At the bottom of the Emeralds refreshingly feisty coverage of last night’s fiasco business as usual, there is one tiny little paragraph which changes everything. It goes a little something like this:

No one took minutes during the meeting, a violation of the Oregon Public Meetings Law and Student Senate rules as laid out in the Green Tape Notebook. Gulley and SunOwen also ignored part of Hatch’s presentation to watch a slideshow of photos on SunOwen’s computer.

Says it all, doesn’t it? In short, the entire meeting will be ruled invalid, and good riddance. Now that we all know how the game is to be played, there’s no need for niceties. The executive clearly would rather have reliable votes than experienced candidates, and in doing so is ignoring the undeniable mandate for reform in the last election. New senators need to have real experience to be able to give students the reform the have asked for, and the sitting senators shouldn’t be ashamed to make demands.

This was a great introduction to the ASUO, because the usual absolute bullshit went down, but this time we’ve been given an opportunity to set it right. Like everyone’s hero says, “Fool me once…” Finally, credit has to go to Jill Aho of the ODE… best single paragraph in the ODE ever.

The executive appointee for Senate Seat #2, Diego Hernandez, the first executive appointee on tonight’s senate agenda, did not pass with a vote of 6 to 3 – that is, the first time around. The next three appointees – Billy Hatch (seat 5), Steven Wilsey (seat 12) and Patrick Boye (seat 1) – were all voted into the Senate and took their seats around the table. Read the rest of this entry »

Another long year of conflict in the Senate came to an end today as the new 2007-2008 Senators were eased  into their new jobs. You know what they say … in like a lion, out like a lamb.

Returning Senators included: McKenzie, Trippe, Gulley, Papailliou, Rajabzadeh, and SunOwen (ex-oficio).

New Senators included: Neil Brown, Kate Jones, Samantha Brodey, Donnie Kim, and Lee Warnecke. Although Senator Rosenberg will be resigning because he is no longer a music major, he still acted as the Senate President and led the meeting.

Special requests included DDS asking for $2,000 from the gas line item to purchase radios for four of their vans, which passed unanimously. The International Resource Center made a request on behalf of all international student groups for $5,000 to fund an October 12th grand opening with activities in the ampitheater. Billed as an oportunity to network with international alumni (four large donors for the project are from Japan), some Senators were worried about the health of the proposal. Senator Trippe was conerned about handing out such a large amount of money before any fundraising had begun, and Senator McKenzie reflected this concern, saying that the IRC had the entire summer to raise funds. Senators Papailiou and Brown were hesitant to vote for the full amount as they felt that the alumni association should help with the large mailing fees included in the cost, therefore bringing the proposal to $2700, which passed.

After the meeting we sat down for a few minutes with Senator Brown, who was happy about the transition. He said that he was happy with the progress that was being made, and that he looked forward to working with his fellow Senators this year.

Somehow, incoming Senators have come to the conclusion that current ethical standards just aren’t tough enough. I guess when Senators can legally vote to allocate money to send themselves on trips, but you get summarily removed for finalizing the agenda a few hours late, something must be wrong. Ethics reform has been a long time coming, and it is crucially important that, among other things, clear conflict of interest rules are laid out, particularly for surplus and overrealized requests. These to processes hand out lump sums of cash, but there are no ethical rules at all, governing who may vote on them, and who may not.

New Senators, you seem to be on the right track. This new ethics code will be one of the most important steps taken by the ASUO in a long time. It will be hard work, and you will face opposition… if you ever need to remember why ethics reform is important, all the motivation you will ever need is right here.

