The debate is focusing on whether the VPMA should be elected by member groups of the Inter-Cultural Awareness Council or by popular vote of the entire student body. The elimination of the posi tion was one of the contributing factors in the recent protests. SA president Anthony J. Bernardello, who was facing impeachment charges before the Judicial Review Board, re signed last week. Those in favor of the option of electing the VPMA by popular vote asserted that the per son who holds the office should represent the entire student body, not just specific groups. But former Black Student Union president Nicole Johnson countered that the VPMA posi tion was created in 1982 because minorities weren't being represented in popular elections.
Representation is the issue.
We need someone who will represent the students' views to the administration, not a personal ideology. Tiffany Patterson, assistant professor of history, said the position of the VPMA is a struggle over power. Justice Douglass said it was not surprising that minorities would seek a mechanism to level the playing field. And that's still the playing field now. Those in power claim the playing field is fair but they are the ones who benefit from the imbalances.