Friday, May 10, 2002 :::
P.S. I feel the statute of limitations on this has passed, so here's the deal. The "unnamed student" in my story on Muslim death threats that I mentioned below is none other than our pal Snehal.
::: posted by Andrewski at 11:46 PM
Apparently this is not the first time squirrels have been an object of obsession for the Daily Cal staff. Thanks to Bobby for the link.
::: posted by Andrewski at 11:39 PM
Got some feedback on today's post, thought I'd comment.
A few corrections?
The cartoon in the Daily Cal was published in September (not October), and there was no "seizure" of Eshleman. (People went up to the 6th floor, and some refused to leave until they were arrested. But the Daily Cal continued operation from the office. We were outside their office. There were no threats of violence, no blocking of entryways, etc.)
Nor was there any paper-stealing in relation to that incident. (That was another incident in October.)
Furthermore, you are tarring all of the so-called "far left" based on the actions of a few. I assure you that I am very much for free speech, and I am not hypocritical about it. (then again, who *would* think they were hypocritical?)
Stuff I'll concede on: You're right, the papers were stolen because of a full page ad for the Ayn Rand institute's politics, which were basically in favor of blowing the shit out of countries that support terrorism. I remember being especially pissed that the papers were stolen, because that day one of my news stories was on the front page, and I hoped that people would at least have gotten a chance to read it. "The Albatross Perch regrets the error".
Stuff I won't concede on: The sit-in (perhaps "seizure" was too strong of a word) at Eschleman was intimidating, as it was meant to be. I was there that night, too, working late on this story (ironic, isn't it?). It was suggested that I take the back stairs to avoid any trouble- the elevators were blocked off by many, many angry people. Not that I feared for my life or anything, but it was definitely an attempt to bully the Cal into an apology. Strongarm tactics don't fly with me.
Also, I think I'm pretty justified getting pissed at the far-left for embarassing Berkeley on numerous occasions this year. It's sad, but it only takes a couple of hundred people in a couple of campus organizations to make the papers and give Cal a bad name. This is why we don't have Madeline Albright or Janet Reno this year as a commencement speaker, and why people wanted to boycott our local businesses.
This is a University. It's a place where kids go and pay a lot of money to get an education. It's a great time, too, and a very politically-charged climate. I love it. But the one thing that really doesn't fly for me, for all my love of this place, is the repeated attempts to impede either education, or dissenting viewpoints. It's great if SJP or ISO or whoever has a position, but I find it achingly uncool to bully a newspaper, steal copies of magazines, block an office, or scream catchy slogans right outside of classrooms.
Take your "2-4-6-8, Israel is a racist state!" onto Sproul, and leave the kids who are trying to hear Dr. Presti's MCB 61 lecture in Wheeler Auditorium alone. Check out Cullitonholic for info on the ASUC bill that was passed in support of the Wheeler 41, including some interesting arguements I hadn't heard before.
Thanks for the feedback, though. The Albatross Perch welcomes critical emails of all kinds, including the ones that promise to add three inches to my penis.
::: posted by Andrewski at 11:33 PM
Oh, and congrats to Calstuff's Kevin for being accepted as a columnist at the Daily Cal for next year. Changes comes from within, Kevin. Subvert the system.
::: posted by Andrewski at 1:23 PM
Albatross Perchus Retrospecticus:
Six horribly embarassing Berkeley stories from the past year that garnered national attention:
September 2001 - The fire department takes down their American flags because they're afraid of them getting ripped off by hateful anti-American protesters.
October 2001 - "Racist" cartoon published in Daily Cal, subsequent seizure of Eschleman, print copies.
Februrary 2002 - Patriots stolen, proving that it's not really free speech if you don't agree.
February 2002 - Sexy DeCals. It's just one big orgy here in Berkeley.
April 2002 - Wheeler Hall is seized, Iwo-Jima-like, resulting in 79 arrests and 41 possible suspensions.
May 2002 - Snehal gets his rant on.
