The Official ASUCI Magazine
the 'vine
Spring '11 Edition
Wayzgoose 2011 Earth Week Visions Leadership
the 'vine
word on
: the fundamentals T
he idea of taking pride in your school was always such a foreign concept to me. School was just an institution, a place that I have to go to in order to get my degree. It was only one cog in the giant machine of life, an expected step after high school that proceeded naturally in the grand scheme of things. I’d wager a limb that this kind of detachment is on par for course for the average UCI student. It’s why the word “anteater” is synonymous with apathy, commuter, boring, and transience. If you blink, four or five years of your life will be gone—just like that. The only question is: what will you have to show for it?
the 'vine
For some, UCI is not a top-tier school—only a secondary (or tertiary) option, but it is precisely this kind of attitude that keeps the shroud of secondary firmly in place. “This wasn’t my first choice, so I won’t try as hard.” What does it matter if we go to a community college, a UC, or an Ivy League school? No matter where we go, we are where we are, and while some may distance themselves from the school, others attach themselves with the kind of fervor that diehard Cavs fans exhibit if only because it’s the only thing they have to live for. We don’t have the flashiest sports programs (though we dominate in water polo and volleyball) and Irvine may not be the most exciting place to live in, but UCI is still our school. Many students have the false notion that life doesn’t truly begin until after you graduate. After dealing with multiple classes, homework assignments, and essays, we’ll finally have the luxury of focusing on one thing after we find a job—at least that’s the prevailing train of thought—and why not? Thanks to budget cuts, it takes longer than ever to get a degree. The longer we stay in school, the longer we can delay our entry into the “realworld.” But to think this way is to err. The number of opportunities we have access to right now will probably be higher than in any other moment of our lives. We can choose to do so much without any restrictions such as your degree or resume. Don’t let time past you by with regret. Do something, anything—it doesn’t matter. Join a club, attend an event, or just talk to people! Most students are proud of their schools simply by association, not because they actually did anything worth a damn. Getting into the school was their only goal and their biggest accomplishment. But for us anteaters, let’s not deal with shallow pride. Let’s be proud not because our school is great, but because we made it great. Let’s make UCI the best, through our efforts, individually, collectively, with one accomplishment at a time. Life has already started for us, it's time to start living it.
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Sincerely,
Thanh T. Le
Editor
: for the students President's Address Here's to a Great Year, Anteaters! Hey Anteaters! As we near the end of our 2010-2011 academic year, I want to recap some of the amazing achievements and experiences we’ve had at UCI. In the fall, we
document with all 4 communities, and created a strong relationship with GUSH, and helped with their projects and elections. All in all, we saw residents and staff in the communities acknowledge and appreciate our work at the end of the day. Our sustainability commission was created towards the end of the year, but still managed to come in with a bang. We put on UCI’s first ever Green Laces Game, with the UCI baseball team promoting sustainable awareness on campus by wearing green recycled shoelaces. Nearly 400 students attended the game to watch the Anteater baseball team take on the Aggies and participate in UCI’s first ever “green-out.” We also participated in the planning efforts for April’s Earth Week. Each day had its own themes ranging from sustainable transportation to sustainable energy initiatives promoting awareness about campus and community programs to “go green” through movies such as “Dive,” boothing from sustainable student organizations like Green Campus and Anteater’s for Recycling and Conservation, and a green career panel led by UCI’s own green administrators.
