We’re missing a few important things that come out of this whole AMS/UN/BLAKE & TIM affair. No, it’s no that the AMS can’t function as a whole or that this is a lesson on communications and less about the complaint to the UN. There are a few things we can learn from all the dramazz and I haven’t heard anyone mention these ones yet. So, here they are. One positive and one con that I’ve learned from sitting back and watching it all unfold.
Positive: The UBC student body is actually paying attention to what the AMS is doing and what is happening on campus. It’s exciting for me when the front page of the Ubyssey says in vibrant red writing, “We received over 47 letters on the AMS/UN debacle. Read a random selection on page 9 or read them all at ubyssey.ca/ideas.” On Totem Park Formal night I tuned into the Live Blog of the emergency council meeting. I was so into it that I didn’t want to go to the formal and I wished I was in Hebb Theatre to hear students express their thoughts. I even got a few laughs from others in the Live Blog when they were serving pizza in Hebb before the meeting started and I commented “pizza = the last supper.”
I would forever be pleased if a large number of students beyond the members of the AMS continued to be engaged in campus politics and always question the actions of the AMS. After all the Twitter trending topics like #amscouncil and #amsUNfail, don’t you think that all of this has been exiting and interesting to follow? If I had one #decemberwish it would be that UBC students continue to be engaged in what the AMS does and stays interested. Maybe with growing interest we’ll breed even better student leaders and create a better sense of awareness of what is happening on campus. A few weeks ago the Ubyssey had a short news brief that TransLink is going to start charging us for the Canada Line $2.50 and our U-PASS will not cover the charge. I was shocked when I didn’t see it blow up into a big news story!
I met Blake, AMS President, for the first time a week before this whole UN debacle, as the Ubyseey calls it. This was around the time that I first read about the $2.50 charge on top of our U-PASS Â that comes into affect on January 1st, 2010. I asked him if the AMS was doing anything about it. He said that our contract for the U-PASS says that it covers everything that is TransLink. But, the reason that Canada Line is thinking that it can charge us is because it was built under a third party. Blake said that the AMS is looking into this- which pleased me a lot. I really do not think TransLink should be charging us $2.50 plus our U-PASS every time we want to travel on the Canada Line between Bridgeport and Templeton Station. I’ve been asking people I know if they were aware of what we will be charged when we fly into YVR for January 4th classes. They had no idea. I think that most UBC students will be in for a shock when they come back for Term 2. I wish there was more discussion from students on this issue now instead of in January when the “Add Fare” has already came into affect.
Con: I am ashamed to be a member of the student body after finding content online of students personally attacking Blake about things unrelated to his actions. I’m ashamed of the images I found of Blake photoshopped with a Communist symbol added to the image. I’m ashamed that students would go to such lows and take this as an opportunity to take a hit at someone who had the guts to run for AMS President because I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who could never put themselves out there like that in fear of being targeted. In reality, those people who are scared of being targeted are the same people who are targeting Blake. Writing hateful comments is not the way to create change on campus. Plain and simple. We learned how to act like adults in elementary school. We’re university students.
