Note to ASUO: Biatch, Give Me My Money!
So, while subsidies of ASUO are busy holding us responsible for what people think of our content, the rest of those weed-smokin, booze-drinkin’ wild children in the greater student government are weaseling their way out of responsibility.
They’ve decided they might not repay the retreat funds. The learning experience is so much more important!
“Senate President James George said ASUO members wanted to focus on goals that would benefit multiple groups, such as the creation of a retreat committee and a “dos and don’ts” video…[Chris] Loschiavo said he tried not to propose punishments for the ASUO leaders and instead allowed them to create ideas to help them learn from their mistakes. “It’s never easy to come up with a punishment for yourself,” he said.”
I know, it is so hard to punish yourself! Especially for the “cocky, smooth motherfuckers” of the ASUO who are ducking responsibility for what is, undeniably, the most childish and moronic incident in student government history. I completely agree with the fan-freakin-tastic ODE editorial that so eloquently states;
“While producing a dos-and-don’ts video (hopefully not using incidental fees) and forming a committee are two great steps toward guarding against future misconduct, paying the money back is a crucial step toward making right what they did wrong in the first place. The bottom line is this: Student money that is inappropriately used should be paid back…The ASUO’s lame excuses for refusing to do the responsible thing is further evidence that they just don’t care about the student body and our dime. “
Above brilliant editorial also includes the highlight of the nasty little guestbook entry, in case anyone forgot.
Pete, you got me. At least it was one “William B.” But as a “William B” myself, I should be all the more ashamed.
The “Special Election” is depressingly similar to a reported story at a recent Labour party conference in the UK. When a flagship but rather unpopular policy was voted down, a second vote was taken quietly the next morning as “many people may have been confused over the issues presented”.
All of that is immensely connected to the legal minutiae with which you get so bored. Being able to explain the three main questions you have above is what the Commentator is supposed to be for and thusly it is part of the job of the magazine (and transitively all of its contributors) to understand the details. Them’s the breaks.
I said I find them boring, not that I don’t understand them. And, let me throw in a “duh, Timothy,” because that’s exactly why I pointed out those three questions in particular. You and me, this Saturday, finger pointing contest. Winner buys the beer.
It’s one thing to spend funds on food and trips. It’s quite another to declare yourself above the law in writing, especially when the term “motherfucker” is used.
Correction Department:
That would be Yeats you’re paraphrasing, not Blake. Small point, sure, but since “The Second Coming” is the only poem I’ve ever bothered memorizing (unless you count “In Da Club” as a poem), I’ll get all the mileage out of it that I can…
Tim is less diplomatic than I would be, but he’s right. The recent incident “borders” on a “lesser form” of embezzlement, whereas the special election was called quietly and illegally to reverse the popular decision of the students less than a year before.
The fact that it’s under the radar, i.e. boring, makes it all the more insidious. As William Blake said, “The best lack all conviction, while the worst are filled with passionate inensity.”
I don’t know how much these students spent on the trip, but I’m pretty sure it was far less than the $100,000+ Wortman-Cowling enabled OSPIRG to take back to Portland.
Sheesh, at least these kids had to turn in receipts.
And equally outraged that their will was subsumed on the whim of an unadvertised, illegal “special election” set up because a program that the ASUO oligarchs like lost funding. That’s tantamount to theft and election fraud. Wait, it is theft and election fraud.
The resort trip is a big deal, and should be paid attention to, but it’s really not that different than other forms of embezzlement that go on every day down there. In fall of 2003 I looked at every PO written by the ASUO Exec up to the end of Fall Term, you’d be shocked what they use incidental fees for these days. Sandwiches, pizza, birthday cakes and motor pool vehicles for lobbying in Salem as well as for Portland-area job interviews for their flunkies. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
All of that is immensely connected to the legal minutiae with which you get so bored. Being able to explain the three main questions you have above is what the Commentator is supposed to be for and thusly it is part of the job of the magazine (and transitively all of its contributors) to understand the details. Them’s the breaks.
Unless it involves the ASUO stating, in writing, that they are intentionally misusing student funds and proud of it, I disagree. This incident borders on a lesser form of embezzlement: To take (money, for example) for one’s own use in violation of a trust.
Sure, special elections and the nuances of legal battles can seem childish and/or funny to those individuals educated (and interested in) those areas. Let’s face it…the general student body would greet these higher snickers with a collective “huh?” and then turn back to their immediate lives. They should be outraged that the ASUO felt the need to declare themselves irresponsible and flippant about the thousands of dollars wasted on their activities. They should be even more outraged that the ASUO thinks it’s ok to get away with such blatant disrespect for their fellow students.
