tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.comments2012-04-02T07:13:50.467-07:00Wayward RobRobhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17442494852172304935noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-75868107247280976022012-04-02T07:13:50.467-07:002012-04-02T07:13:50.467-07:00I've been looking for some nice blogs lately a...I've been looking for some nice blogs lately and this one just caught my eyes. Have a good day ahead. Such interesting content you have. <a href="http://1pacman.com/" rel="nofollow">pacman</a>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-80135740887148148892011-01-22T18:05:03.223-08:002011-01-22T18:05:03.223-08:00Hi Rob,
I supported culling the rabbits but I do ...Hi Rob,<br /><br />I supported culling the rabbits but I do agree with you that a bunny-free campus is not where UVic should be going. It is simply a waste of University resources to try to track down and kill every last rabbit. A small population doesn't do much damage, it's when it gets unreasonably large and out of hand that we have problems (and then, it's pretty obvious.) Trying to eliminate every single last rabbit would be difficult and is not worth it.<br /><br />I have to disagree about the bottled water ban though. If you think bottled water is not a wise purchase (which I do agree) then don't buy it. The UVSS is making significant revenue off bottled water sales and it doesn't make sense to remove it from the SUB, much less UVic as a whole. If people can't get bottled water they will probably buy juice, or soda which is full of sugar and much worse for their health, but there is a risk that they will be unhappy with the decision and spend less time in the SUB.David J. A. Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373610288859765195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-6150267893209440962011-01-16T10:52:21.953-08:002011-01-16T10:52:21.953-08:00Nothing about that meeting sounds productive. No ...Nothing about that meeting sounds productive. No post-secondary funding increase in the forseable future, "maybe" they will cap tuition increase at %2... one day, she committed to looking at options (not pursuing them, not developing them, not creating them, just looking at what's put in front of her) though made no comment as to what options, she is admittedly committed to continuing the policies that have made BC the most poorly funded post-secondary province in the country with the highest per capita student debt load... <br /><br />And the UVSS, the people we reluctantly vote for as representatives of the student body, the people who's salaries WE pay to advocate on behalf of the most indebted student body in the country, you guys think this was "productive"?<br /><br />Students and taxpayers pay the salaries of erroneous student board members, discredited ministers and their assistants while they get together over lunch to discuss how little they can possibly do. <br /><br />Well done.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05933265948200510113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-80020491700702742622010-12-30T15:36:47.890-08:002010-12-30T15:36:47.890-08:00Hi Rob,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I do th...Hi Rob,<br /><br />Thanks for sharing your thoughts, I do think however that it's also significant, the majority of directors who voted against the motion (3 out of 5) were non-white, two of them Asian, while the majority of directors who voted for the motion were white. I didn't try to racially analyze the audience, but there were about 20 students there, the same number as the Board of Directors. I didn't speak, because I had already discussed my feelings about the motion privately with Jaraad and others. When you're representing 16,000 students, it is tricky to decide whether 20 students will influence your vote. As you point out, some of these were the population most affected, but then we have the two Asians on the Board, also in that population, who voted the other way. Which is more representative of the actual majority of all Asian students at UVic? I don't know, nobody does.<br /><br />I agree with your comments about groups of people who politicians generally listen too. People who speak up on an issue generally represent vested interests, on one side or another, and politicians often give too much weight to views of their "friends." Now I would suggest that once someone is elected, they have a mandate to act as they indicated they would during the campaign, not just on specific issues but in respect to general values and principles with which they labelled themselves. We have to assume that in voting for X candidate, the majority has said they would like to see the kind of decisions that someone holding X's values and opinions will make. True, some people made an uninformed vote, but that is really their own fault, and they get what they deserve.<br /><br />To give an example, if one candidate got elected on a platform of fiscal conservatism, we should expect that person to oppose large spending projects. If they got elected on a platform of "anti-oppression" and creating "safe spaces" on campus, as I have seen some directors do, then we can expect more identity-centred campaigns and joint events with the advocacy groups and Anti-Violence Project, and probably opposition to projects which do not fit into this ideological mold. From a candidate who pledged to reduce ideology and make the UVSS more mainstream, we would expect the opposite. In the end, we take our choice at the ballot box and live with the results.David J. A. Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373610288859765195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-58418087704870720152010-12-30T14:06:51.794-08:002010-12-30T14:06:51.794-08:00Very well written, regardless of where one stands ...Very well written, regardless of where one stands on this issue. <br /><br />Politics is often binary for many complex issues: "Vote Yes/No"<br /><br />As someone who's been in the press, I agree politicians must remember what they were elected to do first and foremost - represent constituents...regardless of any claims it's not the role of politicians to do something for their constituents here. You stop representing the moment you stop listening to your constituents.<br /><br />Politicians cannot really leave many calls, emails and comments unanswered and stay true to the office they hold. <br /><br />Ultimately voters are represented by politicians and not the press. Voters also have freedom to express via politicians. <br /><br />As a "free speech" advocate, in actuality, I only see Maclean's telling itself to not print something (re: 4 different headlines for this story). No one really told Maclean's to censor itself other than Maclean's itself. <br /><br />If 7/11 chooses not to put Maclean's on the rack because it doesn't sell, that's not censorship. That's business. Likewise if retailers don't put certain CDs or books on the rack. <br /><br />Retailers do this all the time (for many reasons - including not liking specific music or other content). It's why you don't see many religious books or porn on many racks. It's why you don't see political leaflets in Wal-Mart racks. That too is not censorship but rather a distributor's free choice on what to vend. <br /><br />I think even Maclean's agrees Maclean's stepped out of bounds (by changing so many headlines). <br /><br />If Maclean's can't put the right headline to a story so many times - that says a lot. It's unprecedented. What is this story really about? <br /><br />Why did Maclean's headline initially single out people who were "Too Asian" on Canadian campuses? And then retract all 3 headlines containing the word "Asian"? <br /><br />If we trust Maclean's itself (the horse's mouth), something is awfully wrong if Maclean's can't get it right with 4 headlines. <br /><br />Maclean's has not said the headlines were "racist" but Dictionary.com's definition of "racism" is "a belief or doctrine that inherent differences among the various human races determine cultural or individual achievement..." <br /><br />It would be pretty hard to argue this story was not about that.Xhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14941695929357663391noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-74200778124332880562010-12-30T05:58:44.172-08:002010-12-30T05:58:44.172-08:00Thanks, Rob, and others on the UVSS board. Your wo...Thanks, Rob, and others on the UVSS board. Your words and actions are being heard and seen beyond your campus. <br />http://www.facebook.com/tooasiantalkbackAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06454022721816910598noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-27247550260743199632010-12-07T17:56:43.331-08:002010-12-07T17:56:43.331-08:00This post was interesting and helped to shed light...This post was interesting and helped to shed light on what some directors are doing outside Board meetings. I wonder if Ida Chong expected to be quoted in a UVSS blog ;)David J. A. Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373610288859765195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-12863701770060605102010-12-07T03:10:29.430-08:002010-12-07T03:10:29.430-08:00"the government as a whole seems to have plen..."the government as a whole seems to have plenty of money to spend on frivolous things such as a new roof for BC Place, a new conference centre, and the Olympics."<br /><br />The Conference Centre and Olympics were committed to long before the global financial collapse.<br /><br />The BC Place roof needed replacing as it had reached the end of its lifespan.<br /><br />These projects all help to generate economic activity for the province in the long run.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-26440806286519444602010-10-25T13:33:26.406-07:002010-10-25T13:33:26.406-07:00I think Lewis makes a good point. By creating a UV...I think Lewis makes a good point. By creating a UVSS policy surrounding GLOs the UVSS opens a dialogue with them and gives them a semblance of control over how the GLOs conduct themselves. Putting our heads in the sand and ignoring GLOs isn't going to solve any of the problems addressed by the 'no' side, especially on the topic of sexual violence.<br /><br />Without some sort of accountability to the Students of UVic, GLOs in Victoria could very easily become the nightmare they're being made out to be.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-37434594942802949312010-10-19T15:08:52.743-07:002010-10-19T15:08:52.743-07:00I think Nick is definitely being sarcastic in his ...I think Nick is definitely being sarcastic in his second comment. But his first comment makes a very good point that reinforces what I said at the AGM: we aren't going to get a consensus at UVic about what kind of campus culture we should have, because different people want different things. I got a response to that saying everyone wants an environment where they feel safe–well, the conditions that make a person feel safe vary from one individual to another. I might feel unsafe in surroundings that would make everyone else on this thread feel safe, and vice versa.