The lame-duck Senate has been especially boring the last few weeks, doling out the last bits of surplus money, and not doing much else. Your intrepid ASUO correspondent has been taking advantage of the lull, by not going to meetings for the last few weeks. It appears that not much has been missed, untill this week, that is. Read the rest of this entry »

The Constitutional Court is supposed to be the most credible institution in a government desperately lacking in credibility. Or, as everyone’s favorite Senator, Nate Gulley puts it, “Nobody knows the rules better than Constitution Court.” Well, apparently just about everyone knows the rules better than Con Court, because it appears that Justice Jerome Roberts has been collecting an ASUO stipend despite no longer being a fee-paying student, according to this Emerald article. Read the rest of this entry »

Senate bounced back from last weeks bitter, contentious meeting by holding a cordial but useless meeting last night. The confrontational spirit which made last Wednesday the most fun I’ve ever had in five hours was blessedly gone, and Senators seemed to be sporting a hangover which gave the meeting a bumbling, awkward feel. For Senate meeting aficionados like myself, it was a return to the old “nobody knows the rules, and nobody cares” Senate that we all know and love. Good times. Read the rest of this entry »

Student Senate had a meeting last night, and the wheels were clearly coming off. The meeting was gaveled to order by Jon Rosenberg, because Senate President and Executive Candidate Sara Hamilton had been summarily removed from Senate by Con Court hours before, for (get this) submitting meeting agendas only 24 hours before meetings, instead of 48 hours before. So, suffice it to say that things started off awkward, and they only got worse.

After wrangling and pettiness (nobody likes oversight in action) over special requests, and a brief and fruitless discussion about the Hamilton situation, it was time for Senator Nate Gulley’s ethics hearing. What happened next is difficult to describe accurately. A group of around 50 people arrived for the hearing, wearing “silenced” bands across their mouths, and holding signs with a number of messages for Senate. Among the messages represented were, that Senate lacked respect for students of marginalized communities, that Senate perpetuated white supremacist power structures, and that Senate is not a safe place from a number of “isms.” During the hearing, Gulley asked the crowd to defend him, and many present shared how they felt marginalized, and how institutional racism exists on Senate, but the only real defense of Gulley was based on the context of this institutional racism, rather than on his actions themselves. MCC Director Steve Morizumi summed up the defense by saying (and I’m paraphrasing) “If this racist institution finds Nate’s actions offensive, he should be praised.”

Long story short, Nate was cleared of all charges, Senate will be participating in some form of awareness and/or sensitivity training, and at the end of it all, Senators Karl Mourfi and Jacob Daniels resigned. I’m still processing what happened, but this discussion is not over. This situation won’t be resolved here, but I’m sure people want to share their thoughts from last night. One request for people on every side of this discussion: Let’s please keep our sense of humor.

Obligatory Emerald links here, and here. Video here.

After the VP candidates were done sparring, last nights debate shifted to the Executive candidates, Emily McLain and Sara Hamilton. Although the Exec debate was not quite the study in contrast that the VP debate was, there was still enough daylight between the candidates to provide undecided voters with a clear choice. Read the rest of this entry »

The intent of our blog interview series is NOT to ambush candidates, however something in our last interview struck a nerve for me which is impossible to ignore, especially in light of the recent unpleasantness. In a comment under his interview, Nick Schultz writes “Too bad there won’t be a victory for hard-core conservative minded people, such as your self. Perhaps you could find some fascist to run for PFC and cut programs from multi-cultural groups.” This echoes Gulley’s charges of “racism,” and frankly I can’t stomach this any longer. This needs to be discussed, because it is poison.

Fiscal conservatives in the ASUO are not racists. I have been to nearly every Senate meeting this year (search our blog archive) and I have never heard a Senator advocate for targeting “multi-cultural groups.” I have also spoken in private with every Senator that Gulley attacks, and never once have they betrayed hate in their hearts for anyone.

Demanding accountability for how funds are spent, and showing concern for the level of the fee is not racist, it’s responsible. The people who do the most damage to the campus climate are those who put a dollar amount on racism. The suggestion that if a certain group gets X dollars then ASUO is cool, but that if the group gets less than X dollars, the ASUO is racist, is poisonous and just plain wrong. It makes responsible governance and social harmony incompatible… and for what? More pizza? Another speaker?

