Wow! I’ve finally managed to swallow my pride and took this step into what seems to be an interesting journey. Well, before I start making stupid comments I figured it would be wise to seek some form of wisdom from those who are already endowed with the knowledge of how things are ran by the SGA.

My question for today is not that complicated. What is the job description of class senators? I ask because I remember two weeks after school had started in the fall, I saw fliers of aspiring candidates everywhere. They were posted on the door to my dorm, on each floor in Elton and some in Mather. The intimacy that I formed with these fliers was that characterized by hope. I was hopeful that as a freshman my concerns as a citizen of this campus will be echoed by one of the faces on these fliers. I was hopeful that someone would help me understand the jargon used in the draft resolutions of the SGA. I was hopeful that I was going to find a friend in one of these faces. I was hopeful that the flaws of politics in the secular world were not going to reverberate in Trinity’s politics. But I guess I was blinded by optimism –lured into abstraction while being oblivious to reality.

Where are my class senators? What are they doing? Can they spare me some time; to walk me through the SGA jargons, to listens to the throat eruptions of concerns that have crippled my life here, to review with me the promises they made in the fall. I want to know where these people –my heroes and my reason for believing in SGA politics, are. Can someone please tell me if I had expected too much from my class senators. If I was really blinded by optimism. Save me before I lose my mind.

When I found out that Zona Mexicana was disappearing for good, I got my hopes up that I might, once again, be able to eat at the Cave. Having given up on the sandwiches where deli meat is left to sit out all day and the salad bar which is utterly plain, my recent menu has consisted of cereal, occasional visits to Mather, and Builder Bars in my room. With the prospect of a variety of food however, I felt I might be able to find something edible.

Sadly, I was mistaken. My first foray into the Post-Zona Rotating Food Bar was this past Sunday. My roommate and I both ordered omelets made to order. In an effort to “speed up” the omelet process, one employee started pouring the egg mixture into the pan and adding the ingredients (before the egg was cooked). The result of this was that excess moisture caused the omelet to turn out like soup, and they had to throw mine away before starting again. My roommate had the same problem but instead of throwing hers out, they attempted to turn the whole omelet (now resembling a frittata) over and cook the other side. After mashing it down with the spatula, the Chartwells employee produced a flat, fried egg-mix with ingredients in it. It in no way resembled an omelet. I should also point out that we waited a good thirty minutes for these omelets because the two frying pan solution is nothing short of a disaster for a dining facility meant to service several hundreds a day.

My second attempt (fool me once, shame on you… fool me twice…) was to try the pasta made-to-order…

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What is SGA? What do you guys do? These are questions that I hear repeatedly when I tell people I am a member of Trinity College Student Government Association.

Only a few students on campus can list some of the services that SGA offers. Sometimes I wonder whose fault that is, the students or SGA representative? Every member of SGA has
some sort of interest in student government and that interest is what keeps members coming back meeting after meeting.

As member of SGA, part of our job should be creating a interest of SGA for those who lack interest. We can do this by talking to our friends about SGA, and telling our neighbors about our accomplishments. We are representatives of the student body and we should demonstrate this outside of our meeting. When was the last time any senator attended an event on campus just to show their support? This is not a criticism of any one individual, but simply a valid observation.

Most of us remain in our circle of “SGA interest.” If we don’t step outside of this and
engage the student body in the things that they care about, attend the events they are sponsoring, how do we expect them to care about SGA? Change comes from within and if we want people from outside to care, we must care about them first.

Please, someone tell me.

Let me preface this post by saying that I love Trinity. I really do. I’m proud to be involved in various scopes of campus life here. But I can’t figure out why I love Trinity. I really feel like I shouldn’t. I know that a lot of people are going to tell me that if I feel this way, I should transfer. And maybe they’re right. But maybe I just feel like Trinity has so much potential for greatness that I would rather attempt to contribute to its betterment than close my eyes, run away, and leave it in my dust.

First of all, what is this social scene? What kind of institution has such homogenous social activites. Partying. Drinking and going to the Frats. That’s “going out” on a Saturday night (and Friday, and Thursday, and Wednesday….) at Trinity. I am by no means saying that partying is bad, but why is it that it’s the only organized nightlife here. Vassar College has the Mug–a college run nightclub with DJs, dancing, food, poetry, and alcohol–but the alcohol is not central to the existance. Anyone can go to the Mug. Not just attractive girls and guys who bring attractive girls. I’ve spoken to Professors and other students about this, and one Prof even told me that when his female freshman students come to him and tell him that they were not let into a frat because they weren’t “cute enough” that he wants to “nuke” the frats. It’s true. If the fraternies are going to dominate the social culture, they should be open to everyone. I was talking to another student about this, and he told me that at another school (can’t remember which one) the frat parties are advertised and everyone is encouraged to attend. Why isn’t it that way at Trinity?

