method - which is currently the ASUC - is questionable.
I served as a Senator a couple years ago, and am actually worked closely with of the Senators mentioned in this posting.
I had many frustrations with my colleagues, who had specific agendas that were more symbolic than practical. That is not the job of the ASUC. I think the One-Card program and other goals, such as bringing in more "culturally-friendly" foods to on-campus restaurants for our fellow peers who have diet restrictions depending on culture, religion, dietary needs, etc. ought to be discussed.
I know that Shaudi, for example, had bi-weekly meetings regarding the One-Card program. She understood it was a multi-year project and that it would need to be pursued by those who replaced her once she left the Senate. She us apprised of her progress, and invited all of us to join her if we were interested. She made a lot of progress by working with new Dining Staff, who shared her goal.
Do not forget that the University, like any large bureaucracy, moves at glacial speed, and is more amenable to the status quo. Making sure there is valid, respected student representation is key in achieving the student body's goals.
If you have so many gripes about the ASUC, figure out an alternative. Don't just complain.
My alternative makes sense, does it not? Give the students their money back! Either that or have proportional representation: Give the students a $55 voucher to decide for themselves where they want their money going to. Like hell if I want my $55 going to give the ASUC a blank check to start propaganda campaigns on issues I may agree or disagree with.
This would have all of the entities and clubs on campus, and I can decide, for example if I want $20 to go to BAMN, $15 to go to BCR, and $20 to the Asian American Association. If this is a government for the students, by the students and of the students, let the ASUC put its money where its mouth is.
Then what happened to Shaudi's plan? That was 3 years ago and we still don't have off campus swipes even though senator Lauren Hubbert claimed she was going to give us off-campus swipes. Soudns like an election scam to me.
Actually Lauren Hubbert collaborated with Shaudi to continue the plan. I worked in the ASUC in 2003-2004 and I know that Lauren also had bi-weekly meetings with the Cal One people and served on the Dining Committee to further expand dining options in the DC and in the larger community. Lauren had the foresight to continue the project, but didn't have a successor willing to take it on, so it has largely gotten lost. I do know that Lauren worked all year to make as much progress as possible in such little time. Cal One is 5 or 6 years in the making, and it will be much longer than a single senate term before it reaches its full potential.
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