Referendum Review, Part II
Unopposed, but not perfect

Referendum #2 (p. 7 of the ASUC Voter Guide) is for "GA Autonomy". This already is a misnomer... the GA doesn't want full autonomy, they want a longer leash. Complete autonomy - members, resources, authority - would not benefit the GA fully. It wants to have its cake and eat it, too. Fair enough, but how does it effect the ASUC as a whole?

1) Thousands of dollars flow away from the ASUC to the ASUCGA. This would be bad for student groups who already pinch pennies, but good for law students that have beer garden receptions outside of Boalt.

2) The GA would be able to make its own policy decisions, but would still be under the legal liability of the ASUC. Prop 54 scandals might be more frequent in the future.

3) Anthony Hall (also known as the Pelican Building) is permanently given to the GA. This should be the building for the campus comedy magazine, as it was originally intended, but the chances of that actually happening now are slim to none.

But does the GA deserve this much much greater amount of authority? Not to this extent. But, the annoyance cost of putting up with more GA bitching, and an interest in cutting our losses before more demands are made, makes me believe that it would be beneficial to put this issue to rest. And maybe graduate students do, deep down, deserve this freedom. Let's hope they don't completely fuck up right away.

CalStuff reluctantly endorses this referendum, but wishes there was a much greater opposition to it.Email This Post!