Good Post. I wonder if he's doing this to get his name in the paper in the hopes it will drum up his base in his district.

Vo is right. Banning a frat is going to very little to curb underage and binge drinking. What it will is accomplish is to move binge drinking out of the legal domain of the university administration -- i.e. even more off-campus and out-of-sight than it is now. I would argue that is a more serious long-term problem than they have now.

And frats ARE important social networks. The last two jobs I've gotten were through guys who lived in my frat house.

Besides, we all know asians have low tolerance....which just means more for the rest of us!

I hope Vo's keeps it up. I mean the dude is already a joke....this just makes it better.

Would you rather have Heflin?

Yep.

Would you rather have someone who can't speak and understand English?

Before the uber flames come.....I have met the man and he has a very weak grasp of English.

Rep. Vo has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from UH and has been a successful Houston businessman for 20 years. He does speak English with an accent, but that doesn't mean he doesn't speak or understand English.
PD - Since when is it okay to make racist remarks about people whose first language isn't English? It's just not cool.
After all, no one makes fun of Wonk for talking that backwoods hillbilly inbred jibberish he learnt from his momma/aunt.

I knew someone was gonna get sand in thier vag.

My comment were in no way rascist. Get off your soap box.

Hey I never said, "Wonk is a racist." But if the white hood fits...

Blah Blah. Go clean your vaj out.

Wonk:

I don't know who you are, but you have never met Hubert Vo. He has an accent, but speaks and understands English well. And Spanish. And French. And Vietnamese.

I wouldn't call you a racist, just a liar.

Dear Pinkdome -

rethink your opinion on this considering a few things.

1. The Headline. Why does his nose not belong in this issue?

The kid who died was Asian and from Houston - don't know if he was from his district. The thing is this: The whole point of having a diverse, representative legislature is to be certain that all people are represented/looked-out-for.

Think of just the capitol. I would bet you that 60-80% of the African American staffers work for African American members or deparment heads. Same with Hispanics. It is unfortunate that it takes someone getting elected for a whole groups of people to get paid-attention to, but it is true.

2. This fraternity is quite different than many around campus. A frat like this truly does fill a gap that few other resources fill - many of the members are immigrants and/or speak little English when they first arrive in Austin. A group like this, when it isn't hazing, can provide a surrogate family that can make the difference whether the student makes it through to graduation or not.

3. What it appears to me that Vo is trying to do - since this is what he has said he is trying to do - is come up with a more constructive punishment than banning a group for potential members who are not even in high school yet.

What happened in this fraternity was horrible and can not be tolerated. A better solution than punishing future potential-members who had nothing to do with the problem, would be to require something of those involved that makes certain the tragedy does not happen again.

As for Wonk - I would have to agree: you have obviously never met Hubert Vo.

Look, all I'm saying is if you want to live in this country then speak the language right. I don't have anything against nips, in fact I love Vietnamese food and they clean the shit out my shirts. So clean out your vag's and shut up already.

It is hard to understand if you have never been to a place where you are a minority. UT is one of the largest schools in the country. It is safe to say that Asians do not make up a large percentage of the student body. In America people are forced to assimilate to the majority, but very few people take time to learn about others. So when Asian students get to UT, it is good to have a group of people that they can relate to. It will be hard for many of you to understand, but try to think about the last time you went into a room and you were the only person of your ethnic background in the room. This group was already outside of the Greek system and their registration only allowed them to use campus facilities. So now they cannot reserve a classroom, will this stop drinking at parties? Also I doubt it is possible for a person to become a millionaire in one of the most conservative states in America and not understand english.

Wonk, you are way out of line. Your brand of "humor" is extremely unwelcome in this forum and does nothing but hurt people and perpetuate racial stereotypes. I propose you either say something constructive (minus the racial epithets) or shut the fuck up from now on.

Mus... Must...Musta? WTF? My opinion of you just went down several notches. How shortsighted of you, "genius."

And Pinkdome. Think for yourself every once in a while.

