VOLUME 47, ISSUE 44
THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 2014
WWW.UCSDGUARDIAN.ORG
SUN GOD FESTIVAL 2014
LET’S FACE THE MUSIC
A.S. COUNCIL
Wristband Signups Will Occur Online Both Slates Charged for Campaign Violations BY gabriella fleischman
NEWS EDITOR
PHOTO BY ANDREW OH / GUARDIAN
Our most musically inclined Tritons will be performing at the Battle of the Bands, taking place April 15 at The Loft. Read our guide on this year’s lineup. weekend, PAGE 6 PHOTO BY DANIEL YUAN/GUARDIAN FILE
ELECTION SURPRISES
council must inform voters opinion, Page 4
TRITONS START STRONG water polo sweeps sports, Page 12
FORECAST
THURSDAY H 81 L 58
SATURDAY H 67 L 53
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FRIDAY
H 78 L 54
SUNDAY
H 67 L 54
A SILVER LINING UCSD is implementing an online registeration system for the Sun God Festival 2014 to shorten the long wait for wristbands. Above, lines for wristbands extended from Thurgood Marhsall College to Earl Warren College prior to the festival in 2011.
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- Hilary Lee
RHYME OR REASON OPINION, PAGE 4
INSIDE New Business.................. 3 Editorials......................... 4 Taco Showdown.............. 8 Sudoku.......................... 11 Sports............................ 12
senior staff writer
ith the 2014 Sun God Festival only six weeks away, A.S. Concerts and Events announced via Facebook on April 8 that the festival will use a new online wristband distribution and registration system. Students will be able to begin registering for wristbands online on May 8 and must pick them up at Marshall Field on Thursday, May 15 — the day before the festival. ASCE Festivals coordinator Sean Kennedy said that the group aims to improve the event by streamlining ticketing, as well as increasing student safety and accountability, through the new ticketing registration. The new wristbands for Sun God Festival 2014 will feature a printed barcode that can be scanned to access information provided by the student during the online registration. Under the new distribution system, eligible undergraduates will be able to reserve a wristband online after registering with their name, phone number, local address and emergency contact information. In the case of an emergency, authorities will be able to access this information by scanning the wristband’s barcode. Additionally, ASCE is preparing
VERBATIM
The moment you set your eyes on someone, your brain works like Wolfram Alpha to computer that person’s level of approachability.”
BY lauren koa
a brief health and safety video highlighting Sun God changes and explanations to recap students as a component of the registration process. Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Life Gary Ratcliff said he supports the new wristband system and is confident in this year’s festival’s overall quality. “The new system will be an added convenience to the student,” said Ratcliff. “Students can feel assured that they will have a ticket.” ASCE also believes the new registration process will benefit undergraduates picking up their tickets. Instead of skipping class or work to line up on Marshall Field like previous years, students will be able to pick up their reserved wristbands between 10 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Thursday, May 15. “Previous years have followed a ‘first come, first serve’ kind of process,” Kennedy said. “This will hopefully cut down the lines to pick up tickets, while the technology tied to the wristband will prevent scalping.” Kennedy also said some students fear that moving the ticketing process online may cause servers to crash when a multitude of students attempt to register
See FESTIVAL, page 3
TRANSPORTATION
Referendum to Appear on Special Ballot After several revisions, students will vote during Week 8 on a final transportation referendum, which, if passed, would raise fees by around $50 per quarter. BY gabriella fleischman
NEWS EDITOR The transportation referendum will officially appear in a special election ballot during Week 8 of Spring Quarter 2014 after the final language was approved by the Graduate Student Association on Monday, April 7. It was originally scheduled to appear in a special election during Winter Quarter 2014, but the Vice Chancellor and Chancellor’s offices were not satisfied with the content of the referendum, calling it too ambiguous. The referendum was then rewrit-
ten with the exact benefits detailed and the price lowered and was scheduled to appear on the general election ballot Week 2 of Spring Quarter 2014. But due to what was largely reported as revisions from the UC Office of the President, the referendum was once again pushed to a later date. However, GSA President Rahul Kapadia explained at the meeting that the referendum was pushed back due to omitted sentences that were required by the GSA and the A.S. Council constitutions. When a referendum is being written within the UC, UCOP reviews potential referenda and gives advice
on the language. However, none of its recommendations are necessarily mandated if the author of the referendum can clarify a discrepancy. “In general, UCOP looks at referendums as a courtesy,” UC spokesperson Brooke Converse told the UCSD Guardian. “This courtesy is to ensure that there are no mistakes in language that could invalidate a referendum.” ASUCSD MOVES Director Kyle Heiskala explained that changes advised by UCOP led to the omission of phrases necessary in all referenda by GSA and A.S. conSee TRANSPORTATION, page 3
Multiple grievances were filed against the Let’s Act! slate, and one against Tritons Forward, for breaking campaigning rules on Tuesday, April 8 and Wednesday, April 9. Let’s Act! was found guilty of one of the accusations, two of the grievances were dropped and the rest have yet to be reviewed. The first two grievances were filed by Triton’s Forward presidential candidate Robby Boparai. One accused the Let’s Act! slate of collaborating with Muir College Council slate GLAD due to GLAD’s endorsement of Let’s Act! However, according to Let’s Act! presidential candidate Kyle Heiskala, Let’s Act! never asked for this endorsement. “The GLAD slate was in accordance with their college council bylaws, and they had the necessary approval,” Heiskala said. “We were following all the rules to our knowledge.” However, members of the Let’s Act! slate advocated for GLAD from their personal Facebook pages, which Heiskala defined as a “gray area.” Let’s Act! was found guilty; the sanction says: “The election committee defines complicit alignment as intentional sharing of any candidate or slate campaign material including via social media or in person.” Heiskala will issued a public apology via his Facebook page to reach the same population that the original GLAD endorsement had. “I apologize for sharing a photo of GLAD via facebook when I should not have,” Heiskala posted around 9 p.m. last night. Boparai filed this grievance because in previous years, super slates between A.S. Council slates and college council slates were very successful, and they were banned for this year’s election. “At least a portion of [their success] has to be because of the overwhelming support,” Boparai said. “It captivates the people in colleges who might not make it out to Library Walk. I want to make sure the election goes fairly.” The second grievance that Boparai filed concerned a mass email that Let’s Act! sent out. According to the election code, slates cannot use a student organization’s lists to send campaign material. However, Heiskala contended that the email addresses were found on public websites, and Let’s Act! was found not guilty. Triton’s Forward candidate for Vice President Finances and Resources Igor Geyn filed the third grievance. It accused Let’s Act! of using glossy paper for campaign posters, which, according to Boparai, is illegal. Let’s Act! was found not guilty. The final grievance has not yet been reviewed and has a hearing pending. Stephanie Sayegh, who is not associated with Triton’s Forward, filed the grievance. A Facebook post from the Tritons Forward Facebook page about their new pins received a comment from Let’s Act! candidate for Campus-wide Senator Seraphin Raya. See GRIEVANCES, page 3