San Diego Union Tribune, CA
Feb 28 2010

Stoker of UCSD ire can’t justify hurt caused
By Michael Stetz, UNION-TRIBUNE COLUMNIST

Sunday, February 28, 2010 at 12:04 a.m.

Kris Gregorian was drinking a beer at 11 a.m., courtesy of me.

That’s the way the editor of the Koala, the crude satire rag at the
University of California San Diego, likes to roll. You want to talk to
him, you’ve got to play a little `Animal House.’

Hey, it’s his liver.

Gregorian also smokes, but at least he brought his own. Providing
smokes would have been pushing it.

We met at Porter’s Pub, a bar on campus. 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?

It’s tough to figure people, but I thought I’d give it a shot. Our
reporters couldn’t get comment from Gregorian because of ethical
issues ‘ and time restraints ‘ with his beer demand. I was able to
overcome both.

Gregorian and a few of his Koala brethren gathered on the bar patio
because you can smoke there. Gregorian was sipping a Homecoming
porter, which costs $6. Later, he ordered a Dark and Stormy, another
$6 setback for me.

He wore shorts, a poncho, yellow flip-flops, and a red, white and blue bandanna.

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.

But a lot of people are saying it went way too far recently when on
its weekly TV show it blasted blacks ‘ called them ungrateful for
being upset over the `Compton Cook Out’ party, which mocked Black
History Month.

Metaphorically speaking, there was a big fire on campus, ignited by
the party. And here came the Koala, with gasoline ¦ and a big, wide
smirk.

The campus has since stopped funding 33 UCSD-based media outlets, the
Koala included, because of that broadcast. The school says it wants to
figure out a way to use student fees for publications and productions
that might not be apt to get the campus in an uproar.

That’s happening a lot these days. On Friday, a noose was found
hanging from a bookcase on the seventh floor of the university
library, causing more outrage and protest.

To Gregorian, the funding cutoff is just another example of the campus
‘ and society in general ‘ limiting free speech.

`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.’

But, come on ¦

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.’

Gregorian is majoring in cognitive science and is of Armenian descent.
Most, if not all, of the Koala staff is made up of minorities and
Jews, he said. He claims his best friend is black. And gay.

Gregorian, for one, always had a thing for pushing the envelope. He
can’t remember not being rebellious. He grew up in Glendale, which has
one of the largest Armenian populations in the nation.

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.

His parents worry, particularly over the death threats, he said.

`But they know me, so they tolerate most of my actions,’ he said.

That says something if your parents simply tolerate you. I don’t
suppose they have any choice.

But I do.

Watching this guy justify his incendiary and hurtful antics by
wrapping himself in the First Amendment made me sad.

I’d ask him to refund my $12 for beer ‘ and the $4 tip, too. But it
would mean talking to him again.

No comment.

feb/28/stoker-of-ucsd-ire-cant-justify-hurt-caused /