OPINION
The california aggie
tuesday, november 1, 2011 3
Letters to the editor
180 video
Information should go 360 On Oct. 25, an unknown group passed out DVDs on campus entitled 180 labeled with nothing more than “Award-Winning Documentary.” Some students who received the video were told it was a historical documentary. To the surprise of many viewers, the video, which began its first half in discussion about the Holocaust, turned quickly and unexpectedly to the subject of abortion. It is the clearly intentional misleading of viewers, and particularly students of UC Davis, that we find deplorable. Many organizations come to campus every week to share their views with willing listeners. Bibles are often passed out around campus to those wishing to take one. In these situations students are aware of the product or idea being sold and are able to make the conscious decision to be exposed to the material or not. The people who created and distributed 180, however, did so with the purpose of confronting an audience who may or may not be aware of the film’s anti-abor-
tion message. Thus, viewers who spent the first 15 minutes hearing about the Holocaust may have been caught completely off-guard by the film’s rapid shift to abortion. The extremity of the comparison, combined with the exceedingly graphic nature of the film’s images and content, could be psychologically injurious to an unprepared viewer. Though a hidden agenda is a lamentable, and unfortunately a common, aspect of propaganda, it is particularly reprehensible in subjects of such a personal nature. Given that its label as “award-winning” came from an organization that passes out thousands of awards a year and requires winners to pay for their own statue, 180 is an example of the misuse of language and information to achieve an end. Knowing the power of language, as all college students should, we believe that positions one argues for and is convinced by should be made using direct language and persuasive evidence –– not misleading rhetorical tactics.
Editorial Board Jason Alpert Editor in Chief Becky Peterson Managing Editor Melissa Freeman Opinion Editor
Hannah Strumwasser Campus Editor Angela Swartz City Editor Erin Migdol Features Editor
Uyen Cao Arts Editor Trevor Cramer Sports Editor
Amy Stewart Science Editor Jasna Hodzic Photography Editor
Editorials represent the collective opinions of The California Aggie editorial board. The Opinion page appears Tuesdays and Thursdays.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
GUEST OPINIONS
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university has made severe cutbacks, laid off or furloughed employees, increased administrative efficiencies I write in response to Jordan with a target of a half billion in savCarroll’s column last Thursday alings in five years and stepped up efleging a connection between forts to generate outside revenue. Occupy Wall Street and the Yes, tuition increases have been University of California. His argupart of this mix. Contrary to what ment was built on some pillars that Mr. Carroll wrote, however, UC resimply are not factual and he iggents will not meet soon to discuss nored or understated some inconmore such increases, and certainly venient truths to make his case. Let not one of 81 percent. Discussion me offer just two examples. of a multi-year budget outline dur First and foremost, it is the state’s ing the last Regents meeting was well-documented disinvestment in aimed at developing a framework higher education – cut roughly in to link state funding with tuition half, in constant dollars, in the past levels and thus allow the universitwo decades – that has driven up tu- ty and students to plan ahead over ition levels. But the budget is not be- years, not months. ing balanced exclusively on the backs No vote was taken on tuition inof students. Faced with a $1 billion creases, nor is one scheduled to be budget shortfall this year alone, and taken at the next meeting. the possibility of an additional $100 Second, Mr. Carroll was incorrect million in state cuts in January, the in his assertion that imbalanced
UC personnel policies are to blame for the system’s woes. The proportion of non-academic staff has not changed at UC in more than a decade. Moreover, close to 60 percent of the non-academic personnel growth across the UC system is from UC medical centers. Teaching hospitals, research initiatives and auxiliary enterprises (supported almost entirely from non-state funds) account for roughly 70 percent of the non-academic growth since 1998. Should Mr. Carroll wish to write again about such issues, I encourage him to give us a call. One key to maintaining the excellence of the world’s best public university system is educating the public about the facts. Dianne Klein Media Relations, University of California Office of the President
Chilean Student Association
ic system that exists in Chile that allows people like him to be the representatives of people without ever having participated in an election. Furthermore, his trip to Davis happens to be at the same time that he is supposed to be working in his District and attending to the concerns of his constituency, according to the house rules of the Chilean Congress. Regarding my second concern, there are still many ChileanCalifornians waiting to see if the association will take a public position regarding the student conflict in Chile. These students need all the
support they can get from fellow students abroad, especially those at UC Davis. Is the association planning to take a stand, because the majority of these students who are studying at UC Davis are the recipient of a scholarship funded by the people of Chile. I myself pay property taxes in Chile, so I have a stake in this matter. So as a taxpayer, I believe that the association should and must take a public position regarding the student conflict in Chile, and not simply wait for the issue to be resolved.
