Posted on 02/14/2006 9:56:57 AM PST by Littlejon
I couldn't say. It's like asking who's more girly, Michael Jackson or Richard Simmons.
Disgraceful...
lets not do that,instead lets let a division of the Japanese Imperial army rampage through the place for 36 hours
President Emmert asked me to respond on his behalf to your message about
the Associated Students of the University of Washington (ASUW) Senate
debate regarding a memorial to honor Col. Boyington.
The ASUW Senate, an arm of student government on campus, is a forum in
which students discuss a wide range of issues, including the proposal for
the memorial. After considerable debate, the resolution failed by a
tiebreaker vote. As ASUW Senate Chair Alex Kim described in the message
below, students thought long and hard about their decision and cast their
votes for a variety of reasons. Some of the reasons that have been
publicized are addressed in Mr. Kim's report.
According to Mr. Kim and ASUW President Lee Dunbar, who co-sponsored the
resolution, many students felt that we should honor all veterans
appropriately, and not single out one, even though Col. Boyington was a
Medal of Honor winner. It should also be noted that thanks to the work of
Dean Emeritus Brewster Denny and the contributions of many UW alumni,
several years ago the University erected a fitting memorial to UW
students, faculty and staff who lost their lives in World War II.
Different versions of what transpired during the debate have circulated
through the electronic media. I hope you will take a moment to read Mr.
Kim's account. I also hope that regardless of one's point of view on this
issue, the exercise of democracy that occurred at the Senate meeting can
be seen as a meaningful learning opportunity for the students engaged in
the debate.
Sincerely,
Eric S. Godfrey
Acting Vice President for Student Affairs
________________________________________________________________________
It has recently come to our attention that the actions of the ASUW Student
Senate last night have been greatly misrepresented to the student body and
the general public. As such I wanted to clarify what actually occurred.
The Student Senate exists to create official student opinion by bringing
together student representatives from all across campus. The resolution
concerning Colonel Boyington (available online at
http://senate.asuw.org/legislation/12/R/R-12-18.html) cited the Colonel's
exemplary service record, including the fact that he was awarded the Medal
of Honor for service in World War II. The resolution called for the
creation of a memorial in his honor. Passage of the resolution would not
have necessarily resulted in the creation such a memorial, but would have
recommended it to the University of Washington.
The debate within the Senate was fair, balanced, and respectful. Senators
representing a diverse array of viewpoints spoke on the resolution,
raising numerous points as to the merits and demerits of the resolution.
1.) The ASUW Student Senate declined to support the construction of a
memorial for an individual. This in no way indicates a lack of respect
for the individual or the cause, merely that the Senate did not support
the construction of a memorial. The Senate weighed factors such as
financial viability, the logistics of implementation, which historical
points are relevant, and the difficulty in assessing which veterans should
be memorialized over others. Questions regarding these factors were not
addressed in the legislation itself and thus became points of debate
during the meeting.
2.) Senators speak on behalf of the opinions of their constituents.
This legislation has been posted publicly for nearly a month and senators
have used that time to discuss the issues with their constituents. There
is no way to distill a central argument of the Senate for or against any
piece of legislation the Senate discusses. While the vote itself is a yes
or no decision, the reasons senators choose to vote in a particular manner
vary widely. Therefore, it is inappropriate to represent a decision by
the Therefore, it is inappropriate to represent a decision by the Senate
as resulting from any single statement or point-of-view.
3.) No senator speaking in opposition to the resolution suggested that
deaths in war are the equivalent of murder. One senator, in making a
motion to remove references to the number of Japanese planes shot down,
suggested the focus of the resolution should be on the man's service to
his country. The sponsor of the amendment suggested that death in war was
sometimes a "necessary evil" and that the focus of the honor should not be
on the necessary evil, but rather on the service. That motion passed
overwhelmingly. A further amendment to remove the text of the inscription
of the Medal of Honor from the legislation subsequently failed
overwhelmingly.
4.) No senator stated that we should not pass the resolution on the
grounds that Colonel Boyington was a "white male." One senator stated
that we have many monuments and memorials to white males, but did not
suggest this was a reason to not support the resolution.
Throughout the debate in the Student Senate, the tone was very respectful.
If you have any additional questions, please contact:
ASUW President Lee Dunbar (asuwpres@u.washington.edu),
Student Senate Chair Alex Kim (asuwssch@u.washington.edu),
Student Senate Vice-Chair Erin Shields (asuwssvc@u.washington.edu)
or Director of Operations Karl Smith (asuwbdop@u.washington.edu)
Alex Kim
Student Senate Chair
Associated Students of the University of Washington 206.543.1780 (office)
206.669.9562 (mobile)
http://senate.asuw.org/
Office of the President
University of Washington
Room 301, Gerberding Hall
Box 351230
Seattle, WA 98195
Phone: (206) 543-5010
Fax: (206) 616-1784
As you have pointed out, the statement by the PR flack that "Different versions of what transpired during the debate have circulated through the electronic media" and the very dishonest statement by Senate Chair Alex Kim that "the actions of the ASUW Student Senate last night have been greatly misrepresented" are outright falsehoods.
The truth is in here (at least for now):
http://senate.asuw.org/secretary/minutes/senate/12/02-07-2006.pdf
Neither Kim nor PR flack Godfrey, nor any of the other UW Marine-haters, has challenged the accuracy of their own minutes, which contain the statements that there have been enough honors for white men, and that a Marine is not something the university should honor.
What Kim does not say is that the vote was tied. Guess who cast the deciding vote to spit on Gramps Boyington? If you guessed Alex Kim, go to the head of the class... you obviously went to real schools and not UW.
d.o.l.
Criminal Number 18F
Pappy is my hero. These pukes need to have a Corsair jammed up their rear end.
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