Attack wrongly connects blog entry to SF!, council

I am writing in response to Paul Marian’s “SF! lacks
respect, morals” (May 25). While Marian brought up a
reasonable point that the acrimonious atmosphere surrounding the
elections was hardly ideal, I do not think his attack on the
Students First! slate based on a personal entry from my online
journal was valid.

An online journal is a space that many use for venting personal
frustrations and writing their opinions. Granted, a statement made
online is public by nature, but it still does not make it an
official statement. In this case, the entry was misconstrued and
conveyed to the entire campus as being representative of the SF!
slate and my commission on the Undergraduate Students Association
Council.

Marian has chosen to sensationalize my personal online journal
entry to attract gratuitous negative attention to a slate he is
personally against. I am aware I could have been more selective
with my choice of words, and that is perhaps poor judgment on my
part. Still, I believe students on this campus will be able to
recognize that my ramblings on a personal Web site have been taken
out of context to fit Marian’s accusations against SF!.

Behind closed doors is where people vent their intimate
frustrations, and I assure you, this is where I keep them. At the
council table, professionalism, impartiality (as much as can be
expected) and the ability to think critically come first.

Though I served on the Budget Review Committee, my personal
views did not influence the funding allocation. The entire
allocation process is designed to keep the committee members
accountable. There are five members on the committee, and no single
member can make the final decision. After weeks of hearings and
hours of deliberating to assure impartiality for all groups
considered for funding, allocations are decided collectively, and
the entire process is presented to council.

Council, which included independent, Students United for Reform
and Equality and SF! councilmembers, then votes on the allocations
presented.

The budget committee does not make the ultimate decision; the
council does. The hackneyed claims of unfair funding for this year
are redundant and unfounded. But there is a silver lining amid the
fuss regarding my journal post ““ I’m actually glad my
last entry fostered such heated reactions because it means there
are students who care about student issues.

Rather than attacking me on an online forum, Marian (and all who
are passionate about student issues, for that matter) should take
more constructive steps and be more proactively involved in student
issues by coming to council meetings and actually speaking his
mind. This approach would be a far more productive use of time than
reading my Xanga Web log and obsessing over my entries.

Nguyen was the 2003-2004 USAC Facilities
commissioner.