UCSD: The guy who yelled "N*****s" on student TV and set the university ablaze

[Nikki Stone1]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/28/stoker-of-ucsd-ire-cant-justify-hurt-caused/

Stoker of UCSD ire can’t justify hurt caused
BY MICHAEL STETZ, UNION-TRIBUNE COLUMNIST
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 28, 2010 AT 12:04 A.M.

....On his way, Gregorian said, he got the usual dirty glares he’s been getting from fellow students of late. A lot of people don’t like him. He’s gotten death threats. Well, that can happen, when you drop the “n” word during a student TV show hosted by your organization, inflaming racial tensions that were already on the rise.

Did he expect a parade?

....Gregorian is 25, a fifth-year senior. He swears he just wants to drink beer and have fun. The Koala makes fun of everyone, he said.....

....“There’s no point in having rights if you can’t use them,” he said. “And history shows if you don’t push the envelope, typically you’re more likely to lose them.”

....In the most recent issue of the Koala, it made fun of Haiti, the place recovering from a devastating earthquake.

The Koala noted how “dead children are good for a lot of games.”

In an issue from last year, the Koala made light of the death of a student who died practicing pole vaulting on campus.

“Our express goal,” Gregorian said, “is to offend every group possible.”

....He told me that after Sept. 11, he went to Los Angeles and carried a placard saying, “Will Work For Box-Cutters,” referring to the weapons the hijackers used. Police arrested him — for his own safety, he said.

One of Gregorian’s heroes? That would be Larry Flynt. Growing up, he saw the movie about the pornographer’s free-speech case and was amazed at Flynt’s resolve.

Gregorian says he’s driven by a desire not to see society backtrack and give up freedoms.

When he came to UCSD, he said, he was outrageous. He thought bizarre, outlandish thoughts. The Koala looked like a great opportunity to channel that.

“I had a forum,” he said....




MORE AT THE LINK


For the BACK STORY on this, see this thread in LBN:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=4286603&mesg_id=4286603

[Nikki Stone1]

1. Oh, and read the comments

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/feb/28/stoker-of-ucsd-ire-cant-justify-hurt-caused/

[Ellen Forradalom]

39. The comments at the LA Times discussion on this are revolting.

Basically a whole lot of "It's the truth, so STFU oversensitive whiners."

[vadawg]

2. guy seems to be an equal oppurtunity mocker, might have outdid himself this time though

wonder if he will ever have his own radio or tv show out of all this publicity..

[Nikki Stone1]

3. I'll bet Fox picks him up

He can be on right after Glenn Beck. :(

[RKP5637]

5. Yep, great match for Fox's Network of Hatred!. n/t

[vadawg]

6. i was thinking more along the lines of jackass tv or spike tv or something

the guy seems to just be a political comedian wannabee, i guess its this kinda stuff that the first amendment protects.. guy can still be an idiot though..

[Nikki Stone1]

16. Maybe Jackass, and with any luck

he'd burn his weenie off. :D

[vadawg]

17. rofl, its not as bad as the guy i dealt with who fried his weenie while out of his nut

i still puke a bit when i think of it.... :)

[Nikki Stone1]

18. Ouch!

:rofl:

[vadawg]

20. worst drugs bust ever, big hint dont try to make a fry up when out of your gourd

and dont fall asleep over teh cooker..... :barf: i havent had sausage since

[Nikki Stone1]

21. I'll remember that.

:rofl:

And I'll keep away from men with that fry cooker...

:rofl:

[liberalhistorian]

33. Holy shit, I'm not even a man and I don't

even wanna imagine it!!!!!

[Nikki Stone1]

37. LOL!!

:D

[Blue_Tires]

8. naturally, most of these self-styled "equal oppurtunity mockers" say nothing

about their own demographic...

[vadawg]

10. so what, personally i think the will work for box cutters thing was much worse

jeez have you seen the guys complete works, how the fuck do we know he dosent give abuse to his own demographic even more...

[Blue_Tires]

15. I just know the style...

the guy may think he's the first wannabe shock, anti-PC warrior dropping racial blasts, but every campus has one...

All I know is he saw a legit racial dispute on campus, and made it that much worse, for no other reason than his own tastless sense of gratification...

[Nikki Stone1]

25. That boxcutters thing reminds me of why Howard Stern was fired in DC in the early 80s

The day after a disastrous Air Florida plane crash over the 14th street bridge on I-95 in DC, in which many people died, Stern called up Air Florida and asked what it would cost to buy a one-way ticket to the 14th street bridge.

[Hello_Kitty]

38. Bingo!

"Something to offend everyone" almost invariably means "everyone but the Caucasian males who are the target demographic."

