There has been a long running feud between The California Aggie and ASUCD. Much of the feud stems from the fact that the Aggie feels that one of its primary roles is as a watchdog for ASUCD — after all, no other news source is likely to report on such local going-ons. Once elected/appointed, some officials within ASUCD find themselves under a level of scrutiny that they've never experienced before: having editorials written about their actions, weekly senate briefs, etc. While student government may be "pretend" government, the amount of money (~$9 million) and the amount of responsiblity are real. Thus, the level of attention paid to ASUCD within the Aggie is far greater than might be initially expected.
However, with the level of attention the Aggie pays to ASUCD, along with the vastness of the association itself, comes occasional mistakes and oversights in the Aggie's coverage. These are the primary core of the frustration of ASUCD officials. The Aggie allows for responses and debate about its coverage to take place within its Letters to the editor section, and such debate is routinely a part of the twice-a-week section.
The Aggie has historically been one of the rallying points for change within ASUCD. Two good examples of Aggie coverage of ASUCD inciting change within the association are the ASUCD Senator Ackerman Scandal and the Campaigning in Dorms Controversy. In both cases, the Aggie's attentive coverage and editorials led to major change within the association: Senator Ackerman resigning and incoming Senators Nafeh Malik and Sean Ruel resigning, respectively.
Though the Aggie is a unit of ASUCD, its directors are appointed independently through the Campus Media Board. The Aggie does not receive any direct financial support from ASUCD. This lets the Aggie get around the restrictions that prevent ASUCD (a 501(c)3) from endorsing candidates, something the Aggie does in its editorial section before all elections. The Aggie gets rent in Lower Freeborn for free, as do all other ASUCD units. The Aggie pays for all of the ASUCD services it uses (accounting, IT work, etc). The Aggie cuts ASUCD units a break by letting them get cheaper ads in the paper.
In the end, the feud is mostly in good fun. ASUCD and the Aggie used to face off in an annual game of sloshball as a token of good will despite the possibly heated exchanges between the groups. The game did not take place during the 2004-2005 school year for unknown reasons.
More information
- Former Aggie Editor in Chief — "ASUCD has laughably tried to tell The Aggie...Who are they kidding?"
