PFC ya!
The ASUO Constitution Court, ruling on a petition alleging defiant violations of viewpoint neutrality during the budget proceedings of a certain student magazine, has completely and finally relieved Programs Finance Committee members Mason Quiroz and Eden Cortez of their student government duties. Quoth the Court:
Mason L. Quiroz is found to have acted in willful defiance of viewpoint neutrality as outlined in Rosenberg {sic} and Southworth and the ASUO Constitution. As a proper remedy, Mason L. Quiroz is hereby removed from the Program Finance Committee to be effective immediately.
Ditto Cortez. It should be noted that although the PFC’s business is largely done for the year, this was no empty act of removal. Cortez also lost his seat on the Senate, which has yet to touch this year’s budget. And Quiroz? He held a two-year term on the PFC, now terminated before one year’s time. I suppose now he’s free to do . . . whatever it is he does when he’s not at work.
And now I think we can stop talking about this.
UPDATE 3/8: We can’t stop talking about this yet. Eden Cortez is apparently challenging the ruling against him because it is based entirely upon words he didn’t exactly say.
In my petition to the ASUO Con Court, I alleged the following about Eden Cortez:
During the Oregon Commentator’s Feb. 1 budget hearing, PFC member CORTEZ repeatedly demonstrated his willingness to consider the Commentator’s published content in making decisions about whether to pass our Mission and Goals Statement. All of his statements are available as a public record, but one statement in particular stands out in flagrant defiance of CORTEZ’s legal responsibility to allocate funds in a viewpoint-neutral manner under the constitutional rule announced in Rosenberger and clarified in Southworth. Responding to ASUO Executive Adam Petkun’s statement that the PFC could not consider the Commentator’s content at a budget hearing, CORTEZ said, in effect, “Of course we can look at content in determining a group’s value. Otherwise this job could be done by robots.”
(Emphases added.)
As you can see, my petition did not allege the “robots” quote as being exact, but rather as the essential effect of Cortez’s words, and I took pains to direct the Con Court to review the public record itself.
It appears that the Con Court did not do so, and treated the quote in my petition as a verbatim factual allegation. Here’s a quote from the Court’s decision:
On February 1st, the Program Finance Committee met to recall and rehear the Mission and Goals of the Oregon Commentator. At the meeting, Cortez made the following public statement: “Of course we can look at content in determining a group’s value. Otherwise this job could be done by robots.”
Eden Cortez voted against the motion to approve the Mission and Goals of the Oregon Commentator.
(Emphasis added.)
This lack of follow-through by the Court is unfortunate, particularly if it gives Cortez enough grounds to successfully challenge his removal. I never alleged the quote to be verbatim public record, as the Court treated it, and had the Court actually gone and reviewed the public record of our Feb. 1 budget hearing, it would have found ample defiance of viewpoint neutrality on Cortez’s part, even if the exact words I alleged were never put together in that order. That the Court instead entirely based its ruling on an inaccurate quote is disappointing. Cortez does not deserve to get out of this with a job.
hey but the girls made the big flag one on the rainbow background. Only 5 bucks!
Im working on a letter to send to the national society of collegic scholars asking them if they endorse this person representing their group.
Such as: Suck it, Dresden!
My original idea was “Peace Through Air and Ground Superiority” but it wasn’t pithy enough for my taste. And “Firepower” conjures up such great mental images……….
I love that sign. It’s a great sign.
I claim full responsibility for the “Peace Through Superior Firepower” sign. If I had known that my magic marker and posterboard creation would piss off the libs this much, I would have made 400 of them and plastered them all over campus.
Hey check this out. That sermin guy/girl is the head of the national society of collegic scholars in eugene. lets go to work!
What’s the trap? That conservatives are berated every day on campus in print and in the class rooms and no one stands up? There is a right and a wrong, and I for one have the strength and motivation to act accordingly. There will be change on campus, and there already is. I believe at our last meeting there was over 50 people, and with every meeting we’ve had this year the number keep inching up. I don’t agree with everything they say, but it’s a bastion of hope for libertairians and conservatives on campus. You want someone who you can look up to to fight the good fight, just look at the people sitting around you on tuesday night.
These people sit back, smirk, scauf, scream and whine, while they suck the blood of the people who BLEED AND DIED for thier RIGHT to live freely.
I just want those at the UofO who know whats right but are afriad to voice thier opinion to know that there are friends who will be with them; that they aren’t alone and never will be. The CR’s creats so many opportunities to get OUR (even you OC) message out and I give my gratitude by doing what I can for them.
No Andy.. don’t.. fall.. into.. the.. trap..
Gabrielle and I were having a good laugh over the ODE letters today. Sadly, this doesn’t bother her anymore: she’s used to it.
But if you REALLY want a good laugh, check out DateGirl’s column in the new EW. That’s gold.
It involves 8-13 year old girls, Jacko, and eating people’s testicles.