broke a world record for the biggest dodgeball tournament, our Welcome Week had the best turnout in decades, we had over 1800 anteaters register to vote, established the first Speaker Pro Tempore position in Legislative Council, had an enlightenIn addition, our first ever communications team, comprised ing event featuring a progressive sex education speaker and of over thirty interns, was created. Interns worked under hosted a jam-packed basketball rally. Our fifth annual Shocktovarious commissions and liaisons within our office, and also berfest and Midnight Magic were a success. worked as a whole to visit organizations around campus and This winter, we also hosted a variety of events including the relay information between the student government and the vendor fair, comedy and movie nights, a TGIF-organized tree- student body. Our campus advocate team worked tirelessly all planting in Aldrich Park, and started the first ever UCI Farmer’s year and was able to negotiate a deal with John Wayne Airport market on Ring Road. We had our annual Care-A-Thon and to finally start carrying UCI gear in airport stores, a great way to raised money for the neo-natal ICU at UCI Medical center. spread Anteater pride through Orange County and showcase Spring brought events such as the speaker debate featuring our university to visitors the moment they step off the plane. personalities Ron Jeremy and author Susan Orlean, as well as Through our continued advocacy efforts throughout the our annual Wayzgoose sustainability festival and charity event, year, we were able help secure spaces for the Anteater Garden Relay for Life. As always, we enjoyed our annual Reggaefest in AV, the SOAR center in Gateway, and got our own UCI Army and saw a great voter turnout for spring elections. Battalion and ensured them a space in Natural Sciences. We I’d like to take the opportunity to outline some of the things achieved student representation on the UCI Foundation Board that the Office of the President has specifically achieved this of Trustees and another student seat on the EVC/Provost’s year. Many of the positions in the office were brand-new and Budget working group. we had a wonderful staff full of able and passionate commisThese and other accomplishments helped us to achieve our sioners and liaisons to get the ball really rolling. major goals this year: communication between the student Our housing commission was extremely valuable in creating government and the students body, student involvement in all a strong relationship between the housing communities and of the great programs and activities that are available around the student government. We boothed during carnivals and club campus, and advocacy for student rights and concerns. fairs in the communities and gave out spirit packs with Peter the Anteater. One of the commission’s most significant accomWarmly, plishments was being present at almost all general meetings in each community and giving a detailed summary of what was Sitara Nayudu going on with ASUCI and ways to get involved. Commissioners President and interns showed support by helping and being present at Associated Students | University of California, Irvine each community’s own events. We had lunch-ins with executives and the residents, created an extensive housing contact president@asuci.uci.edu | 949 824-2415
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the 'vine : Associated Students
Legislative Executive Officers Council So the biggest question is: what the heck is ASUCI? To put it simply, ASUCI is the student government. The structure is modeled after our nation's system with three branches: Legislative Council, the Executive Office, and the Judicial Branch. Other than spamming your inbox with superfluous information, ASUCI is responsible for a fair number of programs on campus. It's time to get wise about your tuition.
The Executive Branch is composed of 5 offices: Office of the President, Executive Vice President (EVP), Academic Affairs, Administrative Affairs, and Student Services. The Executive Branch is the main muscle, putting the fancy words written on legislation into action.
For Legislative Council, each school has a representative. So which schools? The School of Biological Sciences, Social Sciences, Social Ecology, Physical Sciences, Information and Computer Science, Fine Arts, Engineering, Humanities and the student body At-Large.
Despite being the "main" executive officer, the position isn't clearly defined. It is a role that the person who is elected must define for themselves. The President for this year had three main goals: communication, student involvement, and advocacy. The President is also the only student who sits in on budget working meetings for the school and makes a case for where the money should go.
So what's so important about them? They are responsible for approving the budget as well as accepting or rejecting legislation. This gives them a fair amount of power since they control the lion's share of the wealth. Many of the programs run by ASUCI such as TGIF, Visions, Anteater Mentorship, and numerous others didn't just come to be because somebody wanted them to. It had to be approved and pushed through as legislation. Once it was approved, the students get a chance to vote on it, and if it passes, money is allocated to fund the program and related services. One of the secrets of the student government is that we're sitting on a huge pile of money. We have enough to theoretically do whatever we want but since nobody's legislating, there's no reason to dip into the reserves. So what are you waiting for? Start drafting! Page 4 - Spring 2011
President
Administrative Affairs I once asked the Administrative Affairs VP what he does and he couldn't give me a straight answer. No matter, because all you really need to know about Administrative Affairs is that they're responsible for all the Vendor Fairs and Farmer's Markets that come to UCI. The Legal Clinic also falls under their jurisdiction as well as the TGIF fund, which everybody uses to fund their events nowadays.
University of California: Irvine
Academic Affairs
Academic Affairs is in charge of some cool stuff: like the Anteater Mentorship Program helps transition freshman into college life; the Visions Leadership class teaches students how to become a leader; and Uteach gives undergrads the opportunity to teach other undergrads. That's not to mention all the great Speakers Series and Professor Luncheons they put on.
