Problematic Ubyssey Endorsement Article

January 23rd, 2013 • Uncategorized

So we know by now that the Ubyssey has released their highly problematic endorsement article. And we know that they are critical of candidates for things they either have no control over or for poor reasons. They have also said that the UBC Board of Governors “are dominated by BC Liberals.” They need to fact check this.

If any of you know me, I am highly suspicious with the criteria set by the lieutenant governor of BC when appointing board governors. However, it is clear that by mandate, the lieutenant governor of BC is to appoint people to the UBC Board of Governors in the best interest of UBC, just as, for example, the lieutenant governor of BC appoints people to the BC Multicultural Advisory Council in the best interest of British Columbians. In an ideal situation, someone should interrogate partisan influence on the appointments done by the lieutenant governor of BC and should assess the provincially appointed UBC BoG members individually to determine any potential conflicts of interests. But no. Ubyssey just calls them BC Liberals, probably thinking they are appointed by the BC government formed by the BC Liberals.

Considering this, it is an uninformed assumption to think that having worked in a BC Liberal cabinet minister’s office puts Erin Rennie in a tough position to disagree with her fellow board members. To say that Erin Rennie “was away from UBC for years and might not be up to date on the campus culture” is a complete non-statement, as it takes a phone call to Erin to know if she is up-to-date on campus culture. And really- what campus culture!? An assessment of her knowledge of campus culture is entirely up to the interpretation of the Ubyssey writers. In the debates, she had shown that she knew student needs and she knew enough about the UBC campus for them to really be able to critically analyze her POLITICS and not simply mention her not being a recent UBC student as a weakness.

AMS Presidential candidate Ekateryna Baranovskaya has written a dis-endorsement for the Ubyssey as an organization covering the AMS Elections. A noteworthy point to bring up is that Ubyssey has suggested that AMS VP External candidate Tanner Bokor will have to take three courses while working as VP External, if he gets elected, because he is an international student and his student visa requires him to take three courses per term. The Ubyssey assumed. Tanner Bokor responded on Facebook:

Regarding my immigration status, prior to becoming AVPX, I had taken necessary steps to ensure I was in full compliance with Canadian immigration procedures, and I had applied (and received) a full work permit. I informed The Ubyssey of this after the endorsement had come out, and they had posted a correction. After speaking with the CIC a few weeks prior to making my final decision to run, I had been told the steps I am taking do not jeopardize my status in Canada, and I can continue as a UBC student even if I do not take a full course load. Hope this can clear up any confusion.

 

 

Be it known that I take problem with Ubyssey’s endorsement article this year.

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4 Responses (Add Your Comment)


  1. Geoff Lister     January 23, 2013
    at 2:17 am

    The BC Liberal statement is based on donations made by members of the Board of Governors to the party. All but three of the appointees donated more than 250 dollars in the reporting term. But that would require fact checking, which I just did for you.

    People bitch about The Ubyssey’s endorsements every year. Yawn. Which also happens to be the best word for this election cycle.


  2. Alex     January 23, 2013
    at 2:34 am

    There’s an election happening? Please. Nobody has ever given two shats for these candidates who just want to boost their own resumes.

    The only thing that matters really is the UPass- asides from that, the whole of campus couldn’t give a hoof about some student election- be there endorsements from some campus newspaper or not.


  3. T SPILL     January 23, 2013
    at 3:04 am

    Thanks for bringing some realness, Geoff!


  4. Unicorn Farts     January 23, 2013
    at 8:39 am

    Wait, what? Donations aren’t indicative of anything! They could mean you went to a dinner to network! Or supported a personal friend! Christ, to look at this anonymous commenter’s donation history would suggest membership in three federal parties when the truth is membership in none of them.

    Of course, the bigger thing to say is little of this matters because UBC bends over backwards to remind its board members that their primary responsibility is to the university and not whoever appointed or elected them. This is complained about when it applies to student reps but is ignored or forgotten as it applies to appointed reps?

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Student advocacy? Do something with my tuition!

Let's look at what will happen to your tuition in the next few years.
UBC's international student policy is that for students who commence their studies in 2012/2013, the international tuition fees will increase by no more (but likely no less!) than 2% per year for the next 4 years. Domestic students are also facing a 2% increase in tuition a year.

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Here's a good Ubyssey article that explains some of our student fees. You're easily paying over $200 for services you may not be able to afford.

Where else are students writing about UBC/AMS?

If you're on this site, then you already know to visit Ubyssey, UBC's official student newspaper.

There's also the SPAM Festival of AMS elections, AMS Confidential. Not the unsolicited email type, but this fun-loving type that makes so many people happy that they would dress up as such and march in a SPAM Festival.

Lastly, there's UBC Insiders. Not sure if they are covering this election but they are extremely informative. Some serious investigative critical blogging there.

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