Alright motherfuckers, there is a half empty bottle of bourbon next to me. And it is starting to talk. His name is Jim, and he is sad about Trek Park. Trek Park, if you haven't been by it recently, has been burned. The grass is fried to a crisp. Democracy Dome has been kicked in. It is a shadow of its former glory. I know the DA has been critical of Trek Park in the past, but that is because it never went far enough. This year needs to start off with a bang. I say occupy some fucking buildings.
Everyone complains about a lack of student housing, and how building million dollar condos is lame. But nothing is really done about it. But there are ways you can get your point across to The Man that you're mad as hell and not gonna take it anymore. Theres a nice shiny condo being built on South Campus. Once it nears completion, occupy it. Demand that it be turned into student housing. Even offer to pay $500 per room. But demand it be turned over to students. Last year demonstrated that there are UBC students willing to be arrested for a cause, but they were mocked. The reason the Fire was ridiculed was because the cause those students were willing to be arrested for did not resonate with the majority of the student body. On the other hand, everyone cares about housing. We all have to deal with it and it sucks. UBC ain't helping much. UC Berkeley has about 25,000 undergrads with 5,800 beds first years can sleep in. UBC has 35,000 undergrads with only 2,500 beds between Vanier and Totem. UCLA, with 24,000 undergrads, has 9,500 total beds. Now while these numbers just give a general ballpark, it is clear that UBC offers less housing than universities it likes to compare itself to. And UBC doesn't seem to be doing much about it. Oh sure they can complain about lack of money and what not, but if they wanted to build more hosing, they could find money instead of wasting it on things like trying to join NCAA.
So one morning we walk into a newly built (yet not yet inhabited) condominium. Dig some trenches, barricade some doors, launch some Molotov cocktails at the neighbors. Instant international media attention. And we have a very real plight. We just want somewhere to live.
26 August, 2008
Burn baby burn!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
6 comments:
I think perhaps we should restrict ourselves to water balloons, paint balloons if we're feeling bold. The engineers can design the trebuchets to bombard the fuzz while the Agi-Sci people can build hydroponic gardens to feed us through the long siege and the Poli-Sci students can issue manifestos. I foresee this event as one that could bring us all together as a student body. It's bringing tears to my eyes already.
Is the bourbon bottle half empty or half full?
Empty!
I admit, I've been negligent in keeping up on DA activity. As one of the Dome's architects, I am relieved to see someone actually reporting on the destruction of Trek Park recently.
Thanks. Domocracy Dome (fb profile) has posted a series of photos on "Kno to the Knoll" that shows the rebuilding on Sunday August 31st, and its destruction on Tuesday - first day of classes - Bastards!
And you are right that the grass plots were torched some time ago.
Does any of this look like the actions of a Hate Group to anyone else?
Durgan.
A hate group? My god you guys are clueless. Durgan, where the fuck were you all summer when the grass was allowed to grow several feet, all the barricades fell down (not destroyed) and the stones on the planters got strewn about. Trek Park sat there neglected for months as a terrible eyesore. You didn't do your job of keeping it up over the summer so stop acting like a victim.
Dear "Anonymous": Actually I was here all summer. We rebuilt the dome 5 times since April. It was destroyed each time, probably by the same group of guys. These people always did so at night, and will not openly admit to it, except probably amongst their friends - so you can bet a lot of people know who the perpetrators are.
The grass in the sod plots grew to about a foot and a half high, turned golden yellow and laid down beautifully. The sod plots were gorgeous. They were torched first one, then the next one a few nights later in like mid-August.
The park in general has been trashed about 40-50 times in the past year. Not only were sculptures "barricades" knocked down, trees and plants were ripped out of the ground, signs spray painted and thrown over the fence and into the bushes, and recently prayer flags torn down and stolen.
If you guys want to deny that this is not mimicking a hate group, you have to make up some new category.
Thanks again to the DA crew. I really hope you guys get your act back together this year, you've been an extremely valuable forum.
Post a Comment