I love this campus- I came here this year, fresh out of High School, ready for the wackiness that I knew I could find only here at Berkeley. These six incidents were "wacky" enough to get national attention for our little neighborhood, but it's certainly not good publicity. We come off looking like a hysterical bunch of spineless pansies, not the peace-loving "Make love, not war" protesters of our parents' generation. What we have here is a lapse, a series of embarassments perpetuated by the far, far left. This provides our school- Hell, my school- with this image of reactionary, hypersensitive B.S. It's a damn shame, really. I'm a liberal guy, or at least I thought I was before I came here and discovered how truly embarassing these far-lefties can be.
::: posted by Andrewski at 1:18 PM
Ooh, thrilling Daily Cal today! Let's see what we've got, shall we?
As Nolo reported, the UC Nurses are ready to strike if negotiations fail.
As the picture on the front page shows, Wally rolled around in one of those American Gladiator hamster balls for a while... oh, that Wally. He'll sleep tonight!
SJP seems to be the secret word of today's Daily Cal, as about 60% of the stories deals with SJP-related news. The ASUC supports the SJP, supports Bethlehem U (Go Fighting Virgins!). Don't forget Snehal's now-infamous "conservatives need not apply" clause in his Fall 2002 course, one which has once again embarassed Berkeley on a national level.
There's one more story that's tied directly to the SJP: This one. Good to know they'll still get a chance to study while serving time for trespassing, assault, resisting arrest, disturbing the peace, so on so forth.
Apparently squirrels are big news today- not so much for the hormones, as the headline attests, but because of the insanely stupid Stanford-Cal rivalry about the quality of the goddamn squirrels on campus. Absurd quotes such as "a squirrel flying toward my head" and "They don't really bother me unless they attack me" that you couldn't imagine somebody of a college-level education actually saying, much less to a reporter, pepper this mind-boggling rediculous story. Our own Chancellor actually gets in on the wackiness, saying "I have always thought [Stanford] was pretty squirrely". Oh god, somebody stop that man before he rips more side-stitches! I can't take the hilarity!
There are no less than four pictures of squirrels, too, and one illustration (oddly juxtaposed with Eric Ostrem's fairly lifeless editorial about a nude gardener).
Astounding... from the "say it without saying it" department, we have a Holocaust denier who-- if I'm reading this right-- thinks we should forget atrocities commited to Jews, and focus on the present atrocities commited to Arabs. Clam told me a little about this guy Smith... apparently he's no friend of the Anti-Defamation League.
One last thing today: The editor-elect Rong Gong Lin II will "eat, sleep, and breathe Daily Cal". This is a welcome change to the previous editorial stance on "shitting Daily Cal".
::: posted by Andrewski at 12:55 PM
Progressive at Cal seems to believe Roberto Hernandez should be given the benefit of the doubt in his alleged police-officer-biting. So hereafter, I shall refer to Hernandez as the alleged biter-of-policemen.
One SJP protester currently faces charges of alleged assault and battery.
Strange... nothing at all in the Daily Cal about a hospitalized sorority girl. What's going on here?
::: posted by Andrewski at 1:43 AM
Wednesday, May 08, 2002 :::
Both Praglib and Calstuff reported today that a girl was hospitalized after an off-campus invitational. I've been doing some investigating, and while ZBT and Kappa had a joint invitational last night in S.F., no Kappa girls were hospitalized. I have two reports now of both police officers surrounding a girl on the ground and an ambulance being around Frat Row last night, but not much more than that. The only firm thing I know is that the girl is not a Kappa, contrary to Prag's source.
Careful, folks. Flying rumors killed Dwight, remember?
::: posted by Andrewski at 6:11 PM
PERCH EXCLUSIVE: I spoke to District Attorney John Adams today, trying to answer a few of the questions that CalStuff asked. Here's what Kevin wanted to know:
How did the District Attorney get involved in all this? He's been both vocal and harsh in pushing for prosecutions. (I mean, a possible 6 months in Jail for standing in Wheeler for four hours? That's crazy.)
So did the DA decide on his own to prosecute? Did the Administration have a hand in pressing for court trials? How does the Administration feel about possible jail time resulting from all this? Answer these questions and the picture will clear up quite a bit.