Executive VP When it comes to outside politics, EVP is the place to go. EVP helps connect students to real politics and has many programs to teach us how to lobby and get our voices heard. EVP connects to other campuses as well and pushes initiatives that help the entire campus from voter registration to budget petitioning.
Student Services Arguably the flashiest office with the simplest goal: make the students have fun. Student Services accomplishes this by putting up events such as Shocktoberfest, Homecoming, Celebrate UCI, and Reggaefest. They also handle smaller events such as Noontunes, Comedy Nights at the Pub, the Sports Rallies, and Movie Nights, where we get free advance screenings of great films. Fun fun fun.
Judicial Branch ASUCI wasn't made from scratch. Behind every good system is a document, and the document for ASUCI is our Constitution. It basically defines what an officer can or cannot do within the confines of their position. Like any good document, things are open to interpretation. That's when the Judicial Branch steps in. Their job is to interpret the Constitution and oversee cases to see if there are violations.
The Judicial Branch is an odd beast since their job is to make sure that ASUCI isn't—for lack of a better word— corrupted. If any Executive Officer is abusing their power, then the Judicial Branch will be the first to crack down on it. If, for any reason, you have a grievance against a policy or person of ASUCI, then bring it to the attention of the Judicial Branch. The less work these guys get, the better, because it means we're doing our job. Page 5 - Spring 2011
the 'vine
: celebrate UCI
Wayzgoose 2011 This year's Celebrate UCI was a smashing success. The day was a scorcher, but that didn't stop the crowd from coming. Celebrate UCI is a day that lives up to its name, celebrating the achievements of the campus while having a lot of fun at the same time. The day has many events running simultaneously, the biggest of which is Wayzgoose, the in-park festival filled with rides, games, and entertainment for everybody.
Ferris Wheel At this year's Wayzgoose Festival, Student Services went out of their way to get a bona-fide Ferris wheel in Aldrich Park, a first in the history of Wayzgoose. This gave students a chance to see Aldrich Park from up high for the first time. Riders have noted that the wheel spun unusually fast, making it a little more thrilling than your run-of-the-mill Ferris Wheel!
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Family Stage The grandson of the original artist for BC was teaching how to draw an anteater. This was also where the Wild Wonders show was held where kids got to check out snakes, big cats, and a wide array of bugs. The Family Stage was a big hit with all the games and animals.
Main Stage The main stage was a where homegrown UCI talent, both current and alumnus, had a chance to strut their stuff. Chances like these don't come often, so it's always a great idea to check it out!
: achievements unlocked A Year In Review: Reflections The year has come and gone but a lot has happened. All of ASUCI has done a great job of reaching the goals they set out from the beginning as well as setting things up for the future. It may not seem like it, but ASUCI has always been hard at work to help the students. These are but a few of the many things the student government was able to accomplish this year.