As the head of a group that got an 11% decrease, I can say it will not affect our ability to fulfill our mission statement, nor will it decrease our ability to serve campus. If we are more or less successful from year to year, it is because we have more or fewer people who believe in the value of what we do, not because of the dollar amount of our budget. And yet, other groups blackmail elected officials with the spectre of racial divisions and disrespect for the dead (as in the LGBTQA case this year), for a few bucks. And the officials are the assholes when they resist this pressure? This makes them racist? People need to seriously check themselves, because there is nothing noble about this strategy. It’s petty, it’s venal, and the ASUO cannot effectively do its job if its members are going to be called racists as their reward for ensuring that the I-fee is spent responsibly.

I have attended quite a few Student Senate meetings this year (well, more than Dallas Brown did last year), and it seems like every time I sit down to write about it for this blog my thoughts end up more critical and negative than the week before. I don’t like this, because the Senate has made some progress this year, and I don’t want to sound like a whiner, but yesterdays meeting was so horrendously embarrassing that I almost want to pretend that it never happened. It was bitter, divisive, unproductive, long and above all, embarrasing to everyone involved. The only solace I can find in all this is that next weeks meeting can’t possibly be any worse… or can it? Abandon hope all ye who enter here.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tonights meeting began an hour later than usual, as Senators were busy attending the Presidents Leadership Symposium until past the usual 7pm start time. For some bizarre reason, the Leadership Resource Office saw fit to invite your Commentator management to the bash, where we endured a “pick a major” test, campus caterings “student” level of cusine (well below “donor,” “admnistrator” and “faculty” levels), and a speech on the importance of courage in leadership… guess which of these didn’t set the tone for the following meeting? Angry, angry after the jump… Read the rest of this entry »

Just another crazy night in the boardroom, complete with “concerned students for a much higher PFC Benchmark”, another attempt to rescind the ADFC benchmark, a late-night informal pact, a resignation , cage-free egg debate, Angela Davis, a Con Court nomination, and plenty of good old fashioned hand wringing, bickering, and recrimination. What’s not to like?

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s time again for a look at the topsy-turvy alternate reality which exists every Wednesday at 7pm in the EMU Boardroom. Some call it the ASUO Senate, we call it the only reason to get up in the morning. Here’s another dose of the madness…
Read the rest of this entry »

ASUO Exec
At this time we do not have an endorsement for ASUO President. Personally, I voted for Andy Dolberg and Ben Hartley, but they don’t stand a chance of winning. Once the primary winners are announced we’ll give an endorsement for the general elections.

ASUO Programs Finance Senators
Seat 1, 1-year term: Erica Anderson*, Lisha Menne – On one hand, Anderson established herself as a conscientious PFC members during the OSPIRG hullabaloo: despite having previously worked with the Dirty PIRG, she opposed adding a new Campus Coordinator position to be used for roping more schools in. On the other hand, we’d love to be able to spend time researching Menne’s Facebook pictures. Ultimately, however, our pick is Anderson due to her proven ability to think independently — one of the rarest traits a student leader can have.
Seat 2, 2-year term: Micah Andrew Kosasa*, Erik J. Kaltenbacher – Kaltenbacher’s the clear choice on this one based solely on his voter’s guide statement which expressed a clear, fiscally conservative philosophy. Kosasa, meanwhile, uses his statement to talk about issues which are completely unrelated to the Programs Finance Committee.

EMU Board Finance Senators
Seat 4, 1-year term: Miles Rost, Byanna Mannis* – Rost is the obvious choice in this race. He has significant experience in dealing with budgets and should be fairly consistent and pragmatic on most fiscal issues. He will be a welcome addition to the Senate if elected, if only because he might not rubberstamp every special funding request that comes his way.
Seat 5, 2-year term: Jennifer Lleras* – Since she’s running unopposed, we recommend writing Zach Vishanoff in on this one. Ol’ Vish has quite a bit of experience skulking around the EMU, and the trademark camo and sombrero should keep the other Senators appropriately scared.

