Amanda Garcia
Beat Reporter
Four Open People’s Party (OPP) elected candidates for the 2011-2012 Associated Students (AS) Legislative Council at University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB) were forced to resign after being disqualified from holding office.
According to a member of AS who wished to remain anonymous, elected Representatives-at-Large Kelly Gandee and Chelsea Parrot, along with Off-Campus Representatives Alexa Cover and Lauren Begleiter were considered guilty of distributing alcohol to minors during the recent AS elections season after a nearly month-long investigation was conducted by AS Elections Committee following election results.
A fraternity brother filed a complaint with AS Elections Committee the week after results were announced. The complaint described two girls, identified as Gandee and Parrot, along with an unidentified girl of Asian descent, approaching numerous fraternity houses with trays of alcoholic Jello shots. The girls, who were candidates running with OPP, would remind the inhabitants of the house to vote OPP during AS elections, standing-by while the household members would take shots and vote online.
Once the complaint was officially filed, along with the testimony of the fraternity brother, AS Elections Committee began their investigation, which led to the implication of Cover and Begleiter. All four UCSB students were heavily involved with campaigning among the Greek community in Isla Vista.
After the investigation was complete, AS Elections Committee sent the case to Judicial Council, which agreed with their ruling. Gandee, Parrot, Cover, and Begleiter were asked to resign immediately following the ruling of Judicial Council. As a collective group, members of OPP filed an immediate appeal against the ruling, which was rejected on the grounds of lacking plausible argument.
OPP has filed a second appeal and is awaiting further consideration and due process.
Due to the resignation of the four OPP members, four Democratic People’s Party (DP Party) candidates took office on Wednesday, May 18, during the inauguration of the new Legislative Council: Danielle Bermudez, Marlene Moreno, Xenia Mendez, and returning Leg Council member Danielle Stevens.
It’s Marlene MORENO, not Mureno.
sorry thought I had changed it before i submitted it, thanks for the heads up!
This article is riddled with false information bordering libel.
1. The four OPP members DID NOT resign, contrary to your article’s first and last graph. They were elected, but would not be sworn in until the appeal process is finalized. Furthermore, they have not been “found guilty” of distributing alcohol to minors until the investigation is completed. The entire “news” element of this is inaccurate and you are falsely convicting them of the charges before the case has been settled.
2. Your entire article relies on information from an “anonymous source.” I’ve seen few (in fact zero) news articles in any media outlet rely solely on this type testimony.
Your desire to post “breaking news” shouldn’t compromise your journalistic integrity or that of TBL’s.
Shut up !
Too bad that they confessed to the distribution of alcohol.. and that they were indeed forced to resign (since the verdict was already out….
Urm…I don’t understand the point of pointing out one of the women’s ethnic background. If she was white, would you have write “…and an unidentified white girl…”?
the nexus is reporting basically the same story, garik.
ND,
You are completely misled. “White” is a color, not an ethnicity. For example, I am “white” but I am of Native American descent. If a color were being described, the reference would be to white, black, brown, sure. But Asian, African, Caucasian, Hispanic, Latino, Native American, etc. are ethnicities.
Such an informative article… based completely on one anonymous source. How credible. Amanda, you call yourself one of the bottom line’s best reporters. Aside from the obvious issues with the fact that you do that, how do you call this reporting? It’s libelous, unconfirmed and a perfect example of classic muckraking. I’m glad to know the thousands of student dollars you get every quarter only serve to spread false information and fuel a destructive rumor mill.
I agree with ND; I don’t see the journalistic relevance of the 3rd girl’s “Asian descent”. Correct me if I’m wrong of course. Perhaps that was how she was described by the witness? If then, that’s what should be written.
Hey, Amanda. You also misspelled Danielle’s last name; it’s Bermudez.
Thank you for being a voice of reason.
The Nexus is so biased it is appalling.
You are amazing Amanda. Never forget. We got your back.
This article is disturbing. Here’s an actual fact: When OPP members were accused of distributing alcohol to minors in the form of jello shots, they immediately called a meeting to discover what actually happened. They discovered that there was a misunderstanding, and that the jello distributed to the frat houses did NOT contain any alcohol. The girls who actually distributed them were not around when the shots were made, they simply picked them up from someone’s house and assumed there was alcohol in them. That is why they “admitted” to the crime when questioned, the day before everything was cleared up. So in actuality, no crime was committed. This is why there is an appeals process underway right now, and judicial council is still reviewing it. Seriously, talk to ALL of the people involved and get your facts straight before you publish.
