December, exact date and time unknown: The copier in the Associated Students, Inc. office is hemorrhaging paper at the rate of 26,000 copies over the winter break. Typically, the student government expects to run about 8,000 sheets over the break. President Artemio Pimentel and company expect foul play. Who knows who threw a monkeywrench into the printing budget in just a few months. Perhaps a corrupt ASI official ran off counterfeit copies of “War and Peace.” Speculation aside, whoever ran off the copies used the Board of Directors? code. So began the spring semester at ASI.

As opinion editor of The State Hornet, it is my pleasure to announce that one of my former employees has leaped into the fray as the new chief of staff of ASI. If you read The Hornet often, you might remember the crass rantings of Andy Fegley, known as A.F. Fegley in The Hornet, or simply Uncle A.F., as he often referred to himself. Fegley has taken on one of the most demanding and highest paying (at about $800 per month) positions in student government.

According to Pimentel, Fegley will be asked to ensure communication between the Board of Directors and the many student run programs, sit on several committees in Pimentel?s place and occasionally write speeches.

“I plan on looking at the issues and supporting the president in what he wants to do,” Fegley said, admitting he wasn?t fully aware of what that is, exactly.

“I haven?t really been briefed on a lot of the issues,” he said. Fegley spoke to me just minutes after being sworn in. As of now, his goals are “to fill the position as best I can and basically help Art [Pimentel] out.” And there is no reason to believe that he won?t. However, there were several major faux pas in the hiring process.”I had a good feeling about him,” Pimentel said. Not a bad hiring reason at all, however contacting me, Fegley?s last boss, would have been beneficial?especially considering The State Hornet was his last on-campus employer. Pimentel was vague, but references included Fegley?s longtime friend Shaun Lumachi, our former California State Student Association representative. Lumachi is a knowledgeable source to be sure, but he should hardly be expected to be critical toward an old pal. Here are some passages from Fegley?s column that appeared in The Hornet last fall. They may shed some light on where our new chief of staff stands on a few key issues:

-On students who protested President Donald Gerth?s decision to cancel Monday-Wednesday classes, Fegley wrote: “All we need now is for tie-dye to rear its ugly head and we will become our tree-hugging parents. I could understand the protests, if we had some real issues to get up in arms about, but this is ridiculous. So what if there are talks of canceling Monday-Wednesday classes?”

-On a smoking resolution pushed by Board Directors Luke Wood and J.J. Hurley, Fegley summed up his opinion in an open letter to the Philip Morris company: “I would like for you to provide marketing material that promotes your product. The mental giants in ASI that wish to limit smoking at Sac State seemingly want to ban the sight of smoking and smokers on campus as well. The best way to combat this nonsense is to make your product as visible as possible.”

-On Sept. 11: “With the expeditious manner in which our government was able to identify the highjackers, we can be confident that this horrible tragedy will be resolved quickly and with extreme prejudice.”

I wish Fegley the best and hope, for Pimentel?s sake, that he is fully prepared for the job. In the future, major hires such as this should be more thorough. Talking to past employers is a start. Now, about those copies?

Have a problem with that? Let Josh Leon know at [email protected].