In the last two weeks, Associated Students has given blood and money, and debated God and country.

Last night, A.S. Finance Board allocated $1,200 to Flax Intern Sarah Aminzadeh to hold a summer camp for children in Isla Vista. Zeta Phi Rho fraternity received $150 to organize a haunted house for Halloween, leaving Finance Board $4,575 unallocated for the quarter. All allocations are subject to approval by Legislative Council.

At the Wednesday, Oct. 10 A.S. Leg Council meeting, council members debated, and eventually voted down, a bill that would have required Leg Council to recite the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of each meeting. Off-campus rep Martin Doyle authored the bill.

“Others [council members] have voiced concern over the Pledge’s phrase ‘under God,'” he said. “It is not an endorsement of organized religion or any particular creed, only an assertion that a nation so great as ours could not exist without some sort of divine assent.”

A.S. President Brian Hampton said the Pledge does not belong in Leg Council meetings.

“I love the Pledge, but it is inappropriate,” he said. “Not all students and council members believe in God, and the Pledge refers to God.”

Also last week, Leg Council unanimously passed a bill asking the I.V. Foot Patrol to answer its phones and add a voicemail option to the answering system.

“The purpose of the bill is to keep safety in Isla Vista by keeping an open link between the community and the IVFP,” off-campus rep Adam Kaiserman said. “I’ve personally called IVFP and they’ve never picked up.”

This Wednesday, Leg Council will discuss a bill that would require the national anthem to be played at the beginning of each meeting.

In other news, A.S. External Vice President for Local Affairs Ana Rizo coordinated D’a de la Raza activities with El Congreso and Protesta y Apoyo Zapatista.

“While the rest of America celebrated land-stealing and Columbus Day with half-price sales at Macy’s, we decided to honor the 90 million Native Americans that died, were raped or enslaved,” El Congreso member Angela Portillo said.

The weeklong celebration last week included a teach-in on the Aztec calendar, a rally at De La Guerra Plaza and Storke Plaza and performances by a variety of Chicano bands.

An A.S. on-campus blood drive held last week – co-sponsored by the A.S./UCSB Community Affairs Board and the Student Affairs Division – ended early due to limited storage facilities.

On Monday night A.S. External Vice President for Statewide Affairs Eneri Rodriguez held the first planning meeting for the National Day of Action on Oct. 30, a movement on college campuses nationwide in support of Affirmative Action.

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