IT’S SOOOO FRUSTRATING TO SEE HOW OPP CONTINUES TO DO UNLAWFUL THINGS YEAR AFTER YEAR!! I REEEEEEALLY WISH THAT THE GIRL WHO SAW THE INCOMING PRESIDENT HARRISON WEBBER DISTRIBUTE…WOULD COME OUT AND CONFESS. HE WOULD IMMEDIATELY BE DISQUALIFIED!!!! I DON’T WANT A DISHONEST AND UNQUALIFIED STUDENT REPRESENTING ME!!!!!!!!
THIS ENTIRE ARTICLE REEKS OF BIAS.
There are just a few things I would like to point out;
1. The source of this entire article is coming from ONE ANONYMOUS person. No credibility at all.
2. As one of the comments have stated, THERE WERE NO ALCOHOLS in the Jello Shots.
3. This source, obviously disfavors OPP.
4. And to the person that stated, I DON’T WANT A DISHONEST AND UNQUALIFIED STUDENT REPRESENTING ME!!!!!!!!, you are a hypocrite. Tell me you lived like Jesus and never sinned and then I will agree with you. Everybody is imperfect.
5. People who keep saying resign are people who do not believe in due process and ignores every human’s right to FAIR trial.
Oh and why is there a Bottom Line if the Nexus is reporting the EXACT SAME THING.
AS is a joke, nothing more than a glorified high school popularity contest
@This is Dumb, I’m pretty sure that TBL reported on this days before The Nexus. Lolz.
@Learning New Things, actually about a day at most. Much more complete and unbiased article too. There are even real quotes! From like, sources!
http://www.dailynexus.com/2011-05-20/representatives-face-alcohol-allegations
So this web site is supposed to have “news, video, and investigative journalism” …..the first rule of journalism is to report the facts accurately, which means having two credible sources. An anonymous “fraternity brother” is far from credible. If he doesn’t want to go on record with these accusations, he’s either making this stuff up or can’t stand behind his words for some other sketchy reason. Why should your readers believe him? Was he the only one in the fraternity house to witness these allegedly alcoholic shots being served? Fairness is another ethical standard that you should consider adopting. I hope your organization will review your journalistic standards before publishing something like this again. A good place to start is getting the names right- if you can’t take the time to do that then your readers have every reason to believe that you don’t take your job seriously.
The Nexus article only has quotes from OPP. How is that not biased?
At least it HAS quotes.
Nobody from the other side would tell the Nexus anything. ANYTHING. There are people being punished (OPP reps) and people doing the punishing (Elections Committee and Judicial Council). As the accused were happy to explain the entire situation and the accusers refused to say a word, the article unfortunately lacked a very important perspective, but not for lack of trying (over a week of phone calls, texts, personal visits and information requests turned up nothing). Additionally, multiple involved DPP representatives refused to comment on the situation. The other option–quoting people from other parties within AS who were not directly involved and only knew hearsay about what OPP had allegedly done– would be muckraking, and the Nexus doesn’t do that.
Wow, so DPP doesn’t talk to the Nexus, and then complains that the Nexus didn’t talk to them and questions their journalistic integrity. I sense a very strong DPP or BOSS influence at the Bottom Line. That’s probably why this article is so blatantly biased. It looks like something I would read on a crackpot’s self-published newsletter. (Amanda, it’s not all your fault. It’s the institution. Keep on truckin’, try to get some quotes in next time, and never stop writing.)
Hey, I really don’t like OPP either. But I’d at least give them a fair shake. They’re just the same as the rest of A.S.: whiny children that have access to way too much money that spend it on silly things and bicker with each other while students get shafted by the Regents and state.
Unlike the Nexus, TBL never endorses any candidates. This comment thread shows a lot of OPP members rearing their heads.
