The Agrinautica

   So yesterday I had had pretty busy day that was relatively discord-free -- In accordance with the the time-table for peace we had agreed on in SPAC mediated negotiations I had turned an amendment to the MUN bylaws in to the Secretariat. But that went smoothly and by 20:30 I was settling down on the computer and everything seemed pretty mundane.

   And then Courtney Caruso called me -- The Chairman of the Davis College Republicans (DCR) was to be beheaded impeached within the hour! Quickly I grabbed my complete unabridged Robert's Rules of Order (the bible for organizational drama) and dashed out the door.

   Turns out the current chairman, one Michael Silviera, was being impeached by a group led by previous chairman Ryan Clumpner. Silviera's defense was being led by the chairman from before Clumpner, Jonathon Otero, and the founding chairman of DCR (Otero's direct predecessor), Chris Mays, even showed up (on the Silviera side), but was shortly kicked out of the room for disorderly conduct. On the Clumpner side and doing his best to straighten out the procedural disaster that was occuring was former president of Davis College Democrats, certified parlimentarian and infamous campus Republican, Igor Birman.

   The impeachment was called for by five officers who hold their DCR position ex officio by virtue of being officers of the California College Republican (CCR) organization. HOWEVER, by the DCR bylaws, none of them should be recognized as DCR officers because they had all missed the last three duly called DCR officer meetings. As the meeting had therefore not been called by a majority of the current officers as required, the presiding officer, current chairman Sutherland, would not call the meeting to order. This led the large CCR supporting contingent to become very very displeased. Eventually Vice Chairman Sutherland, a Clumpner supporter, took charge of the room over the chairman's protests. This led to the very messy situation of having two people presiding (incidently, in the index of Robert's Rules it says by Co-Chairmen only "not recommended," and thats of course when they're not diametrically opposed to one another) and no clear legitimacy of any part of the parliamentry procedures that followed.
   Under the Vice Chairman's leadership, the body (which at this point I ought to note was composed disproportionately of the pro-Clumpner/CCR side, since they had chosen to have the meeting at an unusual time and place rather than the Wednesday 1150 Hart which has been the DCR meeting time for at least 100 years) proceeded to overwhelmingly vote that the CCR officers were indeed still officers despite having missed the last three e-board meetings, and therefore the meeting was duly called, and that despite the fact that many of the Clumpner/CCR side missed too many meetings to be considered active (voting) members, they would all be considered active unless someone could prove otherwise. (I think when I left the Silviera side was demanding to see attendance sheets from the last few meetings in order to smite some of their enemies). And basically make a stunning demonstration of the fact that when a majority can do anything including interprete their own bylaws, they can really do absolutely anything they want (& therefore highlighting why the Supreme Court is so important in ASUCD!).

   Anyway, things had taken more than an hour to get to this point. Eventually they did get to a point where Clumpner would make charges agains Silviera like "he knowingly appointed someone who had committed credit card fraud as an officer" and Silviera would rebut with something like "I was informed of their credit card fraud by YOU, directly AFTER they were confirmed by the body!" I left after about an hour and 45 minutes of this drama katrina.
   I didn't have time to really determine to my satisfaction whether Silviera was the victim of a vast right-wing (CCR) conspiracy, or had truly lost the favour of the majority of the club, but it seemed clear to me that it was about much more than Silviera. I mean every chairman DCR has ever had was involved. They tried to kick their founder out of the room! (Mays informed the Vice Chairman that he'd sue him if anyone laid a hand on him to enforce the disorderly conduct pronouncement, and was left alone). It seems to me it was about the officers of CCR performing a coup d'etat and taking over DCR. From what I've heard from DCR insiders throughout my time here there has always been tension between those who thought DCR should follow its own path and that CCR is about as relevant as UCSA, and those that feel CCR is the true messiah college republicans should follow.

Update: As of Thursday morning the wiki entry had been changed -- not only is Vice Chairman Sutherland now listed as chairman, but they gunned every other officer that wasn't connected to CCR, and changed some other stuff.

Previously on Emosnail
   Two Years Ago Today: Marauding Parties - my friend Kristy and I go to Jackson Pritt's party in Cranbrook Apts, which is interesting because I hadn't been to that complex since then, until Sunday we visited Azver there. Then we briefly show up at a frat party because Courtbutt is a sorority girl, but we quickly identify that as lame. Finally we show up at Rob Roy's birthday party and are shocked to find him with Sharon Zimmerman in his arms. They would proceed to be dating and even engaged up until merely a week or two ago. Now Roy's dating a freshman seven years his junior and his annual birthday party was in the official list of UCD Welcome Week events.