Quite frankly, my immediate attention to these things drops off after the mention of an ORS or other various legal banter. I, and I’m willing to guess the majority of others, only need to know three things: (1)What is the problem? (3)How does it affect me? (3) What options are there to solve it?
That’s probably the best one, yeah. Sort of reminds me of Barbara Boxer.
“There have been plenty…and when I say plenty, I mean plenty…more moronic and childish incidents in student government history.”
AD is right. In my 8 years of dealing directly with the ASUO and now hearing about it from you folks, I say the Wortman-Cowling special election to return funding to OSPIRG is the most childish and moronic incident.
I mean, what do people fucking expect, for them to just sit around and act innocently when they are DONE WITH THEIR WORK just because they are members of student government?
I expect them to learn about how finances work on their own paid time, which also comes from incidental fees. I don’t care what they do with their personal time. However, when other people’s money pays for a big house to hold a party in, it’s a problem. The ASUO trip was a University funded activity, and things went on at that activity (which were bragged about in the book entry) that would warrant punishment under University policy. Since the ASUO paid for the activity with student money, they should have to pay it back through fundraising or, my preference, suspending stipends.
I think there is misconception that student money was used to buy drugs and alcohol, which from what I have gathered is not true. Sure, the actions of some retreat members may have been childish, and even violated the conduct code but the fact that they “learned about the finance system” is really what is important.
All this talk that they misused our money and should repay it is bullshit. I would imagine that this is a retreat they go on every year. I mean, what do people fucking expect, for them to just sit around and act innocently when they are DONE WITH THEIR WORK just because they are members of student government?
Don’t get me wrong, I think there should be repercussions. Everyone on the retreat should all be given equal punishment, inline with what is specified in the conduct code and perhaps that will inspire them to drop the group solidarity act and single the “cocky motherfuckers” out.
The worst part of this whole fiasco is the Emerald’s masturbatory series, which I have found to be misleading and self-serving. Requests for anything more than repercussions specified in the conduct code creates a double standard for student government members.
Hell, the DVD sales are a fundraising event. Wait…no…the ASUO is quite devoid of attractive people.
They’re going to have a lot of fun producing the “don’t” portion of that video.
Don’t: encourage pornographic sex on incidental fee funded excursions.
Do: videotape it if it happens, for future fundraising events!
Maybe it will picture them all trying to regain their honor through the ancient practice of seppuku.
They’re going to have a lot of fun producing the “don’t” portion of that video.
Make it clear by taking thirty minutes to draft some clear rules. Not that hard, really.
“At ASUO sponsored events funded by incidental fees, the rules governing behavior in campus housing apply.”
There, problem solved, it took thirty seconds and I didn’t need to waste any incidental fees, video tape, or resources to do it. If the kids want to know what the housing rules are, they can look them up or call you :-). The formation of a committee is twice as stupid, for similar fee-wasting reasons. Like I said, make them return their stipends for the year. Ignorance of the law is no excuse, and “unspoken policies” are not exactly official.
Please note that I don’t care what the hell they do on their own time, but think that having fun on incidental fees is quite objectionable. Honestly, the retreat shouldn’t have been fee-funded in the first place.
Obviously, I really could care less about ASUO existing or not, until they start smoking weed on mine and others’ money and then declaring themselves as “cocky, smooth motherfuckers” in a rental house guestbook. It is ultimate, not as campus fodder, but as a stupid action in general. It’s like robbing a bank and then calling the police to give them your name and address…not to turn yourself in, but because you think you are so cool for robbing a bank and not getting caught…oops! Especially when it involves illegal substances!
On the topic of do’s and don’ts video: the whole reason that came up was the debate over the rules of ASUO retreats being clear or not. Half claim that whatever happens is an unspoken rule: what happens at the guesthouse stays at the guesthouse. The other half claim that there was no exuse for the behavior and that campus rules follow ASUO to retreats. i can’t blame them for wanting to make it perfectly clear in the future what is acceptable, but for this last fiasco, someone needs to pay.
AD is definitely right, see Jay “Affected Spanish Accent” Breslow or Courtney “No, You Guy’s Can’t Watch The Ballot Count In Accordance With State Law” Haight.
Its Media United against the ASUO, good for you guys!
“Especially for the “cocky, smooth motherfuckers” of the ASUO who are ducking responsibility for what is, undeniably, the most childish and moronic incident in student government history.”
Obviously, you must be new to the concept and history of the ASUO. There have been plenty…and when I say plenty, I mean plenty…more moronic and childish incidents in student government history.
I don’t agree that the video and the committee are a good idea, only because they will both be even more stupid and useless than the ASUO already is. They should have to pay back the retreat money, and in my opionion their stipends for the year. That’s punative, dicking around with a DV camera and having another meeting most certainly isn’t.