<br /><br />I sympathize with Nick's experience of not feeling welcome even though we have very different priorities. As a result, Nick and I come to the same conclusion, which is that we shouldn't shut down a group that students are trying to organize on the basis of whether we find value in it, or whether it fits in with what we want UVic to be like.<br /><br />Why did I not address the problems associated with fraternities and sororities historically and in other places? Because the motion we were voting on was specifically about UVic. The people involved in these groups are UVic students and they will be here, behaving the way they behave, whether or not we allow them to form "exclusive" organizations. If they are the kind of people who get into fights, cause trouble and bully other students, they will do so, and whether they have a fraternity or sorority or not won't change that. However, the fraternity and sorority members I've met so far are decent, polite, responsible people. Why should we judge them on the basis of what other people with the same badge did somewhere else? I think that is similar to Andrew's hypothetical situation.David J. A. Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373610288859765195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-36040939316376038572010-10-18T18:42:52.039-07:002010-10-18T18:42:52.039-07:00Good post Rob. I commend you for sticking up for w...Good post Rob. I commend you for sticking up for what you believe to be the good of the student body.<br /><br />However, I think the approach that you are advocating for, and the approach adopted at the AGM has one major flaw: fraternities and sororities will continue to exist. The DKE frat is already established and the sorority is going to start a chapter with an organization that doesn't require university approval. As you said, votes in the UVSS won't change that.<br /><br />While I do not necessarily believe this is true, you argued that Greek Life Organizations will have a predominantly negative effect on our university life, that the good will outweigh the bad. So let's say this is true. Wouldn't then the worst possible course of action for such a problem be a policy of non-recognition? To me, this fails to actually address any of the alleged potential risks associated with GLOs. <br /><br />We could have said, hey, good initiative, it's nice to see you trying to do something positive on our campus, we won't get in your way, (because we really have no power to anyways). However, here are our concerns... Additionally, here's a list of resources such as the AVP, NSU, SOCC, PRIDE, and Women's Centre that you, as a group of undergraduate students, have access to that will help you foster tolerance and safety. Unfortunately we can't recognize you officially since your gender-specific policy conflicts with our discrimination policies. However, since no matter what we do, you're still going to form here's how we're prepared to help ensure your group has a positive effect on campus.<br /><br />Instead, we called them elitist alcoholics, with a potential for sex offence, saying that there's no place for their group on our campus.<br /><br />To me, it just seems like all the "no" side has accomplished, is to provoke the GLOs try harder to form, now without any form of positive reinforcement, support or accountability from the UVic admin or from the UVSS. If one was truly concerned about the potentially harmful side-effects of such groups, then one would be striving to raise awareness about such issues among the members and working pragmatically to reduce the potential for harm.<br /><br />Saying bad sorority, bad fraternity, really only worsens the situation. It just marginalizes the groups into a position where unfortunate events are most likely to take place.<br /><br />I am genuinely interested to hear what you think about all this.<br /><br />-Lewislewrhohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06384268132374758453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-5063651185492704702010-10-18T16:17:20.526-07:002010-10-18T16:17:20.526-07:00I find it interesting that the UVSS is against sor...I find it interesting that the UVSS is against sororities and fraternities (from what I can see so far in these comments) because of their exclusionary nature and tendency to be prejudiced, sexist, racist, homophobic, etc. (or so they say), and yet by not allowing sororities and fraternities on campus, this is exactly what the UVSS is perpetuating. UVic has become an exclusive community in the sense that sororities and fraternities are not allowed to be here because of things that have happened in the past with OTHER groups. Personally, I have done things in my past that I would NEVER do again and would hate to be judged for because it is no longer who I am. People change and, thus, so do the groups that people are a part of. Sororities and Fraternities now are no more like those of the past than University is like Elementary School.Riannonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00205058568244818626noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-396418914706891132010-10-18T14:53:28.792-07:002010-10-18T14:53:28.792-07:00Nick,
I am not sure whether you are just being f...Nick, <br /><br />I am not sure whether you are just being facetious or not, this is the downside of online conversations. So I will address your point as if you are serious, and I apologize if I am going off needlessly.<br /><br />The feeling of inferiority of not be able to join a group because you don't have enough money isn't radical rhetoric. It negatively affects a persons self worth. It sucks.<br /><br />Physical and psychological hazings aren't radical rhetoric. They are assault.<br /><br />and... well, you get the picture.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17442494852172304935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-90602448419535150762010-10-18T14:45:54.280-07:002010-10-18T14:45:54.280-07:00Andrew Allen said:
"Does this judgment of yo...Andrew Allen said:<br /><br />"Does this judgment of you feel fair Rob?<br /><br />Should you be judged by what people with a similarity to you do or be judged on your own merits?<br /><br />This is how Fraternity and Sorority members surely feel when this logic is applied to them." <br /><br />Andrew,<br /><br />While your comment was amusing and gave me a little chuckle. It is irrelevant. A name is not a character trait. <br /><br />A character trait of fraternities and sororities is that they are by their very nature, exclusionary organizations. This is based on sex at a minimum. Economic ability to pay to join is also another exclusionary practice. This alone is against UVSS policy. <br /><br />The guilty before proven innocent argument that you and David K. put forth holds no water. Every campus that has frats and sors has problems that arise with them. I have heard that even at the fraternity here uses psychological hazing methods. So by your standard they are already guilty.<br /><br />As far as the argument that we can just ban them later, we don't have that power. We don't even have the power to ban them now. The frat in Victoria exists no matter what votes we do. All we can do is not recognize them based on what we value as a community. By doing that, we are saying they do not represent our values and will not put our stamp of approval on what they do.<br />But make no mistake they are still free to do as they wish.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17442494852172304935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-57042262363011826212010-10-18T13:22:33.434-07:002010-10-18T13:22:33.434-07:00But you see Rob, that's just part of the "...But you see Rob, that's just part of the "radical rhetoric" he's tired of.Nick Coheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04386022206067444009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-69100310978542672192010-10-18T11:55:27.127-07:002010-10-18T11:55:27.127-07:00David,
I am well aware that you don't like ...David, <br /><br />I am well aware that you don't like UVic as it is and don't feel quite a part of the community. I do find that odd however, being that you are such an active member of the UVSS community and you haven't had any barriers to being involved. If I remember correctly you even started your own club. <br /><br />I wonder what about a fraternity would make you feel more included in the community. As you said, there is already a fraternity on campus, have you joined it?<br /><br />But back to the larger issue, just because you don't like how UVic is, doesn't mean fraternities and sororites will make it any better. And just because there is demand for something, doesn't make it good. There is a demand for cocaine, that doesn't mean we should start selling it from the Munchie bar (though that could solve all our financial problems).<br /><br />You didn't address the issues faced by sororities and fraternities whereever they exist. Those being, inequalities, exclusionary practices, hazings and sexualized violence.Robhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17442494852172304935noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-66174967625442313942010-10-18T03:36:51.473-07:002010-10-18T03:36:51.473-07:00Andrew's comment is bang on. You're making...Andrew's comment is bang on. You're making frats and sororities guilty until proven innocent, based on a few bad apples. The bad apples are embedded in cultural stereotypes and widely publicized, but don't reflect the reality.David Karphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13710657164031182109noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-15044789861672113942010-10-18T03:18:35.064-07:002010-10-18T03:18:35.064-07:00David: I found it interesting that you noted not f...David: I found it interesting that you noted not feeling welcome here. That is a sentiment I share. I don't feel welcome either. I think UVic is dominated by conservatives, bigots and their enablers: liberals who feel everything is fine, and moderates who hate everything protesters do ever. It seems like the vast majority of students never acknowledge the concerns radical students have, including the oppressive attitudes students have. (Engineering students who are not sexist or queer-hating, I'd love to meet you. Not even kidding. Prove me wrong.)<br /><br />Frats and Sororities: Clearly fraternities and sororities are shitty organizations. I remember being in little clubs in elementary school whose express purpose was to be exclusive. Then we fucking grew up. However, I think that people are allowed to form shitty organizations. We can't prejudge them. The historical arguments don't matter. To say F&Ss have been like X bad thing doesn't mean F&Ss forming at UVic will be like X bad thing. It's not persuasive. At all. So, we just let them do their grown-up version of grade school exclusion. Then if there's problematic shit, like hazing, sexualized violence, racism, sexism or queer-bashing, they can always be banned later.Nick Coheahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04386022206067444009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-91998278838404125712010-10-18T01:43:14.265-07:002010-10-18T01:43:14.265-07:00Does this judgment of you feel fair Rob?