The distribution of the film on our campus took place at the MU, Silo and Wellman lawn. Many students were not informed about the content of the film and were given misleading information when they asked for a summary of the film. Most notably, the distributors and the DVD packaging made no mention of abortion. In fact, the film itself does not discuss abortion until about 15 minutes into the film. When we asked the distributors what group they were representing, who funded the film, who were the producers, or how they learned about how to distribute it, they refused to answer. Overall, the distribution of the films was deceitful and we find their methods problematic. The Holocaust has a cultural impact that is inextricable from this film. Comparing a person’s legal right to choose the outcome of their pregnancy with the Holocaust evokes that cultural understanding and creates an artificial sense of horror. The comparison is not merited and the use of the Holocaust is offensive, insensitive and triggering. The use of the word “choice” both in reference to a person’s choice in the outcome of their pregnancy and to Hitler’s “choice” to commit atrocities during WWII is not comparable. We refute the use of the loaded term “choice” in
the discussion of Hitler’s behavior. We stand in solidarity with students identifying as Jewish, Queer, People of Color, Women, Transgender, Romani and folks with disabilities for whom this film invokes histories of oppression, genocide and erasure. Additionally, we stand in solidarity with folks who have personal histories and experience around the topic of pregnancy, abortion and oppression that may have been triggered. We acknowledge the film as offensive, upsetting, insensitive, reprehensible, vilifying and erasing of history. We would like to express our commitment to supporting students and providing non-judgmental information surrounding pregnancy. A complete list of resources for students who may have been triggered by the film or are looking for accurate information can be found on the online edition. Please stop by the Women’s Center if you are looking for additional information or want to talk about your experience.
Response to “Occupy Wall Street: The UC Connection”
editorials
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I have several concerns regarding the Chilean Student Association of UC Davis, California. It blows my mind that the students who belong to this association have chosen to participate in a lunch with a visiting, unelected Congressman from Chile who was appointed by the leadership of his party (UDI) to represent District #32 in the south. With this act, the message conveyed to the general public is that the association is bypassing the fundamentals of the Democratic process of “one person, one vote” and it condones the anti-democrat-
Response to 180
Tuesday October 26, 2011, an offcampus group distributed DVDs entitled 180 on the UC Davis campus. The intent of this letter is to provide transparency about the content of the film and empower potential viewers to make an informed decision about watching the film. Please be aware that we summarize the film and content may be triggering. The first portion of the film discusses the Holocaust and features several interviews asking individuals on the street what they would do if they had lived in Nazi Germany. The second part of the film compares legalized abortion to the Holocaust in Nazi Germany. From this point on, the film compares a person’s choice about the outcome of their pregnancy to Hitler’s “choice” to commit the atrocities of the Holocaust. Additionally, the film calls abortion “a Holocaust in America that’s sanctioned by the government.” The documentary advises its viewers to actively vote against legalized abortion and provides information on how to further distribute the film. Our response to 180 is multifaceted, and we want to share both our support for the communities affected and make a statement.
