Going to the candidates' debate...part 3

Rounds 1-5: Oh god. I can’t believe the responses. Boring, empty rhetoric. Predictable clichés. Monotonous tones. Quite a change from the presidential debates, which had some semblance of flavorful dialogue. The treasurer debates feature Virindiana Sanchez, Shelena McClinton, and another candidate by the name of Swann, whose first name I cannot find from the Daily 49er. You fail me again, you rats.
Round 6: Hironao Okahana, current VP, is grinning across the room from me like the smug bastard he is. Bloody oath. Okahana is finishing his limited term, as is outgoing treasurer Zaira Tinoco, a childhood friend of mine who, like me, isn’t looking for love yet (but would love the seize the opportunity when the time is right!). And the predictable rhetoric from the three candidates continues. I’m starting to get disinterested in this debate, because it is B-O-R-I-N-G. This looks like an interview more than a debate. Simon Cowell, you are a fool. Even though I did agree with a few of your statements, especially with Jordan, speaking in that clichéd British accent, praising her efforts, you are still a fool.

Predicted winner: Toss-up, but I’m leaning toward McClinton. Enough said.

Going to the candidates' debate...part 2

Next up is the presidential candidates, and this one should be a doozy. Mark Andrews, incumbent Shefali Mistry and Joel Barber. The other candidate was feeling ill from the step show. This should have plenty of fireworks.
Round 1: Mistry starts this one. Her savvy that got her as the incumbent in the first place sets the pace. Natural, and effortless. Andrews follows through, keeping the pace, and turning it up. Interesting fact: Andrews is in a similar position I was with Long Beach City College's ASB Executive Board in 2004-05. Barber is running a bit off. Ever heard of Fat Albert? Mistry is slowing down a bit, though.
Round 2: Andrews anticipated this one, no question. It's as if he read a football or basketball play and capitalized off the turnover he forced. Barber is concurring with Andrews. Not good for him, and he stopped short. Mistry fires right back with prioritizing students. Her point seems to hit a fallacy, and Andrews is making her pay for that. It seems that the fourth candidate came, Ashley Marie Stanton. She is suffering from laryngitis, like me. That's what this weather has done to a lot of people who saw Long Beach go to the big dance last Saturday.
Round 3; Stanton makes her move, and makes things interesting. Barber goes in, but he is speaking too monotone. Mistry now makes her move, but is speaking a bit too quickly. Not all the people here are from New York, Madame President...Andrews is blasting the other three with his move. Moss-Stanton's laryngitis isn't being an issue with her rebuttal, but not too compelling.
Round 4: Barber still being monotonous. I've observed that from him, Stanton, and Mistry, while Andrews is using his poise, and everything other than monotonousness to state his case. Mistry is concurring, but she's trying to rebound from the heavy competition, and doing it well. In turn, Andrews concurs to an extent, and adds his point. Pure effortless delivery, emphasizing advocacy. Everyone's agreeing with one another. Boring. Now it's all about how they deliver, rather than what they deliver.
Round 5: Textbook question (no pun intended, unless you ask for it (pun intended)). Mistry starts this one, and uses her experience working with the 49er Shops. Andrews, unlike Mistry, does not accept the high prices of textbooks at the University Bookstore, and delivers his point with authority. A slam dunk. Stanton concurs with Andrews' point, while Barber does the same. Adding scholarships to ease the high prices, as long as a cap, might be problematic. Perfect-world scenarios. Mistry is a bit realistic.
Round 6: AB286 question. Land mine alert. Andrews dismisses this question, adding the importance of AB540 and the inferiority of AB286. Risky move. Stanton does not approve of this bill, either. Okay, guess it wasn't so risky. And so are Barber and Mistry.
Land mine =====> Consensus. No clear winner of this round. Andrews would be the virtual one, adding the importance of AB540.
Round 7: Parking question. Stanton approaches with parking off-campus. Already done, at Vets Stadium, but she wants to increase the amount of spots. Barber is trying to salvage his sinking ship, with a "focus group," and other dubious options. Smoke and mirrors. Mistry makes her move with faculty and staff permits for students., as well as financial aid, as well as concurring with the other two candidates. Flashbacks of ECON 333. Meanwhile, Andrews suggests reduced costs, paying for specific numbers of days. I think that's a sign of weakness, as other students may want to be on campus during days that they don't have class. Stanton makes a rebuttal, with a half-arsed effort.
Round 8: Barber prioritizes checks and balances, and asking for ASI to follow the US federal system. Mistry concurs, but to an extent, stating that corporate and government do not mesh. She is not finding a way to solve this though, beating around the bush. Andrews, goes on the attack, with a bit of a joke on the side, emphasizing local government as the way to model ASI's Executive Branch at. Playing it safe, Mikey boy? Stanton dismisses echoing state, local, or federal forms, emphasizing serving the students. Now Barber is swaying away from his point, concurring with Stanton. Big mistake. His ship already sunk.

Projected winner: Andrews. He made his point across, reduced tired cliches, and fought off most rebuttals, although he seems to be a bit tired from going through the rounds.

Whew! What a mouthful. Next up: part 3!

Going to the candidates' debate...part 1

So says a lyric from Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson." I went to the debates today at USU-224. First were the Vice-Presidential candidates: Chris Chavez vs. Lucy Montano.
Round 1: Montano seems to concede the first round, concurring with Chavez. Nothing too compelling from Chavez...the usual cliches.
Round 2: Montano seems to be reading from a script at times. It doesn't seem very natural. Chavez is speaking naturally, and is even like a professor at times. Not staged. He emphasizes Students First. Montano is cornered.
Round 3: The usual explanations for not being active in ASI. Good attacks from Chavez. Textbook. At last, Montano is actually doing something to prove her case. But again, it's merely adding to Chavez's case. Yawn. Chavez knocks on the table, and goes in for the kill.
Round 4: Montano is still reading from the script. Again, not compelling. I can't believe she's on the podium. Was she even ready for this one? Chavez, meanwhile, rolls along...but also gets a little hiccup from reading the script. Great recovery from Christopher, though.
Round 5: CSSA question. Chavez plays it safe, quoting "middle of the road." Monthly basis and see how it goes. Montano, however, does not believe in a vote, but how the students feel...which is a vote. Oxymoron. Chavez, however, is weakening a bit.
Round 6: Reading from the script. I suppose this is Senator Montano's comfort zone. Academic Senate and ASI is a priority for Chavez. Montano is conceding this one.

My projected winner of the debate: Chris Chavez. He did his homework, and also was sportsmanlike.

Stay tuned for part 2...

A veteran's farewell

I would like to take this moment to say farewell to my colleague, Wayne Stickney-Smith, who will be leaving Long Beach State to work for a company up north that specializes in manufacturing plumbing parts. Wayne was the Super Fan who came before me, and gave me some sage advice during his days working at the Beach Pride Center.

He also was an ASI president for one semester, the semester before I became Long Beach City College ASB Cabinet Administrative Assistant for President Michael Brignac in 2004-05.

BoBA, and its sister blogs Bedlam on MySpace Boulevard (BoMB), Love and Liberty (LoLi) II and Love and Liberty Lite, thank Wayne for his continued support of Cal State Long Beach.