TBL probably can’t endorse any candidates because of all the conflicts of interest there. There’s so much A.S. in the Bottom Line that having endorsements would be pointless. The Nexus, being an independent, student-run newspaper, can endorse whomever they want because they have no conflicts of interest in doing so. And to assume that anyone who is criticizing the Bottom Line is OPP is utterly ridiculous, especially when such a blatantly biased, factually incorrect article is published. Maybe that arises from the assumption that only members of A.S. would take the time to read this paper?
I doubt that DPP or BOSS really has any influnence over TBL. I’ve been in AS and no one really knows who’s on TBL or why they even exist. Almost every year people want to disban TBL because students dont read it and the writers…well aren’t good. I think this article and most others that come from TBL need better sources (for all I know someone in TBL made these up) and more balance to the articles. I look at this paper compared to other colleges and am embarassed that STUDENT FEES fund this. If we want to recall a vote maybe it should be on the decision to give TBL money for next year. Will you miss it if its gone? I won’t.
Ugh. Those fill-ins are only there because of a party foul! Xenia is weak. Marlene is ok. I voted for her. Danielle Burmudez is…. and Danielle Stevens didn’t even get voted in on the Primaries. Oh that was really democratic.
The comments on this article really make me sick.
Stop hating on The Bottom Line. We’re doing our best.
Considering The Bottom Line has less to work with since it doesn’t get lock in fees and is a newer newspaper, I think it says a lot about what a piece of crap the Nexus is. Nexus writers aren’t bad but they make terrible editorial decisions. Most students I know as well as faculty are embarrassed of the Nexus – I mean they send copies home to parents of incoming freshmen – with the Wednesday hump on it. Seriously? Grow up and show some respect. And to whoever thinks people don’t read The Bottom Line, you’d be surprised at how many people chose their news over the Nexus. There is nothing wrong with having two campus papers considering there is way more enough going on on campus for two papers to report on.
@Sam You’re complaining that the Daily Nexus gets a student-approved lock-in fee, which accounts for maybe 5% of its budget, when the Bottom Line is fully funded by student funds through A.S. without student approval? And you’re complaining about a sex column AT UCSB?!?! We’re college students, damn it! Sex, drugs, booze, books and lab work is how we roll. God forbid we have student papers for students and not geriatrics who just want inspirational stories and pictures of cats in silly costumes. Although that might be a good idea to bolster readership.
And while a lot of people complain about the Nexus, at least they get some sources and try not to sensationalize headlines like this one. And @Melissa, I know the comments hurt, but if we don’t tell you, no one will, no improvements will be made and the Bottom Line will never be taken seriously. Don’t cry, improve. Adapt. Maybe cry a little because criticism does kinda suck, but it should be used to help you grow. And if TBL rises to a level that allows it to compete with the Nexus, then the competition will hopefully improve the quality of stories on both ends.
Just because we are college students doesn’t mean we have to fit the stereotype of being disgusting and disrespectful (but obviously some of us still do). The unnecessary geriatrics reference is just another example of how empty headed and out of touch with reality some students are. The Bottom Line should get criticism and be able to take criticism; but make it constructive because bashing people never did any good.
Maybe people would respect TBL more if articles weren’t consistently published with numerous grammatical errors, botched editing, misspellings, and remedial formatting. Maybe people would respect TBL if they were not consistently behind on campus and local news. The Nexus may not be perfect but at least people read it. I almost never see anyone reading TBL. Why? Because TBL is amateur and it shows.
If you can’t take the criticism then you seriously need to grow up. Hire better editors and start publishing with a sliver of journalistic integrity for once.
@Sam i do not follow your logic. So yes, we do not have to follow the stereotype, but a stereotype that exists and is consistently reinforced means that a culture exists, and the UCSB student culture does in fact exist. Therefore, it is not unreasonable for people who actively participate in such a culture to make up a good portion of the student body. Since the Nexus is staffed and run by students, it is not anywhere near unreasonable for them to contain a significant amount of participants in IV and UCSB culture, which, i’m sure to your chagrin, is a mix of partying, sex, schoolwork and research. Just because you refuse to want to be considered part of this culture (and what, discussing sex and drinking is disgusting and disrespectful to you? That shouldn’t be a moral judgment that is stable upon reflection, bro.) it happens. it happens often in iV. They are topics relevant to many students, and therefore should be acknowledged by the student media. The Nexus also covers the academic aspects of UCSB, keeping track of awards, fellowships, research (read the science page?) and other serious business. In a way, its a very encompassing paper. And it doesn’t take itself too seriously, which is very UCSB as well. (TBL, with some reforms, can get there eventually. Those empty sections are sad though, maybe the articles are mis-categorized?