Academic Affairs Steve Scifo
Executive Vice President Andres Gonzales
1. Held two guest lectures that drew over 1000 students, earning us front page coverage in the New U for Ron Jeremy and Susan Cole's presentation
1. Held the U.C. Student Association Congress with over 460 students from across the State to decide on the yearly advocacy campaign
2. Gained the Academic Senate's approval to make course evaluation results public
2. Held a critical budget forum, in conjunction with the UCI AGS, featuring Assemblyman Don Wagnor, telecasted via COX Communications
3. Gave 10 students the opportunity to teach their own class, topics include: Philippine Mythology, Environmental Crisis Study, and Design Narrative in Video Games
3. Over 2,000 post cards in support of the DREAM Act (2nd in the State)
Student Services Grace Poon
1. Athletics: -Nearly every time Peter the Anteater makes an appearance at an on-campus event, WE put him in there -Four successful rallies where we brought the Kogi Truck, UCI’s largest rockstar pong tournament in school history, carnival food and games with real-live fish, and the first ever bonfire at the Bren! -Think Pink & Go Green: Raise breast cancer awareness through 1000 environmentally friendly, 100% organic cotton tees funded by TGIF given away to Anteaters attending men's basketball, women's basketball, and baseball games 2. Club Outreach Commission: -President's Roundtable: Transformed this event into a resource for campus organization leaders, where executive members can exchange information as well as learn about the different themed topic for each roundtable. Attendance is now over 50+ leaders! -Winter Wonderland Booth Fair: Over 30+ clubs participated. Students could navigate the fair by a map of Campus Organization booths on Ring Road! -First Annual Club Olympics: opportunity for organizations to collaborate and get to know each other while having fun playing games and competing 3. Films Commission: Advanced screening of: 127 Hours, Cedar Rapids, Your Highness, and Bridesmaids
4. Guided over 60 students in creating advocacy projects to address student needs
4. Surpassed all-time California State Midterm Elections voter registration numbers
4. UCI Spirit Days: Brought them back! Give away spirit packs to students dressed in spirit gear on the first Wednesday of every month
5. Helped over 50 freshmen make new friends and transition into college life
5. Increased voter turnout by nearly 1,600 voters in ASUCI elections
5. Haunted Happy Hour: At the Pub, brought games and festivities for a haunted happy hour at the pub in celebration of Halloween
6. Advocated against making prerequisite courses only available in the summer as a solution to the budget crisis 7. Laid the groundwork to improve grade distribution policies 8. Helped bring about the return of the Student Recommended Faculty Program
6. Won Campus of the Year for the 20102011 Academic Year in the NATION, as awarded by the United States Student Association
6. Shocktoberfest: Street Festival, Concert, and AfterShock with Cali Swag District & Kevin Rudolf, along with DJ Miles and DJ Geo D
7. Lobbied and met with Chairman to the Regents, Russ Gould, California State legislators (both in district and in Sacramento), the federal government House representatives and Senator Barbara Boxer's staff in Washington, D.C.
8. Wayzgoose:
8. Met with administration to advocate for a cell phone tower for East Campus housing
-2011 UCI Spirit Photo Contest
7. Homecoming: revitalized this week to include many new and different events -Brought the first ever Ferris Wheel -Filled ALL 130 + booth spots -Held the first annual Campus Organization Scavenger Hunt -ECO-Friendly Fashion show
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the 'vine
: Earth Week
Green for Seven Days UCI’s dedication to sustainability was shown through the campus-run events of Earth Week from April 15 through April 23. The first event that took place supported students’ future green career goals. The Green Campus club organized a Southern California Green Jobs Fair at UCLA. Students were able to interact with various green businesses and establish networking connections for those seeking jobs in the sustainability field. A part of UCI’s annual Wayzgoose festival in Aldrich Park, TGIF sponsored the Sustainable Living Road Show, which put on various activities teaching students how to live sustainably.
Monday, April 18 Food
Tuesday, April 19th Transportation
Wednesday, April 20th Water and Waste
UCI Dining Common promoted ‘greener’ food options with more local and organic options that are already available. Real Food Challenge had a booth about ASUCI’s Student Run Garden “Ants in your Plants!” In the evening, a documentary screening of the movie Dive took place where students could talk with the producers of the movie. The film follows dumpster divers in pursuit of food behind local stores in LA.
Orange County and the ASUCI Shuttles teamed up to promote their public transportation systems available to students while encouraging sustainable transportation. UCI’s local Bike Religion, Zotwheels, and Zipcar were along Ring Road to advocate sustainable bike usage and car sharing.
TGIF promoted their three newly installed hydration stations on campus that implement less plastic water bottle usage. The City of Irvine and South Orange County held information booths to learn about ways students can conserve water and waste.
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: sustainability TGIF has been a great partner for The 'Vine and ASUCI. It is an infinitely useful (but sustainable) resource. I encourage any and all groups and organizations to help improve our campus, make it greener, more sustainable, and environmentally friendly as we move forward with the help and cooperation of TGIF.
Thursday, April 21st Energy Green Campus Club organized a Green Campus Energy Panel with Facilities Management Energy Experts: Allen Shiroma and Matt Gudorf in the Dr. Joseph White Conference room of the Cross Cultural Center. The panel focused on energy jobs and careers in the environmental field. That night, the movie Bag It explored the experiences of one man’s mission to show how harmful plastic bags are for the people, animals, and the planet.