[RKP5637]

4. Sounds like a complete ass to me! n/t

[Initech]

7. There's a fine line between pushing the envelope and just plain douchebaggery.

:wow:

[Blue_Tires]

12. funny how no one can distinguish the two anymore

to Gregorian, they are one and the same...

[Initech]

26. Certainly true.

My brother went to UCSD, I'll have to get his take on the story next time I see him.

[Nikki Stone1]

27. Ask him if KOALA was always this bad. Also

ask him if the University seemed racist to him.

[Initech]

28. None of the people I've ever met from there seemed racist to me.

[Nikki Stone1]

30. My friend is teaching there adjunct and he says the kids seem very nice to him

He is half Latino and half White and no one has given him a hard time.

[Ellen Forradalom]

34. Pushing the envelope takes insight and wit

But any 25-year-old beer-drinking slacker can be a douchebag.

[spoony]

35. Perfectly put. nt

[Initech]

36. Exactly.

I'm a beer-drinking slacker and I know that fine line exists. But at least unlike this douche I have standards.

[marshall]

9. So does he consider himself the Howard Stern/Chris Rock of his campus?

They university needs to decide where the line is between good speech and bad speech, at least insofar as funding is concerned.

[vadawg]

11. bingo thats probuably were he thinks he is

[Nikki Stone1]

19. The ACLU will demand that KOALA be funded.

They have already sent a letter:

http://www.10news.com/download/2010/0225/22664817.pdf

[marshall]

23. I wonder if they will just try to cancel all funding, and let them support their own projects

Sort of like the schools that have abolished all student organizations because they don't want a Gay/Straight Alliance.

Or they may also claim it's an issue of safety, if in fact folks are actually getting "death threats".

It's a case to keep our eyes on. Especially those of us involved with college campuses.

[Nikki Stone1]

24. At the moment, funds are temporarily suspended for everyone thanks to Gregorian

The other student media can't be happy with him.

[Mz Pip]

13. With rights come responsibility

Something that seems to have alluded this jerk. Words matter and just because you can say something doesn't mean you should.

I'm waiting for this guy to be villified by Fox the way Rahm Emmanuel and Seth McFarlane were but I won't hold my breath. He'll probably be offered the opportunity to co host a program with that beauty pagent contestant who thought it was okay to kill gays.

[alp227]

14. South Park is an "equal opportunity offender" show, and its creators at least KNOW taste.

At least Trey Parker & Matt Stone don't cross into mocking 9/11 victims.

[Nikki Stone1]

22. I'm liking some of these comments

still in college at 25? Just another idiot screaming, "...look at me, I am strange, I am wacky..." - zzzzzz boring...

dude, you are right, you are weird and no one gives a rat's a**

Your 15 minutes are up

crawl back into your hole

or better yet, move to lakeside and join the local american legion (except that would be a loss for those boys)

hey, david duke might look to hire you......

i will buy this dude a beer a day for life IF he ever graduates (not!)

-------------------------------------

Does Gregorian LOOK like he's trying to graduate? He'll turn into a 6th year senior soon enough. He's also 25 and has no military background (or other hardship background) that would explain his advanced age as an undergraduate. A hard-working 22 year-old senior who takes 5 years and is pulling in credits and extra courses is commendable. This guy, on the other hand, seems to have spent 5 years drinking and spewing. Put a diaper on him and send him home to his mother. Or, if they can't stand to have him at home, they can pay 40K a year to house him at UCSD and take the pressure of the taxpayer.

-------------------------

You know Gregorian has constantly refused to be interviewed by the media without being bought a beer.

The whole idea of a marketplace of ideas is that they are able to be debated. Speech isn't protected because it is meaningless and should just be ignored. Just the opposite. It is so powerful that our framers felt that it was one of the key checks on governmental power. But, that does not mean you can just say what you want and not take any responsibility for your actions.

The Koala has constantly pushed the edge of any sense of decency. However, its recent actions have not only caused outrage among the community and created a sense of fear and distrust among the student body, it has also caused damage to the reputation of UCSD.

When future employers Google his name, articles like this are the first that are going to appear. If he doesn't care about damaging the community he lives in, you would think he would care about his future career. Unless he expects his parents to continue to tolerate him well into the future.

[Nikki Stone1]

29. Koala's web page:

http://koala.ucsd.edu/

[SemiCharmedQuark]

31. Ugh. Thank you for keeping us UTD on this, Nikki.

[Nikki Stone1]

32. You're welcome. I'll keep updating on my LBN thread

Despite the unrecs.... ;)