Are you ready for Storelli? No.
I wanted to share with you why I plan to abstain from voting in the entire Associated Students Inc. voting spectacle. First off, I am no Alex Kaplan sympathizer. He represents that truly anyone can get into politics. But more importantly, no one really knows what ASI does. We know it has colorful and fun posters up in the University Union and its employees wear maroon shirts unless they are wearing bright ones to advertise an event. But beyond that, ASI is a mysterious black hole.
Kelly Griggs won the presidency last year, and I have no idea what she brought to the table. Do I feel that Poly was better run this year? Perhaps, but I can’t relate my experience back to her being ASI president. I do know that she didn’t put up a fight with the SLO city council when they proposed and passed numerous pieces of legislation targeting Cal Poly students. I do know that she signed a letter in support of throwing out a lawsuit brought against the CSU by students to lower tuition. The person apparently representing us, the students, sided with administrators and lobbied for an increase in tuition.
But my abstention from this voting process goes beyond a single person. The inner-workings of ASI are still arcane and inefficient. The Epicenter, depending on who you talk to, gives vastly different answers. E-plans only recently became electronic (If you are unfamiliar with E-plans think of it this way: If ASI were in charge of e-mail, it would not be until this year that E-mail was actually not hand-delivered by the post office but came to your computer).
Other schools’ student-bodies work to bring together factions of campus that might not normally come together. With budget cuts and our education on the line ASI responded by allowing us to write our thoughts down on giant posters in the UU.
ASI is a farce and needs to be invaded, liberated, completely rebuilt and made into an organization that advocates for students. An organization that provides meaningful services to a larger demographic on campus.An organization that connects individuals with others to create cross-campus entities. An orgnaization that unites.
Storelli and Kaplan have only brought to the surface a problem that has plagued ASI for years. We are now faced with voting for one candidate; a candidate who came to my club and openly bashed her opponent when she could have let his stupidity speak for himself.
I urge all students who do choose to vote to not vote for Storelli. If we can get more than 50 percent of students who do vote to leave the president spot blank then that is sending a mandate that those who do vote don’t want her. So please join me in sending ASI and Storelli a message that just because she has no opponent doesn’t mean she is being welcomed with open arms.
David Hansen is a biological sciences senior and Mustang Daily guest columnist.
This is the dumbest fucking thing I’ve ever heard. You have no idea what you’re talking about
By the way, David you’re really getting a REALLY great rep for yourself. Your past ‘involvement’ with anything on campus has been nothing but pessimistic and full of cynicism. Why don’t you try becoming involved to make a difference instead of bitching about it from the sidelines all of the time? Instead, you spend your time trying to publicly shoot down the people on campus that really try and help out the student body. I recommend you really learn what you’re talking about and get your facts straight before you write something that is so completely off-color.
I think that writing for the Mustang Daily definitely counts as getting involved — who cares how? To each is own. Everyone who contributes is a part of campus and sometimes we agree and sometimes we don’t. Deal with it, that’s what being a Poly student is about. And look at you — you’re equally putting him and his views down. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and if you are so unhappy about this, I suggest you step up, as David has, and write your own article.
All you do is complain about ASI. I know who you are, and how you act. You are a negative cynical person who does NOTHING but write op-ed pieces to bash on ASI, or you write letters to the editor to bitch about everything. Why don’t you at least attempt to get involved in the issues instead of sitting back on the sidelines and complaining. Why the hell wouldn’t anybody vote. And if you’re so upset, maybe you should have ran for office in ASI and tried to change things.
David,
Here you are again with your single opinion on ASI. While I respect your opinion, I personally would appreciate it if you would come into the office and discuss these issues with us. Send an e-mail to your Board representatives or ASI President. Come speak at the Board of Directors meeting (Wednesday at 7… see ya there!?) I have not seen you once around ASI but you seem to have very strong opinions about it.
It’s simple: If you don’t vote, you have no right to complain. Our office is waiting with open arms, and if you are so passionate with your anti-ASI rhetoric, there is still a chance for you to get elected as a write-in candidate.
http://www.asi.calpoly.edu/candidates
***VOTE MAY 5-6 on the POLY PORTAL!***
One and just to clarify the errors in your column…
ASI President Griggs did not lobby for an increase in tuition. Had the lawsuit been successful and the fee increase reversed, our university (as well as the other 22 campuses) would have been severely affected. You think it’s bad now? Programs and majors across the campus would have been cut and the quality of our education would have been drastically diminished. CAL POLY ASI is one of the strongest in the state.
Additionally, ASI President Griggs convened a focus group to monitor the city ordinances and provide feedback to city council and SLOPD. Our feedback was included and the ordinances are a lot more reasonable that they would have been if she had not pressed the council and SLOPD and advocated for the students.
