cont... Ken Greenstein began UCSB in the fall of 1982. After a year in Francisco Torres Residence Hall, he has lived in Isla Vista since, except for six months last year as an intern in Washington, D.C. Ken was elected to the A.S. Legislative Council in the spring of 1985 and was appointed A.S. President after the elected president was forced to resign. Lately he has been active in peace issues and in A.S. Student Lobby, where he was part of the effort to rid the faculty of the CIA connection. He is probably headed to graduate school in the fall. Free Press: Were you involved in student government and politics in high school? Greenstein: I was just a jock. I played basketball at Beverly Hills High. I was totally non-political, I played a lot of cards, and me and my friends did a lot of stupid things. Free Press: What started your involvement at UCSB? Greenstein: I helped found a fraternity, ZBT. I had rushed an existing one but didn't make it. So I got mad and helped get the new one going. I thought frats were important--a lot of my friends joined, the social life, the co-operative living. I was a vice president and got a lot of projects and committees going and that was fun. But as I become more politically involved, I found that my values were conflicting with those of other members. There was a lot of prejudice and conscious elitism. After two years, I dropped out. Free Press: You said as you became "politically involved"? Greenstein: During the 1984 (U.S. presidential) election, I began researching the issues a lot. I guess I had always suspected that there was something gravely wrong with our foreign and domestic policies. Some of my classes opened my eyes. But I guess it was Stockwell's speeches about the CIA and becoming friends with a lot of progressive people that really turned by around. I was involved with the Die-In in Storke Plaza in early 1985, some other peace things, and then ran for A.S. in April. Free Press: What did you learn from your experience in student government? Greenstein: That I hate bureaucracies! Also, how powerless students are without direct action. Students--in numbers--need to confront the Administration (or the local government or whatever) to actually have success. You can only make small changes through negotiations; they have the staff, the time, the information that students (and residents) don't have. We can only get something accomplished with the threat of confrontation. So we have to inspire people that their empowerment will actually lead to impacts that will improve their lives. Free Press: What do you think of Isla Vista Cityhood? Greenstein: We definitely need it in order to improve the services, for rent control, and to end the dominance of special interests. With I.V. cityhood, people would realize that participating in community is really the right place to be. With the demise of the Isla Vista Community Council, maybe the Associated Students should get more involved in I.V. We can't leave it for the Federation and special interests. 1 2 3 4 home

Šislavistahistory.com 2002