Wonk, I know you don't really mean the racial remarks you're writing. You're just trying to get a rise out of people. You need attention, and that's OK. So does everyone else. Because you're "conservative/Republican" whatever, everyone's going to assume you think/act like a racist. So, you write like one to play to their opinions and have your own private laugh at everyone who stands up with Great Righteousness to call you down.

Problem is, your "outlandish" remarks undercut folks like Darrell and Pinkreader who are trying to articulate serious opinions. If you had a serious opinion about this, it might be worth hearing. But since you know everyone else is right -- or since you just don't care -- you present yourself as this racist Republican who hates when people don't speak proper English. You act like everyone assumes you are in real life, even though you're probably very smart and articulate in real life.

If only you took off your mask...what would we really see?

P.S. I farted.

Can we all agree that Vo blends in with the furniture though?

Wonk the Non-Racist Genius Who Really Isn't a WonK:
Check the House website to see how many bills Vo filed and then check to see how many were actually heard in committee or made it to the floor. He took out "I want your baby" Fat Bastard himself, the King of Appropriations. They humored him by allowing one of his bills to make it to the floor, and that was only so they could make fun of him from the back mic.

Marie i'm not quite sure what point you are trying to make, but for you and Wonk. Give the guy a break. He didn't really get to start his term until several weeks into the session once the challenge was done. Considering that, he had about the same performance as any other Freshman.

Cuz he's a joke thats why they laugh at him. Connect the dots Corky.

Anyhow, Vo ain't gonna be re-elected even the D's know that.

Marie how much do you make as an assistatant admin aide? I must confess I am quite found of you. You have this big button on you and I love keep pressin' it.

Hey, I'm not hating on him. I'm a VO fan.

Ick.

How much is lck?

God y'all need to get laid.

Ok, I wasn't going to do this, but you asked for it, Wonk. I honestly feel terribly sorry for you boss, because you are a incapable of the complex thought that is required of a capable aide. You are a wannabe, and will never offer anything of substance to the people of Texas - or any policymaker for that matter.

Hey, Wonk. At 18, Hubert Vo climbed aboard one of the last boats to leave his native land and came to Texas with lierally nothing but the shirt on his back. At that young age, he had already shown more courage and accomplished more than you will if you live to be 100. You and your ilk can keep underestimating Rep. Vo if you like.

Since everyone is so distracted by Wank and his little racist potty mouth, no one seems to be addressing the central issue: this fraternity engaged in dangerous hazing practices that resulted in a death. They are getting the same sort of penalty that would be applied to any other student group in such circumstances. Should UT just wink at their lack of responsibility and just slap them on the wrist, just cuz they are Asian?

No, Locutor. UT should penalize those responsible to the fullest extent of the law. What they should not do is rush to suspend the entire fraternity because of the terrible actions of a few. Vo is not asking for special treatment for anyone. He is asking UT to pause long enough to try to solve the problem, not make it worse. Will students stop drinking just because this or any other fraternity is suspended? How about a little guidance so that fraternities can once again be what they originally were -- support networks for groups of like-minded students.

^^what a barrel o poop.

Let me guess, Wonk. You're Anglo. Upper middle class. Parents and older siblings went to college. So did you, or so are you. Family money. No scholarships. No need for a job to help pay your way. No trouble fitting in because, after all, 97% of the students look like you and come from similar backgrounds. How lucky you are.

Check the record, but didn't Rep. Vo author a bill about 9-1-1 service after a person in his district tried to dial their internet phone during a robbery and wasn't able to contact EMS? Heflin was one of the absolute worst politicians/babyswindlers/fatguys that Austin or Houston has seen in a while. Vo can speak to everyone in HIS district, be it in a Vietnamese accent. Now what about Martha Wong? Ever heard of her doing anything productive? Didn't take long for Vo to become the leading Asian voice in Austin. And I like the accent.

Actually Glenda I went to school on the GI Bill.

So that makes you a big fat racist who went to school on the GI bill!

Seriously, how many languages do you speak? How many businesses have you started and run successfully? Ever earn an engineering degree in a non-native language?

Vo kicks your ass, you small-minded loser!