New SAAC treasurer elected
The Students’ Association Appropriations Committee elected a new treasurer Tuesday night choosing junior Clark Van Vliet for this position.
Current SAAC treasurer senior Malik Evans says of Van Vliet, “He’ll do a decent job. He’s dedicated to the organization.”
“I wanted to be treasurer because I think I have the right mindset,” Van Vliet said. “I want to continue what Malik has done with [SAAC].”
The budget next year will be over $700,000 for the over fifty SA groups that exist.
Speaking about his goals for his coming term, Van Vliet said, “I want to make it mandatory for controllers to work more closely with new groups and I want to increase communication with the Senate.”
He said he wants Senate “to see SAAC as important as we see it.”
Van Vliet also realizes Evans’ effort in shaping SAAC. “Nobody has any complaints with Malik,” he said. “He has done a really good job, and he has made this a completely different committee,” he said.
“I think that in all states, SAAC is in good hands,” Evans said.
College Bowl upsets Cornell over the weekend
Over the past weekend, the College Bowl team met with success, winning the past 28 of their games in a row, including going 16-0 at regionals this past weekend. The team also upset Cornell, ending their long domination of tournaments.
Speaking about the ramifications of the win, Vaughn said, “Winning the regional tournament has ensured that we have a bid to finals.”
“We upset Cornell’s streak of winning 15 of the past 16 years,” Vaughn added.
Sophomore Mike Andelman is proud to have beaten Cornell. “We beat Cornell who hasn’t lost in the past eight years.”
The College Bowl team also has two more tournaments coming up.
“We’re at the point where we can win,” Andelman said. “We hope to stay there, and keep doing it.”
“We have a chance at the nationals,” he added.
College Libertarians and No-Sweat debate
The No-Sweat Coalition and College Libertarians debated over the regulation and monitoring of sweatshops last night in the Common Grounds Coffee Shop.
The 90-minute debate, which drew a standing-room-only crowd at times, was scheduled to provoke discussion within the attending student body as to the present-day condition of sweatshops, as well as to portray the views of two on-campus groups who are involved in the situation.
While both sides favored better working conditions for existing sweatshops, the methods behind accomplishing this feat varied greatly. College Libertarian lead speaker and senior Rahul Biljani said, “We believe in individual rights, liberty, individual freedom and personal responsibility.” Biljani continued, “If sweatshop workers choose to work, they should be allowed to work.”
The College Libertarians debaters included seniors Nick Corbone, Dave Dziedzic, and Seth Goldstein, as well as Biljani. They supported the construction of new factories, or the movement of current ones, into the third world countries where sweatshops exist.
Carbone said, “There’s not enough competition for workers, not enough companies employing people, and there’s too few jobs for too many workers.”
The No-Sweat Coalition favored the improvement of sweatshop conditions through intervention by groups like the Workers Rights Consortium. Debater Sarah Clock said, “The involvement of non-government organizations like the WRC are necessary for the improvement of these conditions to occur.”
Lead speaker and senior Kirk Scirto and debaters sophomore Dan Muhlenberg, sophomore Sarah Clock and junior Mansoor Khan also supported the notion of individuals not buying products that were made in sweatshops. “Call up the companies from which you buy your clothing, and ask them under what conditions they’re producing these items,” Scirto said.
The audience responded positively to the debate, with the debaters receiving a resounding ovation at its conclusion. The debate caused many to ponder the points brought out by both sides.
Reporting by Chadwick Schnee and Shayan Pal.