Friday, April 22nd Tree Planting and Green Laces Game The week’s events concluded with UCI’s second tree planting of the academic school year. Dozens of students showed up to plant more native, noninvasive trees in Aldrich Park in an effort to make the campus more sustainable and add to the total of 20,000 trees on campus. That night, Earth Week was capped off by the first ever Green Laces Game with the UCI baseball team. The team wore bright green recycled shoe laces to promote sustainable awareness.
Saturday, April 23 Jam and Jam UCI students came out to DIY’s Jam and Jam session in Arroyo Vista’s Amphitheater while Anteaters helped to grow UCI’s first sustainable garden. Students came out to enjoy their favorite music while making jam (preserves).
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the 'vine
: spotlighting
I Have Visions: Leadership Class By Thanh Le
He’s at the front of the classroom drawing all the attention from the young students before him. Despite his rotund frame, which might draw comparisons to his nickname—Panda—he moves quickly. He paces back and forth, always in motion, his hands going in circles. “Exactly,” he says, pointing towards a student. The class blinks, and he continues the lecture.
His name is Matthew Gayomali, instructor for the ASUCI Leadership Visions Class. The class is sponsored by the student government at UCI. The goal of the class is to teach students leadership skills and get them involved with on and off-campus programs. Matt himself once took the class, but this year, he’s the one teaching it. Every Wednesday at 3:00, Matt rushes from the end of his class to make it to room MM116, he can’t be late as the teacher of his own class after all. The classroom itself is tucked away in the belly of the Multimedia Arts Building near the Claire Trevor School of Arts. The classroom, MM116, can only be reached by going down a set of stairs and through a hallway that is hidden from outside view. As a fourth-year Psychology major, Matt is only a few years removed from his students. He is in charge of the Visions Leadership Class, a program that started more than 20 years ago. The class is a little unusual; it is taught by undergrads to undergrads. Despite running more than 20 years, the class is still relatively unknown. Enrollment for the class never exceeded more than 20 students—at least until this year. Matt’s goal is simple: to change that perception and put the Visions class on the map alongside prestigious leadership programs like the Student/Parent Orientation Program (SPOP). SPOP is the orientation program that all incoming freshmen have to go through when they enter UCI. The students who lead the program, the SPOP staff, acquire many skills from group management, communication, and public speaking. It has the reputation of being a life-changing experience that forges unbreakable bonds between staff. Matt wants the Leadership Visions course to be just as good, if not, better. Dressed in a diamond-patterned sweater, Matt gives an easy-going grin, slightly wrinkling the corners of his mouth. He stands in front of a class of twenty-five students. There are nineteen girls and six guys. Most of them are freshman and sophomores, but only two are not. “Let’s start the lecture,” Matt says.
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: leadership A hand shoots up in the back; it belongs to a boy in a collar shirt. “Oh, I do!” “Okay, go ahead.” The boy looks to his teammate. “Alright, you go now.” The class laughs. Nonetheless, the teammate gladly takes over. “Well,” he drawls in an effeminate voice, “I would be the hunter, because I like to kill stuff, but I’m also a protector.” His presentation is lost in the laughter. “I want to kill big snakes with rocks…so basically, we’ll have He doesn’t speak through force of authority. His voice is food every time something attacks us.” loud, but not commanding. Sometimes he gets too excited, The other groups try to be funny with their answers as well. and his voice can’t catch up with his thoughts. He stutters, re- Matt volleys with their answers easily, following up each prepeating words until he can complete the sequence he wants to sentation with comments and zingers. say. But his message is perfectly clear, and the students under“And as for me, I’ll be the worker who does everything,” one stand easily. of the girls say. “But first, we’re going to play a little a game.” Matt cracks an invisible whip. The students rise from their seats and walk to the front When all the groups are done presenting, Matt starts his where they can separate into groups of four. Matt lets one of PowerPoint presentation. his TA’s take over. “Okay, now it’s time to start ze lecture.” “We’re going to play the island game. Imagine yourself He speaks about leadership philosophy, about the difference stranded on an island. Everybody has to work together and use between good and great leaders using examples like Derek their strengths to find their role.” The game is designed to make students think about what Fisher, former ASUCI president Megan Braun, and Jim Collins. they are best at and use their best skill to define their role. A good leader can lead an organization to success, but a great Each group of four is stranded on a hypothetical island. The leader can leave an organization successful. Out of the twenty some odd students in class, only two are students have to talk to each other and figure out what job they’re best suited for. The jobs could be anything from hunter, not freshman. Many are interns for the student government. Students are required to meet with Matt or Brian—one of the gatherer, builder, or leader. The students nod. The room starts up, vibrating to the low TA’s—outside of class for advice on leadership opportunities. hum of conversation. The chatter is indistinct, a low murmur One of the students sitting in the back, a senior, constantly rubs his eyes and neck. He is bored. that clogs the ears. Matt wanders around the perimeter of desks arranged in vertical rows.
