Fromer ASUC Senator Annalyn Terre on the Loss of Her Senate Seat
[This was posted by Annalyn Terre as a response to a CalStuff post which discussed the loss of her senate seat based on her attendace. I have done minor editing for grammatical reasons, and those who wish to see the original comment can go here. Finally, comments have been a little rowdy lately, and there are some sensitive issues that surround Terre's tenure on the Senate, so I would ask you all to show respect. We will not hesitate to delete any comments which we deem unacceptable.]

I find it extremely fascinating when matters such as affirmative action or increasing admissions for students of color are ignored and issues regarding my status as Senator make headlines instead. A lot of assumptions have been made regarding my absences and my duties as senator. Not only do I find them irrelevant, but I find them offensive.

In response to my five absences, the first two were due to my father's sudden hospitalization that required my consent as to whether or not I should put him on life support. The third was due to my decision to leave a senate meeting at 4:00am for refusing to change my vote (in compliance with an opposing party) regarding Bobby Gregg's position. The fourth absence was due to a mandatory financial scholarship meeting to secure my tuition for the remainder of my years here in Berkeley (I am currently working two jobs to pay for school, rent, and bills for my family at home) and finally my last absence was due to a sexual assult that took place the night I was to attend a committee meeting.

Now that that is out of the way, I would like to address the issue of the Daily Cal (Tina) and Christine Lee. [The Tina referenced is, I believe, Tina Nguyen, who wrote this article "ASUC Senator Loses Seat for Poor Attendance"]

I cannot explain the amount of frustration, anger and insult I feel whenever my name is mentioned by these individuals. Not only do I feel betrayed, but I am ashamed to be affiliated with an organization that would use my name - MY LIFE - for the purposes of bettering their resume and their image on campus. But, I suppose that comes with the territory when dealing with elected officials. And I can honestly say that these two women - women of color- do not represent me or any other students that they "claim" to represent. All I can do now, is hope that whatever it is they hope to gain from this (by using my personal life) is worth it.
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