Video Controversy, Birnam Assault, RA Update: Your April 27 weekly news briefing
AS candidate video controversy
Associated Students presidential candidate Mary Moeller has removed her campaign videos from Facebook after receiving criticism for using footage of members of Blue Group without their explicit consent. Blue Group is a group of undocumented Western students and their allies.“[The video] was intended to show solidarity with the Blue Group’s work and inform voters on my positions as a candidate,” Moeller said in a Facebook post. “Instead it made the Blue Group feel like I was leveraging their movement as a political token.” Moeller said she had shown the video to the Blue Group prior to posting it, and now regrets her decision to post it.In a comment on the video, Blue Group’s President Victoria Matey called the video disrespectful and tokenizing. “It’s taking credit for our work that you haven’t been a part of,” Matey said. “We don’t need a white savior.”
Matey said Blue Group did not realize the video would be posted online. Blue Group endorsed Simrun Chhabra for AS president.
Birnam assault
University Police arrested a 44-year-old convicted felon, Wednesday, April 26, for allegedly assaulting a Western student, according to a Western Alert. The student was riding his bike outside Birnam Wood around 10:45 a.m. when the man allegedly grabbed his neck and attempted to strike him, according to the alert. After the student notified police, the alleged assailant was seen in Red Square and arrested outside Edens Hall. A Western Alert about the incident and arrest was sent out out just before noon.
RA updates
Resident advisers have been in talks with President Randhawa to form a negotiation team to begin addressing concerns, they said in a statement. They have formed a committee made up of eight RAs, one elected to represent each residence hall, as well as two RAs at large to serve as organizers and points of contact. A list of the members was sent to President Randhawa on April 23, they said. The AS is considering a proposal to form a University Housing Representation and Advocacy Committee. The committee would be chaired by the AS vice president for student life and contain RAs and student residents, as well as representatives from AS resources centers. The committee is meant to serve as a voice for students in University Residences.
City council meeting
Students from Western’s AS Local Issues Team spoke during a public comment period about rental issues. The AS is calling for information on tenant rights and voter registration to be given to renters upon move-in.The City of Bellingham is offering the Port of Bellingham $300,000 to not purchase waterfront property where Mayor Kelli Linville hopes to build a homeless shelter. Five maritime businesses are currently located at the Roeder Avenue property. The port will consider the issue at their meeting on Tuesday, May 2.
Solutions by The State News
