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 Vol. XXXI, Issue 2 | Wednesday, September 30, 2009
In a shock-ing turn of events involv-ing the recentcontroversy over New York Governor David Paterson’s decision to runfor governor, President Obama called Gov. Paterson a “jack-ass on Monday, September 21.“I mean, sometimes I just wonder what he’s doing upthere. He’s certainly not winning any popularity awards andthen just decides to totally ignore my request for him to pullout,” Obama said casually after the first portion of his inter- view with Terry Moran of NBC. “So does that count as thefirst question?” Moran responded. “I, I hear you – I agreewith you. He’s a jackass. He’s also legally blind and in all hon-esty I just can’t have that anymore,” Obama whispered,thinking that his off the record comments would stay amongst him, Moran and her camera crew. To his surprise,Moran breached her journalistic integrity to tweet thesecomments to the whole world.“Pres. Obama just called Gov. Paterson a ‘jackass’ forhis decision to still run for governor. Now THAT’S presi-dential,” said Moran’s tweet. Moran has been subsequently “Keith Oberlin-ed,” as they say in the business, by an infu-riated NBC. Expect to see her new commentator programlater this fall.Upon reading this comment while perusing his Twit-ter account, Paterson was outraged. “It’s on. Really I’m notplaying. He thinks I’m going to pull out of the governor racenow. Fuck that. It’s all about spite now,” tweeted Patersonearly the next morning.Following the Governor’s infuriated tweet, one of themost controversial arguments involving a U.S. President hasensued. Throughout the week, both Obama and Patersonhave both publicly and privately sent out attacks in an at-tempt to verbally one up their opponent.“So that’s how it’s going to be, huh? Brother againstbrother?” Paterson said after being told that Obamawouldn’t be opposed to “socking him once or twice in themouth.” Paterson finished out the surprisingly emotionalinterview with NBC’s David Gregory by saying, “Thatgrey-haired grandpa couldn’t touch me. I’m like Dare-devil. My acute hearing would carry me all day.”The back and forth from the President and NewYork’s heavily disliked governor has created an enormousbuzz on the commentator circuit. Jelly donut-human hy-brid Rush Limbaugh, famous for getting his start on theFood Network by questioning Rachel Ray’s sexuality, hascalled Paterson’s comments in the Gregory interview aspulling the “competitive race/physical disability card.” Theterm, recently coined by Limbaugh himself, accuses Pa-terson of feeling both that he has to compete with Obamabecause they’re both African Americans in powerful polit-ical positions and also that his physical disability is a subjectthat shouldn’t be touched by insults.“The man thinks because he’s legally blind that thatmeans we can’t make fun of him for it. He’s got to realize thisis the real world and physical disabilities are not just funny,but deadly argument winners,” said Limbaugh on theWednesday following Obama’s remarks.In a rather expected turn of events, rapper and neo-JesusKanye West has stepped out of his media exile to side withPaterson after feeling equally victimized by the President’sfiery insults.“It’s not every day that a mother fucking lyrical word-smith backs you up,
and 
against the President of all people.I’m the Gov.’s boxing gloves and Obama better prepare toduke it out with the voice of our generation. Jesus Walks,”Kanye pronounced with an audacious confidence in a recentinterview with MTV.As the week wraps up, President Obama has voiced fur-ther frustration.“Believe me, if I didn’t have to go arm-to-arm withBritain and France to accuse Iran of covertly producing nu-clear fuel underground and persuade the U.N. to keep theHonduran presidential controversy from turning violent, I’dgive Mr. West and Governor Paterson a taste of my theirown medicine. But as former President Franklin DelanoRoosevelt once said, ‘I got a lot of shit to do.’”One can only hope that these juicy media insults willcurdle over before they get too out of hand. A number of YouTube videos, blog posts and purposeless civilian tweetshave collected to amass a strong public opinion, but thequestion of whether or not it will be necessary to have thepublic weigh in on this brutal week-long argument will beanswered soon enough. A clue came in the form of Pater-son’s ominous statement early yesterday morning, “I’mswinging and I ain’t gonna stop. So he better fall back.”