David, to clarify the inaccuracies in your article…
ASI President Griggs did not lobby for an increase in tuition. Had the lawsuit been successful and the fee increase reversed, our university (as well as the other 22 campuses) would have been severely affected. You think it’s bad now? Programs and majors across the campus would have been cut and the quality of our education would have been drastically diminished. CAL POLY ASI is one of the strongest in the state.
Additionally, ASI President Griggs convened a focus group to monitor the city ordinances and provide feedback to city council and SLOPD. Their feedback was included and the ordinances are a lot more reasonable that they would have been if she had not pressed the council and SLOPD and advocated for the students.
Welcome to politics.
So, David, why aren’t you running for ASI president?
Instead of advocating the complete tear-down of an already functioning (though maybe not perfect) student government system, why don’t you take advantage of it, get informed, and get involved?
It sounds to me like you enjoy complaining from your desk chair… and not having to do much more than lift a finger to cause an online controversy. My suggestion? Walk into the Epicenter and find out what goes on for yourself!
If you’re so unhappy with the current system, try familiarizing yourself with it and its happenings first… and please, don’t throw the baby out with the bath water.
So, if I don’t like what President Bush did, I should run for President? No, of course not. David is just voicing an opinion, and any opinion, regardless of what it conveys, is neither right nor wrong, by definition. I thank David, not for what he stands for, but for the fact that he was willing to stand at all. Because of David, Sarah Storelli, Ryan Moriarty, and Alex Kaplan, I will make an informed decision come election day, and for that, I am truly grateful.
Good job! At least you will be voting!
Just because you don’t necessarily agree with what the Cal Poly Student Body-Elected President has done in the past year does not mean the entire institution of ASI needs to be torn down. I completely agree that everyone should have their own opinion as long as it is not filled with ignorant claims and inaccurate accusations. Get your facts straight, then I’ll let you have an opinion. ASI provides services from child care to sports supervision to funding for clubs. Without it, this campus would be seriously disadvantaged.
Agreed. The saddest part though, is that his comments on the current student body president are inaccurate and are seriously lacking any form of research. I would imagine it’s not an easy job by any means, so senseless and mis-informed critique does nothing but further discredit your article, David.
Can you really insult him for not wanting to vote in an election with one candidate?
I agree, the fact that there is only the choice to vote for one (overachieving) candidate or not to vote all leaves quite a bad taste in my mouth and bad impression of the cal poly political system. It turns off people from choosing to make a difference. Correct me if I’m wrong but as I recall, one of Kelly’s platforms was to make ASI more transparent, so that the students would know there leaders and actually feel like they were working side by side the leaders of their school. I’m not in any way suggesting she hasn’t indeed helped the campus through the tuition raises and ordinance rulings….but where’s her personal touch? As an active member both on campus and in the SLO community, I feel the same animosity that Dave feels towards ASI as a whole. I want to love them, but when I start to let myself trust the student government – seems I always ended leaving disappointed. As far as Storelli goes, I really don’t trust that she’s running to make Cal Poly a better place. This position will be yet another addition to her inflated resume on top of her 15 + board positions.
You are wrong. That was not a platform point… that was Jon’s platform.
I agree. I’m not voting for someone to make “ASI President” 16th on her list of activities. Plus, the fact that she ripped Kaplan down leaves a bad taste in my mouth. He was an easy target. It would’ve shown her to be the bigger man if she would have simply abstained from that biased. It’s so easy to jump on the bandwagon, isn’t it Sarah?
That’s another thing that worries me. I want a voice who’s not going to be afraid to do what’s right, even if it’s not necessarily the easy or cool thing to do. I just don’t see Storelli cutting it, in that respect.
I agree that it might piss you off that the facts in this article are off, but isn’t it interesting that it got published in the first place and people believe these facts? They’re not far-fetched at all. Our student body leaders need to not only be our voices, but show us what they’re saying in our names. That’s great if Griggs did amazing things… but I don’t know about any of them.
Storelli seems like a nice candidate to have, bubbling in chair at her various clubs, but at the end of the day, I want someone who represents ME and MY voice. Someone who’s going to LISTEN to what I have to say, and TELL ME what they said in MY NAME. Not just someone who goes about their business and hopes that the >5 percent of Cal Poly who actually knows what she got done will spread the word. That shows an effective worker, not an effective leader. I’m sorry, but I’m looking for a leader…. and damnit, I want a choice.
Sorry for the grammar, and obviously I meant <5, but you guys get the point. I was heated!
I think that David brings up some good points about ASI. As a former club leader, I’ve had my share of ASI-related headaches. Its inefficient bureaucratic system is primarily focused on liability issues and self-preservation, not unlike most bureaucratic systems. In this regard, I suppose it is a good training program for real-world systems. Learn by doing.