Athletic Department Finance Senators
Seat 7, 1-year term: Natalie Kinsey, Jerome T. Roberts, Cassandra Day*, Rachel Dallas – A hard one to choose. Ultimately, we like Cassie Day if only because she promises us that she reads the Commentator regularly.
Seat 8, 2-year term: Kyle McKenzie, Wannita Nualngam* – McKenzie’s pushed the rather silly Classy Fan Behavior campaign this last year, but he’s on the right side of many Senate issues. We don’t have much to go by as far as Nualngam is concerned, but her statement in the voter’s guide was unimpressive, to say the very least.
Seat 9, 2-year term (midterm): Drew Pinson, Andrew Tellio* – We don’t know either of these people and consequently don’t particularly care which is elected. We suggest writing in your favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle for this one.

Academic Senators
Seat 10, 2-year term: Ashley Sherrick – Sherrick used to be a lacrosse player, so we can only assume her election will lead to horrible, horrible, preppy things. We recommend writing in Pete Sorenson just so we can be sure he won’t take the gubernatorial race.
Seat 11, 2-year term: (midterm) Oscar Guerra* – Seat 11 is the undeclared seat, so in honor of indecision (and uncontested races) we recommend just leaving this one blank.
Seat 12, 2-year term: Jonathan A. Rosenberg* – Another uncontested seat and another slate candidate. If you’ve gotten this far through your ballot without kneeling over, we recommend putting in your own name for this one, just for the self-congratulations, dammit.
Seat 14, 2-year term: Nathan Gulley*, Joel Arellano – We don’t know who Nate Gulley is or what he stands for, but we do know that he looks like a monumental douchebag and enjoys unnecessarily capitalizing words. Vote Arellano.
Seat 16, 2-year term: Ryan Bourdo*, Athan Papailiou – Papailiou cheerily states in precise terms what he’d like to accomplish and mentions that he wishes to control the growth of the incidental fee. Bourdo, meanwhile, needs a haircut.
Seat 17, 2-year term (midterm): Wally Hicks, Jacqueline Justice – We like Hicks. He’s accessible to his constituents and is an intelligent and constructive voice in the Senate. Frankly, we’re surprised that he’s running again since he’d seemed to grow tired of the infighting and inanity of his fellow Senators. Justice may make a good Senator, but because she’s an unknown it’s impossible to recommend her over Hicks.

Associated Student President’s Advisory Committee, At-Large
1 two year term: Christopher Bourn, Shimeon Greenwood*, Manisha Marberry – If their statements in the Voter’s Guide are any indication, the two male candidates are milquetoast at best and babbling idiots at worst. Marberry, meanwhile, gave an impressive statement and is the current Miss Washington County. This is an easy choice.
1 two year term (midterm): Tiffany Schaffeld – Another unopposed candidacy. We recommend writing in Tom DeLay for this position- he needs the cash and will be ready to take one for the whole ASUO team should the need arise.

Student Recreation Center Advisory Board
1 two-year term (vote for three): Brock Kirby, Adam Ohlson, David Cao, Brent Allen Wehage – In this race you’re voting for who you don’t want to win. Since we don’t know any of the candidates, we’re just going to go against Adam Ohlson since he looks a bit like Jefferson from Married with Children. Sorry Adam, but your gigolo ways won’t be tolerated here.

ASUO Programs Finance Committee, At-Large
1 two-year term (midterm): Anna Groundwater, Annie Blomberg* – We don’t know anything about Blomberg except that she is part of the slate and apparently couldn’t be arsed to write a statement for the voter’s guide. Groundwater actually got around to writing a statement, but we were wholly unimpressed by her call for “more protest (sic) and rallies around campus.” How about writing in filmmaker Paul Haggis — not on account of his Academy-Award-winning race parable Crash, but for his under-appreciated work co-creating Walker, Texas Ranger.
1 two-year term: Matthew Rose – Sure, why not?

EMU Board, At-Large
1 two-year term (vote for two): Kerry R. Vance, Lillian Vaughn, Michael McGuffey* – All we ask is that you don’t vote for McGuffey.

Athletic Department Finance Committee, at large (ADFC)
1 year term: Troy David Kalus – Since Kalus is running unopposed, we recommend writing in what sort of campus sports you’d like to see added. Our choice? Rickshaw racing. As long there’s a lax steroids policy it should be fun to watch.

*Denotes member of Jared/Juliana slate.