A record turnout in voters last Tuesday at Sacramento’s American River Community College led to the overthrow of the existing conservative-leaning student council. The council, led by Ukranian-born student George “Yuriy” Popko, has made headlines in the past for its publicized support of Proposition 8 and its stance against punk rock music on campus.
The challengers to the incumbent council were led by David Fisher, who won as Student Association President in the elections last week, according to the Sacramento Bee. Usually, council elections draw very few numbers of students to the ballot box, with voters amounting to only about 1 percent of the student body. This time around, the high-profile candidates and heavy media attention garnered the votes of almost 10 percent of the 34,448 students currently enrolled.
The election outcome supports Fisher’s claim that ARC students have become fed up with what they view as the blatant Christian fundamentalist leanings of the former council members, who he believes abused their positions of power to pursue a partisan agenda for the school. Following a school resolution to support Proposition 8, overturning the gay marriage ruling by California courts, the school became the only community college in the state to go on record with a political stance on the issue.
Another resolution opposing the “Day of Silence,” an event meant to raise awareness of GLBT students on school campuses, was similarly voted through the council at the beginning of April.
Supporters of the resolution, including Popko, stated that the event was simply a way for liberal students to censor religious students for expressing their views. Spokespeople for the Day of Silence argue that it is not about censorship, its about bringing attention to the problem of bullying, an issue that should concern students of all political persuasions. The observance is sponsored and coordinated through the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network.
Forced to step down from his post, Popko worried that the campus climate is hostile to Christian students who feel harassed for their opinions. He has argued in the past that overwhelming professor support for feminism and evolutionary theories creates an atmosphere of intolerance for students of opposing viewpoints.
Fisher, however, argues that the same can be said of the former council’s highly politicized resolutions concerning gay rights, saying that they are guilty of giving the campus a national reputation for intolerance.
Fisher plans to overturn the resolution in support of Proposition 8, and return the school back to neutral ground concerning the issue. This means focusing on day-to-day issues that benefit all students. He wants to reign in the political reach of the council, saying to the Bee that “We don’t want to write resolutions that support this, that and the other. Our job is to focus on issues like parking.”
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