Ask and ye shall receive. Adams said that when a crime is committed, the police forward their information to the DA's office. There, 4000 cases are handled yearly, reviewed by the DA, and some of them are picked up for prosecution by the DA office. Adams personally approved the SJP case. He said he would not have taken the case if he did not believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the 79 individuals were guilty of the charges levied against them (these charges are public record at the criminal courts). The UC Berkeley Administration had NO part in the DA taking the case. Adams made it very clear, saying "I don't work for the University of California".
So there you go. Looks like Adams will prosecute this to the full extent of the law. So even if the Administration decides to be merciful/lenient and not suspend the students, there's a good chance that when it comes to California law, SJP may be serving time behind bars.
More as this develops.
::: posted by Andrewski at 2:35 PM
Fairly slow news day today. There're two, count 'em, two human interest stories today: one about Stiles Hall mentors, and one about Soda Hall coders. Neat photo collage for the Soda Hall story, but nothing of terrible interest.
Note: The Albatross Perch does not in any way endorse Noah's Bagel Dogs. If you want a hot dog, go to Top Dog. If you want a bagel, go to Noah's. If you want both in the same meal, you're sick in the head. Do you hear me? They taste awful.
::: posted by Andrewski at 12:46 PM
Tuesday, May 07, 2002 :::
Shameless opportunity to get hits through google keywords:
"Rachel Klein playboy topless nude Sex on Tuesday Berkeley."
Thank you for your time.
::: posted by Andrewski at 6:36 PM
Update: The Wheeler 40/41/79 whatnot has been cleared up.
-There were 79 protesters arrested on April 9 for the seizure of Wheeler Hall.
-41 of those protesters were UC Berkeley students, and may face suspension.
-The 79 also face charges from the city of Berkeley, and met at the courthouse. It's a small courthouse, so only 40 of the total 79 could fit.
-All 79 may get their asses handed to them on a platter on June 10, by the city, not the University.
No significant news can be found on Roberto (not Robert) Hernandez, the guy who bit an officer while being dragged from Wheeler. Logically, sounds like he faces assault charges or at least resisting arrest charges, but I have no confirmation on this yet. More as I find it.
::: posted by Andrewski at 6:20 PM
The Daily Cal should be this interesting every day.
The headline, "Office Lifts Suspension of Students for Justice in Palestine" may be misleading, so don't rip that duct tape off your mouth quite yet and yell that the Wheeler 41 are free to go. The 41 disruptive fucks are still awaiting trial, but the SJP as a group are reinstated. Unfortunately you have to read down to the fourth paragraph to make this clear. Also, the writer must have liked DA John Adam's quote about "trumping rights" so much that they decided to use it twice. But wait, there's more! The Daily Craptacular said the "40 students", implying that the 41st student had his charges dropped, escaped custody, was run over by an Israeli tank... or maybe the Daily Cal just sucks.
Today is Klein's last Sex on Tuesday. Eh, I'd do her.
A very worthwhile read on the opinion page: "Driving While Brunette", about racial profiling and the fact that we're not quite far along with the whole race thing as we wish we were. Jones makes some great points, sticking to the realism of a racist society and turning away the idea that we've all of a sudden flowered into a colorblind utopia. If only it were that easy...
Also, Wally bites back! After his earlier bashing by News Putz Steve Sexton, (you know... the one with the indecipherable headline?), Wally sticks it to Steve. I have no great love for Wally or his politics, but it's always nice to see the poker reamed in the right place.
I'll update later, once I get some homework done and find out a little more on a bitey cretin named Robert Hernandez.
::: posted by Andrewski at 5:48 PM
Monday, May 06, 2002 :::
CalStuff was at today's announcement of the election results, and he reports that SA swept the executive posts, with fairly a fairly evenly divided Senate. Head over to Kevin's page for the full scoop.
::: posted by Andrewski at 5:47 PM
Only two items of interest in today's Daily Cal: Little Ritchie's expose of squirrel fishing, and a bit on a bunch of silly people playing dress up. I imagine an early draft of the caption read something like "Onlookers snicker as the Society for Creative Anachronisms plays make believe". More power to them- "fun" seems to be an underlying theme between these two groups, and a welcome reminder that our time at college doesn't have to be all about drinking moratoriums and Middle East politics.
::: posted by Andrewski at 5:04 PM