...continued on page 12.
“This is boring time to me,” he says, smiling. “I wish I could just join a group, but it wouldn’t be fair to the rest of the class.” His brown eyes gleam as he watches students talk to each other. He wants to join an island and take over as chief. Ten minutes pass, and the TA makes an announcement to the class. “3 minutes left!” The game ends. It’s time to see the results. Matt’s eyes wander around the room. “So who wants to go first?” he asks.
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the 'vine The TA looks at him. “Oh him? He’s graduating this year; he’s just taking this class for the 1.3 units. He spoke with Matt and he let him in.” Matt is a generous person. He attributes his kindness to his background. He was born in Long Beach on April 4th, 1989. His family came from the Philippines. "I’m Filipino you know, as a boy I had to cater to all my aunts.” As a boy, he catered to everyone. Growing up in California, he lived with a selfless mentality. Nothing delighted him more than the opportunity to help people out. He naturally flocked to the Visions Class where he had a chance to inspire other students to become proactive. He loved speaking in front of people, and teaching let him do just that. Matt asks the class a philosophical question as part of his lesson. “What does happy mean?” None of the students answer. “It’s a really hard question isn’t it? Just think back to your happiest moment. For me, it was when I was a first grade teacher.” He wasn’t really a first grade teacher; he joined a program last year where he was able to shadow a real first grade teacher, Mrs. Rosenthal, who was apparently the most amazing first grade teacher he ever knew, but he liked to call himself a first grade teacher. “We were having this pumpkin carv-
: great expectations ing contest, and there were all these kids and they were really excited. They were like ‘yeah! let's go carve some pumpkins!’ I thought to myself, this is SO awesome, I cannot be happier than this. So what does it mean to be happy?” “To be content?” an unsure voice offers. Matt nods with approval. “It’s a good answer. What does it mean to be content, to exist?” “To be.” “To be or not to be,” Matt starts excitedly, delivering the first few lines of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy in rushed condensed form, “whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer…” He frequently digresses into flights of fancy as he lectures, adopting different personalities and singing phrases in falsetto voices. This is his class. This is his version of leadership. Last year, the class was taught with straight lectures. This year, he changed it. He made the class more interactive with more group activities. He has them standing up, talking, and walking with each other. “For life to have meaning, you have to have a goal. For me for example, after I graduate, I just want to teach. It doesn’t really matter where or who. But one day, I’d like to get a doctorate and become a professor in education.” The class ends, and he leaves them with that thought.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Contributors:
Photographers:
Alyssa Way
Diane Jong
Dahnish Sims
Francisco Correa
Marisha Pareek
Jimmy Nguyen
Sitara Nayudu Page 12 - Spring 2011
With the end of every year, we say goodbye to the old execs and welcome the new generation of student leaders. ASUCI is a great place to start to get involved with leadership opportunities. If you don't like the way things are run, don't just complain, do something about it and join ASUCI! Positions are open, so apply online!
2011-2012 Executive Officers
President
Vikram Nayudu
Executive Vice President Patrick Le
Student Services Vice President Jun Wang
Administrative Affairs Vice President Genevieve Galman
Academic Affairs Vice President Charlyn Arellano