Archive for January, 2008

AMS Council Meeting, Jan 30, or how much we care about committee reform, deep down inside.

Today’s council meeting was both disappointing and heartening. Disappointing because the anticipated public lynching of EA Brendan Piovesan failed to materialize. Heartening because it turns out that deep down inside, we really care about committee reform. And there were several other important (University Ombuds Office!) and thoughtful (Systemic discrimination in the AMS?) decisions. We got [...]

BioScience Building locked down

from the UBC website: There has been a police incident at the Bio Sciences Building, which is located at the intersection of Main Mall and University Boulevard at the University of British Columbia. On the advice of the RCMP, the Bio Sciences Building has been locked down. Building occupants have been instructed to stay where [...]

Student Court challenges, election 2008

The period for the 2008 AM elections was punctuated by numerous irregularities of various sorts. When problems arise in elections, or in other matters of stuff that goes against the AMS Bylaws or Code, complaints can be brought to a group of people called the “student court”. These are seven people, typically law students, that [...]

The 432 isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on

This is where I get mad. The 432, the Science Undergraduate Society’s official newspaper, is … euuugghh. The very idea that students are funding such a worthless, offensive, and generally craptastic rag is insane. This newspaper, apparently, used to be good. It used to be smart and hilarious, and enjoy more readership than the Ubyssey. [...]

How to vote in VFM – Interpolated Consensus,WTF?

Voter Funded Media, the contest that accompanied the AMS elections for the second year this year, is an idea that’s meant to award media public funds by the will of the people, thus fostering better journalism, more informed voters, better elected leaders, and healthier democracies. The assumption is that media, as opposed to candidates or [...]

Best of AMS Elections 2008

Hi everyone still reading the Insiders. This is Serious Steve from the Devil’s Advocate, bringing you the Best of the 2008 AMS Elections, as nominated by the VFM candidates and decided by me. (And before you ask, yes, yes I did hack the Insiders website. Because I’m that good. Watch my post stay up here [...]

Elections Results: photos and mockery.

Last night, I took photos. This morning, I mock people. You know you like it. Aaron from UBC Devils, undoubtedly plotting. Austin from UBC Devils. I’m a firm believer in keeping one’s friends close and their enemies closer. Andrew Forshner, of whom I cannot take a photo without it looking like he’s singing. Stef Ratjen, [...]

Results! (prefunctory)

Here are the results. That is, the results before the 3 to 5 student court challenges that should be comin forward in the next week or so due to voting irregularities. Note the Bottom-of-the-barrel voter turnout. This is worse than this year’s SUS elections, if memory serves. To quote the Devil’s advocate: “Brendan Piovesan. DISENDORSED.” [...]

Ineptitude? Carelessness? Cheating? Elections train is off the rails

In a surprising announcement today, Elections Administrator Brendan Piovesan confirmed that the race for VP Administration, between incumbent Sarah Naiman, “Scary” Mike “the Rabbi” Kushnir, and Yian Messoloras, has been cancelled. The exact reasons are yet unclear, but they involve campaign rules transgressions on the part of one candidate. Apparently, Messoloras broke the rules when [...]

Issue of the Day: The Musqueam Issue

Now for something a little more controversial. Somebody who I work fairly close with recently questioned my leftist politics. That’s fair – I feel quite comfortable in the bureaucracy of the AMS, and I feel quite comfortable trying to balance the 42 000 different opinions of AMS members, and I even support many CASA policies. [...]

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