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Tomorrow there will be a forum, and among the issues being discussed will be the question of whether or not the SGA ought to allocate money from the SAF to pay for cable on campus. So maybe we should review how we got here: Last semester, the SGA had to decide whether or not to extend our comcast contract, which would mean raising the SAF. They had a deadline to meet on this decision, since there was a budget to be made, and if the SAF was going to be raised, Andrew Pedro had to let the Powers That Be know. This is where the shenanigans began. Faced with this looming deadline, and somehow unsure of what the students would obviously want, the SGA decided to split the issue into two inherently inseparable parts: whether or not to get cable, and whether or not to raise the SAF. I say these are inseparable because the argument for not having cable is based on the notion that it is a waste of money. But that argument is hurt a great deal if it turns out that the students have paid for cable already, whether they receive it or not. Read the rest of this entry »

A few moments ago I helped pass an unfriendly amendment to fellow Senator Nathan Kirschbaum’s resolution calling for Senators to post two blog posts per semester or be censured. I suggested that rather than requiring posts they should be “encouraged.” I did this for several reasons, first, yes a part of me resented that I was forced to “blog.” A blog is not a report, it’s meant to be an informal expression, how does one regulate informal expressions? However, more than that, I was concerned that many of my fellow senators, as Senator Blum put it, were too “lazy” to actually complete the task adequately. “Lazy” is the word that had been used in session, being diplomatic I might have used “busy” or another adjective but the implication is the same. I did not, however, propose the amendment out of a sense of idealism, I do not believe that most senators, without being required, will post much of anything. Long story short, after much of the SGA’s characteristic bickering, the amendment to the resolution was passed and senators were simply “encouraged” to post. That basically translates into you, the reader, probably seeing far fewer posts than if the resolution had passed un-amended. I’m somewhat disappointed my amendment passed, not because I was wrong – if it had passed this board would fill up with “required” posts, most of relatively little substance. Rather, I’m disappointed my amendment passed because I wish I had been wrong. I wish people would have jumped up and said “two posts, simple!” – and, while some did, the majority that didn’t jump up convinced me I was right not to force them to post.

There are quite a few very simple things in life that make me very happy. These include, but are not limited to the following: no line at airport security (this never happens); a new spelling of my name (usually produced by a creative Starbucks employee – I’ve given up hope that the correct spelling will ever surface); sunshine (I’m from California, you had to see that one coming); warm sheets out of the dryer (especially really soft ones); a really good kiss (NOT in the rain – I prefer to be dry, thanks. Snow, however, is acceptable if you’re taking notes); and political primaries with some really solid candidates. There are very few things in life that make me unhappy and they are: Fox News; losing my Trinity ID card; soupy macaroni at Mather (really guys, come ON); and when people accuse my generation of apathy.

By these standards, today’s been a pretty solid day. And the next few months promise to bring more of my favorite things (after all, the east coast has to get sunny again SOMETIME, right?). Read the rest of this entry »

I have been in contemplation for around a week already. “What to write? How to write? What’s my angle?” Writing for a blog is nothing like writing for the Tripod, right? So, here’s my opinion – facts aside.

Text books are too expensive! No matter what PIRGs or politicians claim they’re going to do about it, textbook prices are undeniably overpriced and on-the-rise. I know that many of you do not pay out of pocket for your books, nor do you pass tangible notes to pay for them. But every semester, I go to the bookstore dreading the final tally as the cashier rings me out. My hands even shudder, occasionally, as I try to nonchalantly fan out my pay check and extend my arm to trade-in SEVERAL hours of hard work.

I swear it wouldn’t hurt as bad if I didn’t know that there must be more cost-effective ways to round-up textbooks. Why is it that students, and teachers, are in denial about the handle these publishing houses and book chains have on us? Should your/my Economics textbook really cost $160? Time-and-again I have attempted to shame my professors into finding more equitable publications. Often, they explain that the reason we cannot use last semester’s text (ones the bookstore would at least have cheaper used copies of) is that the publishing house closed-out one edition and released a “more up-to-date” edition. How much can really change from one year to the next when it comes to Algebra!? Has the primary number system changed, or something? Does E no longer equal mc2? Read the rest of this entry »