Why The A.C.L.U. Isn't Crazy by Wilson Kello I was present at the Student Council meeting on Monday, March 23, in order to defend the first amendment if I had to. Luckily, the debate was not centered on my cartoon of several weeks past, which finally resulted in a somewhat shameful, though understandable retraction by the Phoenix editors. The debate raging in Kohlberg 228, packed with twenty or more non-Student Council members, was over whether or not Laura Barandes had done anything wrong, and if she had, what the consequences ought to be. At the close of the debate some two hours later, I left with a bitter taste in my mouth, angry at the duplicitous and gutless Student Council, and fully convinced that Laura Barandes must be impeached. Laura Barandes' official position on the Student Council, as stated in the Student Council constitution, is "observer" to the Board of Managers. In this position, she is one of two privileged students who are allowed to observe some of the BOM proceedings during their four yearly meetings here. Observers are to observe, and not to talk save for one five-minute address which one of the two makes each year. The morning after my cartoon was printed, Laura Barandes personally handed out an eight-page packet, made at her own expense (at Kinko's, past midnight), to each of the members of the Board of Managers, containing the cartoon, the Phoenix articles and other relevant articles, and a two page cover letter of her own design. This letter specifically mentions Min Lee and Patrick Runkle. Although she signed the letter "student council representative to the Board of Managers", she only consulted one SC member before handing out the package. That member is Mariel Acevedo Diaz, a hallmate, and one of Barandes' most vocal supporters at Monday's meeting. Several days later, certain members of the student council received a five-page packet similar but not identical to the packet presented to the BOM. Some of students who incidentally did not receive the packet are Ryan Peterson, Co-Chair of SC, his co-member and Josh Alloy, the other Observer to the BOM. Josh Alloy has yet to see either the five or eight-page version of the packet. Ari Plost's actions on campus a month ago were satirized in the offending cartoon. Laura Barandes' main defenders among the student council were Jared Solomon, a freshman friend of Ari's who lives on his hall, a friend of Ari's named Christian Mikkelson, and Mariel Acevedo Diaz, who is, as I mentioned, Barandes' hallmate and friend. Now, If I had done a cartoon about the recent CJC decision involving Lou Basanese, depicting him as an ape pummeling a trembling coward, a controversy would have arisen. Some students would have been outraged, others amused, and many completely unfazed -- but aside from some glares and angry words, which I have long ago learned to sustain, the issue would have subsided. But because the person offended in the actual cartoon has enough sway over his girlfriend to get her to abuse her Student Council position, something big and scandalous came of it. Laura Barandes is Ari Plost's girlfriend. It seems obvious that she used her familiarity with the BOM, a powerful body of individuals with high ranking positions in large national corporations who make important decisions about this college, to complain directly in the name of the Student Council (and by immediate extension the whole of the Student Body) about a very personal grievance. The wording at the end of her letter suggests that she wants the BOM to take some action, presumably punitive against Min Lee, Patrick Runkle, or me, the next time the BOM convenes. Laura Barandes' letter, although she claimed that it represents student opinion and "truth", never once mentions her relationship to Ari Plost, a fact that is crucial to the situation. The letter does say that "...the label of censorship [in the cartoon] serves to delegitimize those who think publication of Holocaust revisionism is wrong." Nobody on this campus doubts for a moment that the Holocaust happened; that assumption is too far-fetched even to be admitted to serious debate. What my cartoon objected to was the way that Mr. Plost dealt with his anger, not that fact that he felt anger. Barandes writes in her letter that Plost "...took the initiative to ask for an explanation." The facts are that Mr. Plost engaged Patrick Runkle in a heated argument that ended up with Runkle and all of his 135 pounds slammed up against a wall. This is brute force and blind, impotent rage, not "initiative". The only objection the Phoenix or anyone has had with Plost is the underhanded and physically violent ways he chooses to deal with his anger and frustration. The way he manipulated his girlfriend is just another manifestation of that tendency, and this time it backfired. It should be obvious to all but the most biased observer that Ari Plost is manipulating his friends and his girlfriend from "behind the scenes" (the confines of his room and computer), seeking through them to punish or sanction members of the student body for something that crinkled his ego a bit. That he would seek to punish The Phoenix or any students because of anger over a cartoon is disappointing, that his girlfriend would knowingly abuse her power as a student council member, erroneously claiming that she was echoing campus sentiment, is reprehensible. The description of her position not only is unambiguous, but if it weren't, ambiguity would not leave room for Laura to claim that her opinions are campus, or even SC opinions to any body, let alone a body as powerful as the BOM. This transgression represents a wilful and premeditated abuse of power brought about by strong emotions and personal ties, not rational thought. The fact that members of the Student Council can not or will not see this destroys what little faith and respect I had for them in the first place. Personal issues aside, the cabalistic defense of Laura Barandes flouts common sense and represents a willingness of certain SC members to undermine the entire purpose of that body's existence in favor of intensely personal issues. It embarrassed me to see the red faces of those who knowingly defended unconscionable actions in order to preserve manipulative friendships which would be sounder if the truth were admitted: Laura Barandes abused her power purposefully and kept it hidden for as long as she could from the members of Student Council who were most likely to take umbrage. Recall that in her position as "observer", Barandes was familiar to the BOM, a privilege denied to the 1340 other students on this campus. While you or I could conceivably mail each of the 72 members of the BOM our opinions (just as we could mail anyone in the world our opinions), we would not have the benefit of handing them out in person, or signing "Student Council Advisor to the Board of Managers" (unless we chose to do so fraudulently, as Barandes did). Because of the flagrant and abusive way she misused her elected position, Laura Barandes must be impeached. If you are not yet convinced that what Barandes did was wrong and deserves serious sanction, I encourage you to read the entire eight-page version of the original packet submitted to the BOM, which is now thumbtacked to the SC board in Parrish near the post office. I also urge you to be present at the upcoming SC meeting on Monday, March 30, at 8pm in Kohlberg 228, where this debate will continue.

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