In an impressive bit of buck passing, Your Student Assembly hosted Vice President of Student Affairs Ginger Ambler on a night where they had nothing to do. While I have my criticisms of the SA, I can always just tell myself that at least none of my tuition is placed directly into their pockets. Sadly, regarding Ambler, I cannot say the same.
Ambler said a lot about the state of the counseling center, none of it particularly clear. It seems that the administration has opted to plead ignorance on the matter. They were unaware of the SA’s last semester allocation to hire an additional full-time counselor until it was passed. They were even unaware of the need for an additional counselor. Ambler said that there was no room for an additional counselor, but it was obvious that Ambler never considered that as an administrator it is her responsibility to make things like this happen. More than anything, the administration seems to be running interference between the SA and the counseling center, further muddling communications that already seemed positively murky. My only explanation is that the administration is offended by the SA trying to do its job. They see large spending bills as a break in the established hierarchy. One in which the SA does nothing and the administration does what it wants.
Ambler also spoke to the College’s ban on beer pong tables. She referred to the playing of beer pong as high risk drinking. She claimed that students shouldn’t be overly concerned with College policy and instead make efforts within the student body to change alcohol culture on and off campus. While I am not particularly sympathetic to fraternities and could care less about the brotherhood fostered through beer pong, to call pong high risk drinking is alarmist and flatly untrue (unless she’s referring to the rugby scrums that often occur when playing under “live ball” rules). If Ambler knew anything about our drinking culture she would understand that students are drinking liquor in small groups before going out and drinking beer at parties. The whole point of the ubiquitous “pre-game” is that drinking beer while playing pong at a party is not enough to reach one’s desired level of intoxication. Even SA kids know about this stuff.
_Editor’s note: One or more comments were deleted for being deemed obscene, frivolous or off topic._
