The UW Senate Steering committee met 2-17-2006 and their meeting minutes are now posted.

I think these are interesting because they again show how they characterize the whole debate in an interesting manner. But in all fairness, it is necessary to understand this from their perspective too.

I will list the full text below, but here are the highlights as they pertain to the Pappy Boyington Flap. Many things I have blogged on previously are mentioned:

• A discussion of the press coverage
• Mention of a large amount of dehumanizing emails regarding the memorial vote.
• The (Jill) Edwards Apology Resolution is introduced (R-12-24)
• The introduction of Nathan Bedle, not a Senator, as a cosponsor of R-12-24. He is also a Sgt in the Marine Corps Reserve.
• He noted that there is no military representative in the Senate.
• Discussion of offense versus free speech.
• The open expectation that R-12-24 will be tabled indefinitely
• The introduction of A Resolution Calling For a Memorial for UW Alumni awarded the Medal of Honor (R-12-26)
• A suggestion is made to immediately table R-12-26 indefinitely as being a duplicate of the original memorial resolution.
• R-12-24 was referred to the General Affairs Committee.
• While approving the Senate Agenda, it is noted that an ROTC Representative will speak before the next Senate Session.
• In the General Discussion, the idea of recording the meetings was discussed.
• It was noted there was concern that recording the sessions might alter the debate.
• A motion was made to reconsider the 2-7-2006 Minutes.
• Ashley Miller began a defense/clarification of her comments.
• A number of students defended Ashley’s comments
• The amount of scrutiny these minutes have received was noted.
• How the change was to be documented on the minutes website was discussed.
• It was noted that any changes to the minutes would be closely noted by the media.
• The intent was to have the changes be on the original minutes.

