What's in a name?

ASSOCIATED STUDENTS

Associated Students President Sean Brachvogel would like a little more definition to student government.

The Chief Executive spoke briefly to the student senate during their weekly meeting last Thursday about changing the name of Santa Clara's student governing organization from Associated Students of Santa Clara University to Associated Student Government of Santa Clara University. Brachvogel cites a general lack of knowledge in the student body about what AS does and how the organization is structured.

Brachvogel has asked AS's Chief Justice to look into whether changing the organization's title is considered a substantive change to its mission. If considered substantive, the proposal will go to the student body for a vote. If not, the change will go through on of AS's committees.

Including "government" in the title will quell any confusion that AS is a governing body, said Brachvogel.

The idea comes as several Chartered Student Organizations, including AS, is getting ready to move into the new Paul Locatelli, S.J., Student Activity Center after construction wraps up at the end of the academic year. Brachvogel thinks the name change will fold in well with the transition to new offices.

-CEW

Students react to Obama's Nobel

AROUND CAMPUS

President Barack Obama went to bed Thursday night knowing NASA would crash a module into the Moon’s surface in the middle of the night. He woke up Friday morning to hear that another event rocked the world while America slept.

He had won the Nobel Peace Prize.

“I got up this morning and checked all my news sources – Fox, CNN, AOL – and it was the top story on every one,” said Junior John Amann. “I was like ‘oh man, is this really happening?’”

Amann wasn’t the only one surprised.

Media outlets noted that even reporters gasped when Obama was revealed as the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, Norway. The announcement came before most of the East Coast was awake.

Political commentators, along with the both national political parties, spent most of Friday analyzing the decision to award the young leader with such an honor only nine months into his presidency. It didn’t take long to figure out that the Obama, a democrat, had been nominated for the prize less than two weeks after officially taking office in January.

Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele scoffed at the situation. “It's a stunning, if not truly surprising, indication of just how meaningless a once honorable and respected award has become,” Steele wrote in a fundraising email late Friday.

The award didn’t impress Junior Chris Beddow. “Overall, I think people think it’s kind of ridiculous,” he speculated. “He didn’t seem to realize how ridiculous it was,” said Beddow of Obama’s response.

Amann and Beddow, both political science majors, wanted other Santa Clara students to know what had transpired in the early morning hours. The pair set up a table in Benson to hand out fake Nobel Peace Prizes to anyone who wanted one because, in their opinion, the standards seem to apply to people who don’t do anything to deserve one.

“Nobel Peace Prize – they’re giving them out for free,” Amann heckled at students passing by near Mission Bakery.

Amann’s and Beddow’s prizes were nothing more than photocopied fliers with a picture of the Nobel medal, under which read, “Awarded to (your name here) for accomplishing… nothing.”

Their table, draped with a “Don’t Tread on Me” flag, caught the attention of students walking through Benson.

“They’re giving it to everyone nowadays!” shouted one passing student. Another silently walked up to the table to grab a fake award. “Agreed, agreed,” was all she said as she looked over the flier. Explained Amann, “We’re just concerned about whether he had the credentials to earn the prize.”

Not only did Amann and Beddow believe Obama was undeserving of the honor, they think he should have rejected it. No sitting president should accept the award due to conflict of interest, they contested.

Two other presidents have received the Nobel Peace Prize while in office. Theodore Roosevelt was awarded in 1906 and Woodrow Wilson in 1919. Former President Jimmy Carter won the prize in 2002 and former Vice President Al Gore in 2007, both after they left high office.

“We’re not protesting (Obama), but more what the process has come to,” said Beddow.

He and Amann agreed that the prestige of the award had declined significantly in recent years. “It’s considerably going downhill,” said Beddow.

Beddow suggested the panel choosing the prizewinners “should look a little deeper under the surface” at other individuals promoting peace in the world.

The pair was excited to have a tour group of prospective students walk by their table. Most of the crowd chuckled at the free awards.

“That’s very funny,” said one woman as she briskly walked passed the setup. She returned a few minutes later with a slower pace and took an award for herself.

Photo by Christopher Woodhouse

-CEW

Holdin' steady...

SOLAR DECATHLON

UPDATE: "Team California" has consistently held first place throughout the second day of judging at the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C. The team consists of engineering students from Santa Clara and students from the California College of the Arts. Together, they designed and built the Refract House at Santa Clara and transported it to the nation's capitol for judging. Twenty solar-powered homes from throughout the world will compete in the contest through October 16.

-CEW

Golden State proves tough to beat

SOLAR DECATHLON

Santa Clara's Solar Decathlon team is off to a strong start in the U.S. Department of Energy's Solar Decathlon in Washington, D.C.

The Refract House built over the last several months at Santa Clara ended its first day of judging ranked first in the national competition, just ahead of "Team Germany." There are 20 entries in the contest overall.

Officially called "Team California," Santa Clara partnered with the California College of the Arts to build an aesthetically pleasing solar-powered home for the competition. The house maximizes use of natural light, incorporates energy-efficient appliances, and digitally monitors water usage.

This isn't Santa Clara's first Solar Decathlon

A team of student engineers from Santa Clara failed to initially qualify for the competition two years ago, but were asked to build and submit an entry after another team dropped out. Under an accelerated construction schedule and a number of setbacks, including two broken axles en route, the team finally made it to Washington D.C. and reassembled the structure. That home took its designers and the Santa Clara community by surprise when it placed third overall in the competition.

Santa Clara's first Solar Decathlon home is now located between the parking structure and the Bannan Engineering complex on campus.

This year marks the fourth Solar Decathlon, which runs every two years on the Capitol Mall in Washington, D.C. Entries may be submitted as a team as Santa Clara's is this year, or individually. Entries are evaluated in 10 categories, including architecture, engineering, lighting design and home entertainment. Judging will continue through October 16. The homes will be open to the public October 9-13 and 15-18.

For more information on Team California, visit their Web site, or check out the official Solar Decathlon Web site to see the scoring throughout the contest.

Photo courtesy of solardecathlon.org

-CEW