University of California Berkeley - Blue and Gold Yearbook (Berkeley, CA)

Page 19 text:

change: Growing old in the ASUC By ASUC President Bruce Quan It is with great sadness that I witness the end of what may have been the most socially conscious, intellectu- ally stimulating and educationally challenging era for students on campuses across the country. There is no doubt in my mind that the idealism and concern of stu- dents for a more equitable society, generated first here at Berkeley in 1 964 by the Free Speech Movement and later sustained by the outrage at other injustices, is all but gone. Slowly but surely, we are drifitng back in the pre-1 964 age where the University no longer takes the initiative in promoting the welfare of the society at large, but rather retreats into isolation and non-communica- tion, taking along with it the majority of the students. To be more concise, the learning experience is narrowed considerably, and room for innovation less likely. It has, in any case, been an experience for me to have been able to experience and witness this full circle of apathy, idealism, disillusion and frustration, and finally apathy once again. In the midst of all this change has remained the ASUC, known to a few, but claiming to represent many. In fact, the question of whom does the ASUC represent is asked many a time. I sense that while it claims repre- sentation for all students, the real truth is that it exists to satisfy the innermost desires of a few for power, glory and fame. The blame falls equally on those who partici- pate, those who criticize and those who don ' t care. Until more people realize the potential of the associa- tion for representing legitimate student needs, the ASUC will continue to exist as before. In confronting this problem of potentiality of ASUC representation, I have found it difficult to isolate because of the maze of meaningless squabbles which have dominated the ASUC. Given this, I have instead tried to concern myself with building a foundation of legitimacy for student input into University decision- making and governance. Our efforts were concen- trated in three major areas: financial aids, academic affairs and administrative affairs. I fully realize that a house is only as strong as its foundation, but I felt that in a year ' s time, the internal mess existing in the ASUC could not be resolved. Given no choice, I felt that it was better my time be spent con- vincing outside people of student needs in specific areas. I will say that it has not been the greatest of pleasures trying to represent an organization which is full of personality conflicts and on the verge of bank- ruptcy. All in all, this year has been personally a great disap- pointment. The gap between my expectation level and what I could actually achieve was much too wide for my satisfaction. I only hope that in the future, the students come to understand the potential of the ASUC and uti- lize it to try to better the position of students as well as the surrounding community.

Page 21 text:

Berkeley a self-fiortrait David Flores, editor Moke Mokotoff, associate editor