Boris Cardenas Chilean-American Davis resident
Daniella Moses Resources & Administrative Intern Jessie Quinn Library Intern On behalf of the Women’s Resources and Research Center
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Rajiv Narayan
Primaries and Profits
H
erman Cain is not running for president, not really. In a recently infamous campaign ad, his manager Mark Block claims, after taking a drag on a cigarette that would make lung cancer itself blush, that we’ve never seen a candidate quite like Herman Cain before. I beg to differ. In this last year, we’ve seen two. Cain, along with Donald Trump (remember him?) and Sarah Palin, belongs to a tribe of non-candidates eager to take the national stage among presidential contenders to earn a pretty penny. You can spot this group from their shared characteristics. First, they tend not
Aggie Athletics By PAUL MEDVED
UC Davis alumnus and parent of former Aggie student-athlete
“My intention is to review the input you provide, and then set a course for achieving excellence in our program and our student-athletes.” With that statement Chancellor Katehi recently declared her intent to decide the future of Aggie Athletics. She’s hiring a new Athletic Director, so she’s decided that the very nature of the program is up for grabs. Her grabs. Oh, and that she considers neither Aggie Athletics nor Aggie studentathletes “excellent” now. It turns out there are very good
to have much political experience. Unless you consider his brief role serving the Federal Reserve in Kansas, Cain has never held political office. Unless you consider his vague desire to run on a third-party slate in the 2000 presidential election, Donald Trump has similarly sparse experience. While Gov. Sarah Palin is the exception, interviews and statements from her vice presidential tour suggest that she failed to take much from that experience. However, ignorance is bliss for this crowd. Whenever the non-candidates are baited by the news media to explain their short political resumes, they usually stand wide-eyed –– as if this is news to them. And then they turn the question around, using it to attack the unpopular political establishment. Back in May at the South Carolina debate, Herman Cain was prompted to justify his political inexperience in contrast to candidates with senatorial, congressional and gubernatorial experience. He redirected attention against career politicians on Capitol Hill with what may have been the line of the night: “How’s that working out for you?” The non-candidates spin their amateur political state into just what the doctor ordered for a corrupt Washington D.C. You can also spot the non-candidates
reasons why Aggie Athletics is the way it is and why Aggie studentathletes are nothing short of amazing. There’s even a name for it: The Davis Way. It’s the real source of Aggie Pride. It’s what makes UC Davis unique and why it won six Director’s Cups at the D2 level. It’s about doing college sports in a principled, values-based way that is almost unheard of in D1. It’s based on an “educational model” and remembering that athletes are students first. It’s what the Ivy League does. It’s what Stanford does (albeit with a much larger budget). But almost no other schools you have ever heard of. Everybody else is going for the
gold. Everybody else plays the lottery. College sports are a terrific thing, but like even a good drug, it can be abused. And abuse is rampant in big time sports where money and egos hold sway over values and principles. In 2010 the chancellor argued that fiscal sustainability required that four important sports be dropped –– and she got away with it. Where is her fiscal sustainability argument this year? What’s sustainable about needing to double or triple spending on Athletics? How much will it cost to add at least 30K seats to Aggie stadium? When the NCAA
See GUEST, page 5
by their loose-cannonisms. Donald Trump ous candidates while they wait for the limelight of public scrutiny to unravel the didn’t just draw notoriety because of his non-candidates. celebrity-status. Trump’s infamy was a At the apogee of their public support, product of his campaign focus. Rather you begin to see the non-candidates for than use his time to develop a policy plattheir true motivations. Just before Donald form, Trump used stump after stump to Trump dropped out of the presidential priprovoke discussion of President Obama’s mary, “Celebrity Apprentice”, for which he birthplace. Sarah Palin’s pseudo-campaign for pres- makes $3 million an episode, was renewed ident was punctuated by conspiracy theo- and Trump was one of the most popular ries she adopted to explain the media bias searches on Google. His brief waffle into the political sphere recharged his brand. against her. And then she joined the Fox Sarah Palin News Network. launched a reali- Herman Cain’s quick wit lends You can also spot the non- ty TV-show, wrote itself to frequent outbursts. He candidates by their loosea book for an $11 suggested building an electric million deal, got fence across the U.S.-Mexico borcannonisms a job in network der, complete with alligators and a news television, moat. Then he said he made those reined in campaign donations and joined remarks in jest. He claimed he would not a speakers bureau (you can hire Palin to hire any Muslims to his cabinet if elected give a 90-minute speech for $100,000). President. He reneged on those remarks, Only after all that did she finally, and antoo. In a recent interview with CNN, Cain ti-climatically, announce she wouldn’t run came out on abortion as pro-choice and for President. pro-life, all in the same response. Herman Cain also just released a book. It’s because of these characteristics –– Recent campaign finance documents political inexperience and baffling rhetshow he is funneling campaign donaoric –– that political gurus write off these tions to buy thousands of copies for candidates even when they top the polls, as Herman Cain is doing now. The gurus wait patiently and analyze the seriSee NARAYAN, page 2