Obama, Paterson, Makin’ War Not
Love
 
By Nick Statt
 
The Stony Brook Press
3
News
A University senator voiced her con-cerns about the establishment of a Stony Brook University satellite in SouthKorea at the Undergraduate StudentGovernment Senate’s September 25meeting during open agenda.University Senator Julia Link re-ceived information about SBU Songdoduring a September 10 University Sen-ate presentation given by Deputy Provost W. Brent Lindquist. Link saidshe has many concerns about what theplans entail, which include exportingsome SBU faculty to the South Koreacampus. The purpose of her addresswas to pass information about theSongdo University plans on to SBU stu-dents through the USG. Link addedthat professors had not been informedof the SBU Songdo plans, though they would be affected through proposedstaff movement to South Korea.“I didn’t bring this to you to make adecision because nobody did,” saidLink. “I want the help of USG to edu-cate students, to give them a headsup…Amid budget cuts and class cut-ting, to start sending teachers overseas just doesn’t seem like a very good idea.”Lindquist presented to the Univer-sity Senate because, unlike USG, theUniversity Senate is a legislative groupcomposed of faculty and students whoset university policy. The University Senate may express an opinion on theSBU Songdo proposal, but the ultimatedecision remains with SBU PresidentSamuel L. Stanley, Jr.According to Lindquist’s “PlanningUpdate SBU Songdo” PowerPoint, SBUwill provide the academic programs, thefaculty, the students and will grant SBUdegrees. In exchange, South Korea isforming the Incheon Free EconomicZone, where it will establish a “GlobalUniversity Campus.” Within this zone,SBU and 10 other universities will setup satellites. The South Korean gov-ernment will pay for the facilities for ap-proximately five years. After five years,SBU will take primary responsibility forfunding. SBU Songdo will not befunded by New York State, but will re-ceive funding from research, specificgrants, SBU Songdo tuition and theSouth Korean government. Link ex-pressed that the establishment of thesegrants exclusively for SBU Songdo wasessentially diverting money that couldbe going to SBU proper instead.Link said she had asked Lindquistabout the benefits of the SBU Songdo toresident SBU students. “He said, ‘I don’tknow. I don’t know if it will or if it willnot’,” said Link. “He did not give any kind of valid answer.”Lindquist was unavailable for com-ment.Interim Media Relations OfficerLauren M. Sheprow said that SBU resi-dent students would greatly benefitfrom SBU Songdo’s establishment. “The value of a Stony Brook degree will beenhanced,” said Sheprow. “Currently anSBU degree has very limited interna-tional recognition — as compared to,for example, UC Berkeley, orUCLA. With a branch campus in Asia,the recognizability of an SBU degreewill be expanded in an area of the worldthat is developing as a global economicengine. Our desire is to provide stu-dents the same international cachetwith an SBU degree.”Furthermore, Sheprow denied thatthere would be the loss of students andresources abroad.“Market studies show that foreignstudents who want to come to the USare not going to change their minds,”Sheprow said. “Conversely, US studentswho want to study overseas are unlikely to be currently at, or thinking of comingto, SBU. We expect Songdo to provideincreased study abroad semester pro-gram opportunities for our US stu-dents.”Similarly, USG Senator Syed Haqasserted that other universities, likeSUNY Buffalo, have institutions abroad.SUNY Buffalo was the first SUNY to es-tablish a satellite, which is located inMalaysia. Haq later asked the Senate toconsider the SUNY Songdo issue whenthe student representatives on the Sen-ate of Arts and Sciences are picked. “Allthe information we are receiving here ishearsay,” said Haq.USG President Jasper Wilson saidthat a SBU Songdo committee will beformed by faculty representativeswithin the Senate of Arts and Sciences.The Senate of Arts and Sciences is a leg-islative body composed of faculty andstudents within the University Senate.This committee will include studentrepresentatives who have not yet beennominated by Wilson. The Senate of Arts and Sciences nomination/confir-mation process will begin next week’sUSG Senate meeting.“I am pretty sure that Provost BrianLindquist and President Stanley will becoming to talk to the Committee of Artsand Sciences to answer the faculty’squestions…so more information getsout there,” said Wilson. “I do not think it’s very helpful to continue this discus-sion any further.”Amid the debate, multiple USGsenators tried to communicate that they could not issue an opinion on the SBUSongdo plans. “I want to make clearthat nothing has been approved yet by the university or the university presi-dent,” said USG Senator Keith Tilley.Former USG Senator Adam Kentsaid that the SBU Songdo question hadbeen deferred to the UndergraduateCouncil, another legislative undergrad-uate policy committee, of which he waspart last year. Currently, Kent is sittingon the committee as an observer.“Whatever information is given andthat is allowed to be shared, I will morethan happily share,” Kent said. “We weretold to keep it quiet because they do notknow what they are doing…it is beingsent into committee to look into it. Oneof many things, the feasibility and thepros and cons. I will be putting the stu-dent’s best interests on this campus inAmerica in mind.”
Hey, Dr. Stanleyman, Play A Songdo For Me
by Natalie Crnosija
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