A Tribute to Some Deserving Recognition
Don’t you just hate it when good people fail to get the recognition they deserve? The Siege certainly does. Santa Monica College has some folks (click here) involved with the Office of Student Life, student government and school newspaper – the Corsair – who just haven’t gotten the attention that should have come their way. In a democracy, such information is very important.
And with the Corsair mostly disinterested in many student affairs for much of this year (click here), despite the presence of “Corsair club” (How many times did your club actually meet this year, exactly?) representative and the paper’s news editor, Lauren Ciancimino, at Inter-Club Council meetings, you’d have thought there might be better coverage. But no, there wasn’t. In fact, the paper could hardly have taken less interest in many of the critical issues raised at student government meetings because, generally, no reporter showed up to find out what those issues were. And even if they were in attendance, not a peep was the usual result.
So The Siege has gladly produced a couple of videos to fill this vacuum and to honor just three people (Student Activities Advisor Benny Blaydes, outgoing ICC Chair and incoming A.S. President Victoria Pregler – both featured in video 1 - and Jeremy Meyer, Corsair editor in chief – in video 2 - that you might have learned more about, if anybody cared to tell you. (Meyer is the good-looking fellow on the right.)
Time permitting, The Siege will be expose to readers more participants from the Office of Student Life who shouldn’t fail to get the recognition they’ve so richly earned.
June 12th, 2006 at 5:18 pm
It is amazing how often those who represent us know either nothing, or very little about the guidelines required and the topics they are supposed to be representing for us. How can we assure ourselves in future elections that those who would represent us actually know the positions they are running for and the guidelines for the process? More of us need to attend these meetings. I appreciate that this venue is now available to record what is happening at some of these meetings so we can be more informed. Keep up the good work and let’s either get those current representative motivated to work for us or get them the heck out of there!!
July 8th, 2006 at 1:51 am
A “Concerned Student” my ass! What’s up with hiding behind a fake name? Have the balls to take a stand if you believe something.
How do we get rid of these jokers? Sounds like the advisors and some directors are really doing a number on student government. And people wonder why students don’t care about it. Fantastic that you got the District Attorney on them. That must have been a letter they weren’t expecting! How can we get advisors who’ll do the job that should be done?
The Siege is great! Your videos crack me up. It’s what SMC has been needing. You should check out the Film Club. They have all kinds of stuff that could be on your site.
July 10th, 2006 at 11:42 am
Some comments regarding previous postings.
I have been reading the previous postings regarding this article with interest. Both sides of the commentaries make valid points. “Concered Student”, I understand the reasoning behind some of your comments, and I appreciate some of the concerns you have expressed, however I must question some of your remarks. Any person who accepts a position of responsibility is accountable for their all of their actions or inaction in while holding that position, as you have agreed to, in one of your postings. Yet most of you commentary is in defense of those performing improper and illegal activity while they are responsible to the Student Body. How can any job being performed improperly and illegally be a “benefit” to the Student Body? Why would you defend that position? You state that this site is not representative of the majority of opinions held by the Student Body, and list examples of walk-outs from meetings. It is my experience that most people do not want to become involved in any kind of confrontational situation even if it is for their own good or on their behalf. In today’s society it seems to be the public’s opinion that it is better to let others take up the responsibility for change rather than to become involved. Isn’t it possible, that this response of deniability, and refusal to become involved in sensitive matters that could hold retaliatory actions, is the response you are seeing? The Administration and teachers involved in these situations hold quite the hand of retaliation over any student’s head! I agree with you that radical actions are uncalled for, but isn’t it historically correct to state that in most situations where change is required from people or organizations in positions of power, the calm, quiet requests are overlooked and only more obstreporous methods finally generate enough attention to make change occur? If I recall correctly, someone did try to address these problems during a meeting and was promptly shut down. Do you sincerely support, this now proven illegal suppression, by those not performing responsibly in their positions of power and representation? Suppression and illegal activites are not the representation I want, and I doubt the Student Body wants this kind of representation either.
With regard to the commentary about writing under a fictitous or pen name, etc. What’s wrong with that? Thousands of people write under a name not their own, and the derogatory comments (a mild form of persecution) that were made in some of the comments are exactly why fictitous names are used. Personally I find the use of that type of commentary only makes your own statements appear less legitimate, and I certainly do not feel they reflect well on this site.
I believe in this site and its possiblities to make positive changes. These unethical situations will obviously find no forum in the school paper which is under the watchful eye of the administration who definately do not want negativity exposed. However, it is obvious changes need to be made, and this site gives us the opportunity to be aware of where it needs to be made and the opportunity to be involved in that change if we want to be.