The induction of sophomore Cameron Beech as ASUU press secretary is a perfect illustration of how the Associated Students of the University of Utah is missing the boat in its correspondence with The Chronicle and other press organizations-if there are, indeed, other press organizations interested in the actions of ASUU.
After promising to maintain an open-door policy during their campaign for office this spring, ASUU leaders have already completely reneged on their word by creating a new barrier between themselves, the students and media organizations that hold them accountable.
ASUU is not a unified front, and the idea that one student executive could possibly speak for the entirety of their $1.35 million operation is laughable. It would seem that Jake Kirkham and Toby Collett could just as easily field questions themselves as brief as Beech on every move they and their subordinates make.
President Bush has Tony Snow to conduct official meetings and press gatherings because-love him or hate him-you have to concede that Bush is far too busy to explain his actions to all concerned parties personally.
Kirkham and Collett may work very hard for students at the U, but it’s hard to imagine that they don’t ever have a free moment to talk with a newspaper that’s situated roughly five steps across the hall from their office.
Talking with The Chronicle has long been the job of the student leaders themselves-one of the duties for which they receive $2,400 each month. This is the first time in recent memory that ASUU has hired another position (for which a scholarship will be awarded) to deflect these responsibilities.
The decision to establish this new position likely stems from poor relations between the BLOC Party and The Chronicle during campaigns this spring, although Kirkham denied the move was an attempt to keep The Chronicle at bay.
Factor or no, the position of press secretary creates a new obstacle through which student groups and media organizations will have to go to ensure ASUU is fulfilling its responsibilities, and to herald it when it has done so.
Unless it has nefarious secrets to hide, there’s no reason to employ a professional scapegoat to operate at students’ expense.