Should ...Does this judgment of you feel fair Rob? <br /><br />Should you be judged by what people with a similarity to you do or be judged on your own merits?<br /><br />This is how Fraternity and Sorority members surely feel when this logic is applied to them.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-19526376899528437862010-10-18T01:39:49.736-07:002010-10-18T01:39:49.736-07:00I believe that while there are some people named R...I believe that while there are some people named Rob McDonald that exist that are good community citizens, I also believe there are people name Rob McDonald that are not. I also believe that if we were to allow Rob McDonalds on campus, it would be difficult to differentiate, at least initially, between Rob McDonalds that are problematic and those who are not.<br /><br />Therefore, it comes down to a benefit/cost analysis. The benefits of some Rob McDonalds are hard working UVSS board members and studious students who make UVic a better place. The costs are some Rob McDonalds are useless binge drinking students who start fights in Res and pour soap in the fountain while getting by with barely passing grades.<br /><br />For me, the benefits do not outweigh the costs. One can say that we should give Rob McDonalds a chance. Maybe he won't start fights. Maybe he won't put soap in the fountain. But how do you quantify when it isn't okay anymore?<br />How many students have to be assaulted?<br />How low do his grades have to go?<br />How many times does he have to put soap in the fountain?<br />Do we have to wait for an incident of drunken assault to happen before we don't allow them?<br />What do we say to the victims of these things?<br />Sorry, we had to let you get a black eye before we decided we don't want Rob Macdonalds? I don't think that would be much consolation to these people. That is assuming that the fight even gets reported. It is well known that incidences like these are vastly underreported for a variety of reasons.<br /><br />It is for these reasons that I would be very happy to see students of UVic come out and ban students named Rob Macdonald. I feel that the atmosphere at UVic is great as it is, and I hope it stays that way.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-67617034265972630012010-10-17T19:32:42.444-07:002010-10-17T19:32:42.444-07:00Hi Rob,
Thanks for acknowledging both sides in th...Hi Rob,<br /><br />Thanks for acknowledging both sides in this post. I do disagree with your conclusion though, and I think perhaps the main reason for my disagreement is that I don't want to keep UVic the way it is. I don't feel especially welcome here and I don't think there's much community on campus.<br /><br />When I came to UVic from the Okanagan in September 2008 I was a complete outsider. I checked out a bunch of clubs, attended a bunch of meetings, went to different events, but none of it really connected with me. Soon I got tired of the continual protests and radical rhetoric. I felt increasingly disenchanted and isolated.<br /><br />Now we have some students who want to create a different type of organization which could offer experiences students like myself are lacking. Maybe the majority of students aren't interested and wouldn't enjoy it, but why should this alternate experience not be available at all? At the AGM I said that I believe it's possible for Greek life to exist here and still allow those who don't want to be involved to ignore it. <br /><br />Finally, I would note that the UVic chapter of DKE currently has more members than the UBC chapter despite UBC having a student body over twice the size of ours. Seems there is some demand for Greek life at UVic?David J. A. Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373610288859765195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-39294767070220978642010-09-09T00:51:37.739-07:002010-09-09T00:51:37.739-07:00Nice post Rob. I think abstaining only becomes a r...Nice post Rob. I think abstaining only becomes a real issue when someone is doing it frequently and just using it as a cop out. Overall I think it's a useful tool available to board members. No one should be forced to take a side on an issue they feel split on.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-3682331606839924662010-07-30T15:59:10.703-07:002010-07-30T15:59:10.703-07:00Hi Rob, thanks for sharing this, it's sounds l...Hi Rob, thanks for sharing this, it's sounds like you've had an interesting life. My mother also studied with Tom Brown and took his tracking workshops many years ago. She also worked on a fire tower in the North West Territories and lived in tipi in the Kootenays where she was a cook at a healthy living retreat. This was all before I was born.David J. A. Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373610288859765195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-54655808827901060802010-06-30T16:38:07.243-07:002010-06-30T16:38:07.243-07:00Rob, thanks a lot for writing this. I tried to at...Rob, thanks a lot for writing this. I tried to attend CFS Skills as an observer but was forced to leave with the implied threat that they would call security on me. My main purpose in attempting to observe the workshop was to evaluate the quality of this service since it is one of the supposed benefits of CFS affiliation to member locals. I'm including a link to your post in my article about being shut out of Skills.David J. A. Fosterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05373610288859765195noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8066794597831438010.post-69947714443457539722010-06-28T21:26:58.234-07:002010-06-28T21:26:58.234-07:00I like the idea of a representative assigned to a ...I like the idea of a representative assigned to a faculty, however I see it being to difficult to administer and to enforce. For example the social science faculty has 7 departments (I think), and I would assume the same number of student groups. This would be improbable for all of these groups and the faculty representative to get together. Also some departments have less structured groups that would be more problematic to meet with fairly.<br /><br />I think a more practical approach would be a proportionate number of board members elected from each faculty. You are responsible to your electorate for reelection but are not required to meet with groups.BigBearhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04648474847529139430noreply@blogger.com