And I have seen more effective, student-run ASI’s at other campuses (Chico State has a great program). The fact of the matter is that the real problem lies not with the student government arm of ASI, but the non-student corporation side of the organization. The middle-aged adults who run the show in ASI are safely insulated from direct student contact outside the ASI kids. They control the money flow within the company.
With regards to this lack of transparency, there are some first steps that ASI can take. They should have a giant organizational chart posted in the UU, along with an open budget for all of its shareholders (us, the students) to see. We pay quarterly dues to keep this organization running, and we should have the right to know its inner-workings.
I also didn’t like that she completely bashed the other candidate. That was unecessary.
You sound just like a Tea Party’er: All complaints, no solutions, no idea what you’re talking about. What’s even funnier/sadder is the fact you also probably feel some twisted form of vindication from the criticism.
Thank you for your opinion. This country was founded on freedom of speech. With that being said, at a place of higher education we should appreciate diverse opinions which in turn give us knowledge that allow us to make more educated decisions!
BLHOME
An “educated decision” would mean that your facts would come from reliable sources. This, my friend, wouldn’t qualifiy as one of those. With all “opinions” considered, please, make an educated decision, yet it wouldn’t hurt to do a little true fact-finding of your own.
I can understand why people don’t like this one candidate election, but is that really ASI’s or Ms. Storelli’s fault? Just because no one else on the campus bothered to fill out the candidate’s packet, to take initiative and run for president, we should not vote. By your logic then I should not have voted in the past presidential election because I did not how the Bush administration ran the country.
As for every claiming Ms. Storelli bashed her former “competition” that is bull. I was in the audience for a number of her presentations and when the subject of Mr. Kaplan came up, she simply said his name, said what she knew of his platform, and explained certain policy that made his main point (tank tops) undo-able. She never bashed him, she just spoke the truth. Would you rather had her give a glowing and false assessment of him, then you could all call her a liar.
“I was in the audience for a number of her presentations”
I don’t think you accidentally walk into a Storelli presentation. Therefore one might conclude you are biased.
Not that I don’t trust your description.
Furthermore it is quite possible to ‘speak the truth’ and bash people at the same time.
For instance I might say ‘Would you rather had her give a glowing and false assessment of him, then you could all call her a liar.’ is an example of faulty logic. Which is both true, and bashes you.
I am actually in more than one of the clubs to which she spoke, therefore your conclusion is wrong and that does not surprise me.
Hey that statement was both true and bashing you, cool beans.
oh X, you’re so wise, teach me your ways…
David,
You state that Storelli “openly bashed her opponent.” I am curious as to what she actually said to warrant such a description of her actions. After knowing Sarah for three years, I am familiar with a classy young woman who would never “bash” anyone. She is polite and well-mannered at all times. As they stand, your statements qualify as libel, but if you do indeed have proof of her opponent-bashing qualities, I would be more than happy to hear it.
naw nicole you have this whole libel thing backwards. it’s only libel if you can demonstrate that what he said is false, not if he can’t demonstrate that it’s true.
burden of proof is ready for storelli…
are YOU ready for storelli?
Ryan,
I think it’s great that you have a good grasp of legal terminology, but, nevertheless, David doesn’t provide any support for his statements. That is all I am asking him to provide.
Also, people take this whole ASI thing a bit too seriously. There’s one candidate, so how is one uninvolved mans opinion going to affect the outcome? Most people don’t care enough to vote in the first place, and many more will likely only vote because they got a reminder email or something of the like.
It’s really silly to see this kind of controversy over something so trivial, considering the situation. Also, no matter how big of a tool Kaplan may or may not be, anonymous internet bashing of someone you don’t know is extremely mature, like for realsies, namean?
While I agree that ASI needs a much needed overhaul, it does not warrant some of the comments made in this article (regardless of Storelli and/or Grigg’s alleged shortcomings). What happens, David, if the majority for students do not vote for Ms. Storelli? Then we have no ASI president? I admit I do not know the internal mechanisms of ASI, but by not voting, it seems like we are picking the greater of the two evils. I have little knowledge of Storelli’s platforms and her involvement on campus, but let’s face it: she’s better than Kaplan!
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While I agree that ASI needs a much needed overhaul, it does not warrant some of the comments made in this article (regardless of Storelli and/or Grigg’s alleged shortcomings). What happens, David, if the majority for students do not vote for Ms. Storelli? Then we have no ASI president? It seems that there is a lot of complaining with very little presentation of a solution. I admit I do not know the internal mechanisms of ASI, but by not voting, it seems like we are picking the greater of the two evils. I have little knowledge of Storelli’s platforms and her involvement on campus, but let’s face it: she’s better than Kaplan!