)
Also, it’s funny for there to be a statement that the criticism must be constructive when you just attack my intelligence and tact instead of making an argument. I’m not sure which reality we need to be in touch with (maybe the false belief that a 10 person protest a lunchtime may lead to significant reforms across the world?) if you want to sit and read the Washington Post while sipping kombucha with your pinky stuck out (I kid, i kid!), be my guest, but to ask a student-run college newspaper to ignore large swathes of its local culture is far from reasonable in my opinion. Empty-headed? We got to UCSB, one of the top universities in the nation!
Actually, judging by some of the people i met in my GE classes, i’m not too sure that is the best criteria for measuring intelligence >_>
TBL is so fucking retarded. It is run by a bunch of ugly fat girls who cannot write for shit. Any person with a brain cell (anyone not running TBL) can see how stupid they are. I really hope TBL dies and they all the fatties die of heart attacks.
This is definitely high school quality. Before the editing room. But damn, ROFL that comment was harsh. There’s room for 2 newspapers, but TBL has a long way to go before it can step into the ring with the Nexus. It’s the truth.
@Peridexicon: BTW The Bottom Line is a weekly and therefore are always going to have some articles that may be a bit old. What is too old however, they seem to be good about getting up online, something they are much better at than the Nexus. And even if something is a day or two old, I’m sure the group or event organizers would be appreciative of the coverage since there is no way neither the Nexus or TBL can cover everything on campus. TBL also runs previews for events and things if they publish too late after it happens. And no one said they can’t take criticism; if you read my comment I agreed they should be able to but whose going to take criticism from someone who doesn’t say anything constructive and just bashes them. I know someone who was on staff and they were frustrated too with the grammatical errors and typos because they know its embarrassing and are working on ways to improve the editing process – so they are taking concerns into consideration.
@ ROFL: Thanks for proving my point. I feel sorry for you
@AlumG: I agree there is a way to go but once again they are a smaller, newer newspaper and I’m sure they are trying to improve,
and @Rock Bottom: It seems my words get twisted; never said they should not represent the students or talk about relevant topics; however there is a way to do so that comes off as more thoughtful and mature manner instead of childish and crude. I also did not say that sex and drugs is disgusting and disrespectful, but they way they talk about it is. And I did not mean to attact your intelligence but more so comment on your tact.
@Sam Hey, last time I checked, I could hop on the Nexus site 5 days a week and see new stories, and I’m pretty sure they do previews and coverage too. It’s not special, it’s what newspapers are meant to do. And I’m happy that the staff is aware of the errors and is taking steps to fix them. In all honesty, that’s what I want to hear. I’d rather see TBL recognize the areas in which the Nexus is superior (it isn’t just numbers and publication days, guys. It’s systematic. Sources, grammar, journalistic integrity, what have you) and try to catch up instead of constantly bashing the Nexus (Don’t lie and say it doesn’t happen. Hell, read the comments on either site and Reddit) and putting out a poorly designed and executed product at the same time. Acting superior and not being able to back it up brings ridicule, not readership.
And I appreciate your clarification Sam, and I hope we cleared up any misunderstandings. If I may ask, could you provide a few examples of how the discussions are crude and childish? If I see a few, I think I can better understand your perspective on the subject.
hey discovered that there was a misunderstanding, and that the jello distributed to the frat houses did NOT contain any alcohol. The girls who actually distributed them were not around when the shots were made, they simply picked them up from someone’s house and assumed there was alcohol in them
I’m glad to hear that justice is served. Anyway, you look at it, these students after a long series of investigation had proven to be guilty of what they have done. Using alcohol just to win a campaign would be really lousy. How can you vote a public servant who just claims to be one but whose actions tell you otherwise. Therefore, there is really no debate unto this. Great article Amanda! I would like to suggest omitting the racial description and focus more on objectivity to prevent future problems with people who would criticize for discrimination
interesting topic, glad they got caught.
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