I just read that article about the CR’s…
HEY YOU STUPID SACK OF SHIT SERMIN, WHY DONT YOU COME AND LOOK SOME OF THE VETERANS IN THE FACE AND TELL THEM THAT YOU SLIMY LITTLE SHIT STAIN! BEN LINER ROOM 7pm tuesday. BE THERE YOU LITTLE BITCH.
fucking idiocy.
LoL, we just had a great weekend at the coast for the dorchester conference. We really do have the best party on campus 😉
HAHAHAHAHAHA…you know what’s hilarious? Sermin Yesilida is the old roommate of former OC copy editor, and former Tim girlfriend, Stacey. To put it politely: Sermin be crazy.
Which one? There were two, and they were both comical by nature. There’s a reason we don’t allow individual dipshits at the university to overrule small trivial factions, like say, the Supreme Court.
Sometimes its just more fun to sit back and laugh at them, rather than engage in some idiotic banter.
For the sake of Big M, and in no way endorsed by the OC, I’ll tackle this bit.
“Does that mean it is wrong for the PFC to deny me money to print out and distribute my opinions?”
Absolutely not. Did you submit a budget proposal and mission statement to the PFC for approval? Or are you just a whine titty bitch who used a piss poor example in a vain attempt to prove a point?
Oh yea, and I thought the, “Peace Through Superior Firepower” was pretty damn funny – and my dad, who served in Vietnam, would too. So fuck off, Guru and Sermin.
There, I covered them both.
Ugh, well, what’s the point? I quit trying to argue with people who call themselves “Guru” sometime during my third year in this town. You can’t win.
I’m a little surprised someone on here hasn’t taken on that little letter to the editor that was in today’s Dirty.
Rules, who needs rules? Let’s just make some shit up and go with it! Somehow, I doubt Mr. Keifer has a bright future as an employed individual.
“My personal opinion is rules can sometimes be completely useless in finding a good solution to a problem.”
– Dan Kieffer (verbatim)
I would assume he has the same feelings about federal laws, too. Ah, that slays me.
Yes, but if the petition alleged that Cortez had said something he didn’t, that’d be a problem. And, I think, that’s probably what he’ll try to claim. However, as Dan’s petition makes no such claim, Cortez’s appeal is without merit. I’m also sure that’s how the ConCourt will see it once they read the petition more carefully.
Yea, the editorial board at the Dirty, strangely enough, seems to be getting something right this time. They’re even going so far as to slam the right people. I think I’ve also noticed a considerable reduction in the slams on the Dirty from OC.
What’d you guys do, call a truce?
The ODE article also says that it doesn’t matter what Cortez actually said. They have him on many, many other statments.
Dan’s petition doesn’t claim that Cortez said those words verbatim, silly Con Court, Trix are for kids.
I reviewed the tapes first thing this morning. Bad news: Eden doesn’t appear to have said that on record. Good news: he said something equally, if not more, damning. I’ll let Dan handle this one.
As to the next issue, I’m unsure. I have finals week to get through and I havn’t talked to the man in charge for a while.
I highly doubt they’ll let the little bitch squirm his way back into office on a minor technicality like this..
..actually, knowing UofO’s track record for student politics..
Can someone post what Cortez’s exact words were? I was at the meeting and recall something akin to what Dan wrote in his petition.
Comment to Edits: ME Appointees at work, eh?
Ask the editor.
Great. Like a trailer to a movie then I suppose.
When does the next issue hit the drop boxes?
Among other things, details forthcoming, I presume. Watch the magazine.
For those of us that are not so enlightened as to have been paying attention to the Eugene/UofO political/criminal records in the past year for various dignitaries that inhabit the area, can you please share your inside jokes?
Sounds like Quiroz got picked up for a DUII?
I don’t think he was ever at large. According to sources, he was always right where he needed to be… either in the driver’s seat or on the bathroom floor.
Heh…anyone else see the obvious connection between Quiroz and “at-large”?
They won’t be doing much with Cortez’s seat. It’s up for grabs this year in the ASUO Elections.
As for Quiroz…If it’s the At-Large seat, then it will be interesting.
Mwaahahahaha! Mwahahaha! I’m going on with my life now. Suckers!
Hot damn. Glad to hear it. 🙂
So they were shown the door. That makes me smile – I can only hope they take it personally, which, judging by their actions, they will.
And someone wanna let me in on this extensive criminal record or Melton’s scruff with the con-court?
Hey, they confirmed Mike Sherman. He’s a good guy, smart, knows the rules. Another guy like Mike and, hell, the PFC could actually work right!
Haha, they got bitch slapped by the Con Court. The last person to succumb to that was Maddy Melton, and we all know how that turned out.
Here’s hoping Adam Petkun will make a smart appointment for Quiroz’s seat (not that the brilliant Senate will ever confirm anybody who isn’t a member of Stalinists for a Free Press). Here’s one good idea: Pick somebody without an extensive criminal record!
(victory)