Bearing in mind the disclaimer provided by the UW Senate that unless quotations are used, the minutes are to be considered a summary and paraphrase of the session, not a verbatim account of the proceedings, here is a brief highlight of last weeks minutes.        The Letter from The Military Community of the University of Washington is a MUST read. My comments are noted in italics: Minutes February 21, 2006 5:00PM HUB 310 Respectfully submitted by Senate Secretary Travis McCoy(skip to session III for one military related issue) III. Public Forum Dr. Nancy Rusty Barcelo, Vice President for Minority Affairs Dr. Barcelo said she has been working on all three campuses with issues regarding diversity. …. Andrew Everett said the number of officers in training programs have been dropping for several years. He asked what was being done to address that issue. Dr. Barcelo said she grew up in the US Air Force and that she had just finished a meeting with ROTC, so she was personally concerned with that issue. She said she would look into the issue more fully. Encouraging V. Committee Reports Faculty And Administrative Affairs - The committee had no legislation to consider Academic Affairs - The committee discussed ASUW coverage in the news Publicity and Outreach - The committee discussed ASUW press coverage I wonder if they mentioned me? Membership - The committee discussed R-12-24 tabled it indefinitely Note: This is the Jill Edwards apology resolution. Campus Affairs - The committee discussed R-12-23 and passed favorably Off Campus Affairs - The committee brainstormed places to advertise the commuter forum General Affairs - The committee considered R-12-22 and it passed with a unanimous favorable recommendation This is the committee that has the Resolution for the MOH Awardees, but I don’t know if it had been referred to them last week or not. Alex Kim said he was excited to see so many people interested in Senate. He welcomed Dan Byron, a Cadet and member of the ROTC committee. Dan Byron said the UW has been receiving a lot of criticism it didn’t deserve. He presented a letter from the military community on campus. Student Senate, Of the many student organizations on campus, the military community often holds a negative image. The various Reserve Officer Training Corp programs are frequently criticized by some as producing trained killers. Yet these programs are designed with considerable effort to produce leaders of integrity, courage and dedication. The individuals thats come out of ROTC are some of the brightest leaders our nation is capable of producing. They are exactly the sort of people the UW should strive to produce. The military community does not desire parades, monuments or banners. We do our jobs not for thanks nor praise. We do our duty because we believe we serve a purpose greater than ourselves. However, we resent the fact that some members of the student government would liken us to criminals or murderers. It is true that the profession of arms is a violent one. But as a professional military, our services put an unbelievable amount of effort to accomplish the mission with as little damage and loss of life as possible. The world is still a violent place and the only thing that keeps violence off of our doorstep, is that other men and women stand ready to absorb that violence. Soldiers are not responsible for making policy. We are assigned missions by the duly appointed civilian leadership, one not unlike the concept of the student senate. Like the American public we each have our own political opinions and beliefs. The ideas and politics of each person in uniform is as diverse as can be found anywhere on campus. Yet we all share one commonly parroted ideal; that freedom of thought and liberty are divine rights to be enjoyed by all humankind. To this day there are millions of people who live under the weight of oppression. Few people around the world enjoy the same security, luxury and freedoms that are so openly taken for granted in our nation. Gregory Boyington and men like him literally bled to protect liberty from a growing oppressive empire. Many before him, many of his peers, and many future graduates from his Alma Mater have, and will continue to pay the price of liberty with their own blood. So easy is it to condemn and criticize others. And so easy is it to give way to ignorance and preconceived notions. We are all guilty of it, all of us. While it is not uncommon, it is also not fair that some confuse the necessity of violence with murder or fascism. No American warrior fights solely for his appointed Commander in Chief. No American warrior fights for oil. Americans take up arms not to force their choices on others, but to give and protect the liberty of choice. Despite all the criticism and the apparent negative feelings of all involved parties, we are PROUD to be members of the University community. The UW may not always support the military community, but we strongly support the University of Washington. The UW is and will continue to be a main center of academic achievement, as well as a diverse community of politics and ideas. We firmly support the University of Washington because great minds do not think alike. Great minds think for themselves. With Genuine Respect, The Military Community of the University of Washington Nice. I guess Roadkill’s "War Party" don’t all use Jackboots. Alex Kim said much of the discussion across the country is more argument than discussion. He said he thought much of the country suffers from a wound by which human beings cannot talk to each other. He said the sort of dialogue that takes place within Senate is critical for healing and consensus in today’s crossfire democracy. He said the last two weeks have taught him how important such dialogue is. I believe I mentioned that in my free speech post…Skipping ahead. X. Orders of the Day B. Old Business I am including this because it shows that the UW Senate does practice some very interesting debate, even if it is a bit heavy on the PC rhetoric. R-12-20 A Resolution in Opposition to the Denial of Federal Financial Aid Based on Drug Convictions Karl Smith, sponsor of the legislation, reviewed the resolution. He said the act was discriminatory as drug laws in general target minorities, and withheld the ability of those without means to get an education. Zach Tobin moved to amend the resolution to add a citation to the "whereas" clause regarding the discriminatory nature of drug policy. Seconded. Passed without objection. Gary Stute said he thought Karl brought up good points and that the bill prevented people from getting ahead in life. He encouraged senators to pass the resolution. Alex Gwozda moved to amend the first whereas clause to add the word "recent" before "drug conviction" and add "or repeated offenses" to the end of the clause. His motion also added a second "whereas" clause stating "WHEREAS, specifically, possession of a controlled substance disqualifies a student from receiving financial aid for one year after the 1st offense, for two years after the 2nd offense, and indefinitely after the 3rd, and additionally, delivery of a controlled substance disqualifies a student from receiving financial aid for two years after the 1st offense and indefinitely after the 2nd, and" Seconded. Passed without objection. Andrew Everett asked if there were any statistics from government entities regarding drug use among minorities. Alex Kim said the National Crime Statistic Survey was one of the few sources of data on the issue. Ashley Miller said a professor at UW, Katherine Beckett, had done research indicating drug useage and trafficking was higher among whites,but that arrests were higher among minorities. Erin Shields asked what the purpose of the legislation was. Karl Smith responded it was supposedly aimed at reducing drug useage among college students. Steve Valm said he thought the act would prevent people from bettering themselves by restricting their access to higher education. Bryce McKibben moved to remove the word "federal" from the title and add "financial" before the word "aid" in both "that" clauses. Seconded. Objection. Bryce McKibben said it singled out the federal level, and that students should oppose such practices at all levels. Shawn Fisher said he agreed with the first part of the change, but that the committee added the word "federal" in the title as students were still eligible for state based aid. Travis Grandy moved to close debate. Seconded. Objection. The motion passed. Debate was closed on the amendment. Travis Grandy moved to divide the question. Seconded. Passed without objection. The first part of the amendment failed. The second part of the amendment passed. Shawn Fisher said he hoped the resolution was passed unanimously as UW students needed to stand up for their fellow peers. Jerome McCuin said he had noticed that every four years, the convictions on drug convictions increase. He said that drug convictions are not all the same, as some are prosecuted differently than others. He said the new law undoes what the original financial aid act did by balancing access to education in society. Nathan Bedle asked how many students would be affected. Jerome McCuin responded that in 2001, 9,000 applicants lost their aid, and that 836,000 left that specific question blank on the application. Nathan Bedle said he thought the "whereas" clause regarding the use of possessing small amounts of narcotics. Brent Hoffsteder moved to remove the "whereas" clause regarding discrimination. Seconded. Objection. He said he thought it was an issue about people’s personal choices, and not an issue of race. He said he didn’t think it appropriate to include racial issues as grounds on which to oppose the policy. Karl Smith said he thought it was an appropriate thing to mention in the resolution. Jerome McCuin moved to close debate. Seconded. Objection. The motion passed. The amendment failed. Karl Smith highlighted the second "that" clause on the resolution and said the ACLU is looking for a student who has been denied aid. Sam Al-Khoury moved to close debate. Seconded. Objection. The motion passed. The resolution passed End of quoted minutes So, as I noted in my free speech blog, they debate, they dissent, they discuss and debate more until one side prevails. What happened in the blogsphere and radio shows is merely an extension of that concept.

There are still no minutes posted for the Senate Session on the 21st, nor the Steering Committee on the 20th.  

Also a new disclaimer is on the minutes site, advising one and all that “ALL MINUTES ARE PARAPHRASED UNLESS QUOTATION MARKS (” “) ARE INCLUDED!

Can’t say they don’t learn. I am sure the minutes are undergoing a severe vetting process this time. I can’t say I blame them, but honestly, once again I remind them that all they have to do is post the session in a Podcast and then no one would worry about accurate quotes.

The Resolution for an apology from Jill Edwards as well as the Resolution in Support of the Right of Military Recruiters to be Present on Campus have both been tabled indefinitely, which means they are effectively dead.

We all waited anxiously because of the Seattle Times Article suggesting a vote on the memorial for all MOH awardees was possibly going to happen.

It did not, the matter has not even been heard in committee. A rumor suggests the resolution is being suppressed until the media blitz wears down, but others dispute that, and insist that it is just having to wait its turn in committee.

Finally I read that the Senate Sessions are open to the public Tuesdays at 5pm in HUB 310, so I encourage any interested parties to attend and see for themselves, rather then rely on paraphrased minutes. I am considering it myself.

I doubt there is a means for public commentary, but that question should be addressed to the Senate Chair.

I also strongly encourage anyone who decides to attend to do so as passive observers, and be respectful and not disruptive. I would extend that to any mail or communication to any parties. There is enough bad feeling going around. Let’s try communication instead.