Last Tuesday, I said that WEF staff members were Karma Patrollers. I would like to expand on that.
The Karma Patrol are the people who make the Festival happen. They go out and do what is needed and WEF happens. This all volunteer force goes onto the Quad and does the impossible. The Festival expects the Karma Patrol to be the best and they are. Every KPer is working to make 2006 a good Festival.
There is only one reason that they are on KP; to make a good Festival. WEF is a free festival; none of the KP are doing it to get in free. This makes a difference. At other festivals, the quality of volunteers is very uneven. The Karma Patrol is the best. By calling them Karma Patrollers, I was complimenting the staff on joining the best volunteer organization I know of.
Most Karma Patrollers start work in May. Some start in April at Picnic Day and the shirt screenings. A few KPers start in December, they're called the staff. When it comes to those three days, all Karma Patrollers have the same desire (to have a good Festival) and the same smarts. The December KPers, however, have a greater knowledge of the "who, what and when" than May KPers. The May KPers respect that knowledge and the plans that have been formed. That respect gives the staff power. Power "between" not power "over."
The KP is 100% pure volunteer, any KPer can walk off the Quad at any time. The Festival happens because the KP agrees to work on it. Its the consensus version of "voting with your feet." I'm not sure if this is consensus. Everyone has the power to veto, but one person's veto won't stop the group. WEF as the physical consensus of 300 Karma Patrollers is a nice image. But for some reason, the word "anarchy" keeps running through my head.
By calling the staff Karma Patrollers, I was praising the staff and thanking them for working on the Festival. I also wanted to call to mind the scope and the nature of their power. I also was thinking of the May KPers and the respect and power that they deserve.
The people, be they KPers, vendors, performers, whatever... The people who work to make a good Festival are the reason that WEF is special.
The Karma Patrol are the people who make the Festival happen. They go out and do what is needed and WEF happens. This all volunteer force goes onto the Quad and does the impossible. The Festival expects the Karma Patrol to be the best and they are. Every KPer is working to make 2006 a good Festival.
There is only one reason that they are on KP; to make a good Festival. WEF is a free festival; none of the KP are doing it to get in free. This makes a difference. At other festivals, the quality of volunteers is very uneven. The Karma Patrol is the best. By calling them Karma Patrollers, I was complimenting the staff on joining the best volunteer organization I know of.
Most Karma Patrollers start work in May. Some start in April at Picnic Day and the shirt screenings. A few KPers start in December, they're called the staff. When it comes to those three days, all Karma Patrollers have the same desire (to have a good Festival) and the same smarts. The December KPers, however, have a greater knowledge of the "who, what and when" than May KPers. The May KPers respect that knowledge and the plans that have been formed. That respect gives the staff power. Power "between" not power "over."
The KP is 100% pure volunteer, any KPer can walk off the Quad at any time. The Festival happens because the KP agrees to work on it. Its the consensus version of "voting with your feet." I'm not sure if this is consensus. Everyone has the power to veto, but one person's veto won't stop the group. WEF as the physical consensus of 300 Karma Patrollers is a nice image. But for some reason, the word "anarchy" keeps running through my head.
By calling the staff Karma Patrollers, I was praising the staff and thanking them for working on the Festival. I also wanted to call to mind the scope and the nature of their power. I also was thinking of the May KPers and the respect and power that they deserve.
The people, be they KPers, vendors, performers, whatever... The people who work to make a good Festival are the reason that WEF is special.
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Sacramento
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Re: Staff=KP
Wed, December 14, 2005 - 1:49 PMthanks mIke!
by the way... KP RULES!!!
namaste
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Re: Staff=KP
Wed, March 29, 2006 - 4:06 PMI would like to add my support to this post. And, with my brother Michaels permission, add some thoughts to his.
In essence a staffer is a KP'er, how do I put this politely...laid down their life, their freetime and then some, to making WEF happen...a KP'er is, in essence, someone who will eventually be a staffer...hehe...it's more a level of committment (or insanity depending on your perspective, and I'm not saying insanity is a BAD thing, it certainly has worked for me), but this isn't really a hard and fast rule...as if there are any hard and fast rules where WEF is concerned with the possible exception of Fire Code and Sound Permits and liability insurance is concerned...although there are certainly certainies, but that's another topic.
The point it KP is staff and staff is KP. One thing in the ear of staff. I know it is easy to get caught up in the day to day grind of your position, but you should take a little time to put your eye to the future, and by this I mean KPers. KP'ers are future staffers. You should always be on the lookout for untapped talent. No one knows the particular traits needed for a staff position than the person holding that position. For example, no one knows what it takes to be a Crafts Director than a Crafts Director. So this years Crafts Director is well-advised to keep an eye out for a KPer who might fit the bill in the future. It's easier than you might expect for this person will generally be right in front of you, helping you on a project. Don't let them escape. Encourage them, develop them, and, if need be take drastic action to ensure we don't lose their potential...I can say this from personal experience.
You probably don't realize how unique WEF is in terms of student entities, both at UCD and in the country. You will have to look very long and hard to find an entity with the same autonomy. On the flip side of this, we have to do more to keep ourselves alive in the long run and a lot of this depends on maintaining the institutional tradition (which means keeping old-timers around) and developing the future. So to all you staff members, you should be trolling the KP for help not only with your current job, but with the ongoing job of future WEFs.
At least, that's my thoughts on the matter.
