This was just posted on UO Matters under the headline “Every now and then”:

8/11/2010: there is a sign that UO is moving towards being a real institution for the public good, with decisions made in the open, on the basis of joint goals and a shared mission. We are still a long way off, but I think the direction is good.

Of what is this a propos? I certainly don’t have the answers. If you do, let us know.

We at the Oregon Commentator love to poke fun at our fellow campus publications, but sometimes you have to give credit where credit is due. In the latest issue of the Oregon Voice, which is downloadable in PDF form at their website, they have included some worthwhile gems. Most importantly, this:

Way to remain relevant, OV. I actually laughed out loud when I read it. Good work.

ASUO President Amelie Rousseau was published in the Register-Guard this week, along with a UO alum and a grad student, with an opinion on the UO’s proposed riverfront development. As is the general student opinion on the riverfront, they’re not too pleased:

More than two years has passed since the University of Oregon announced plans for the Oregon Research Institute’s office building and parking lot along the banks of the Willamette River, yet construction has not begun. Instead, the university is burning through taxpayer money and public goodwill by defending a development plan approved when Ronald Reagan was president and mullets were fashionable.

Rather than rolling out the bulldozers at one of several viable sites that aren’t shrouded in controversy, the university has chosen to tout the proposed building’s green design features. Instead of addressing the fundamental problem with the site — that construction on the riverfront forecloses on all other options for using this precious public land for generations to come — the university has been tinkering with the placement of its 200 parking spaces.

They go on to appeal to the reader, mentioning taxpayer funding of this project and how there are other locations that might have been more appropriate had the UO gone through an extended public hearing process.

I can only imagine that Rousseau’s name on this letter shows that she is representing students and our thoughts on the riverfront projects. I certainly applaud that. But I also understand the University of Oregon administration’s reluctance to consult with students on larger-scale building projects. In reality, most students are either ignorant or apathetic, or both. This is more evidence of the UO’s inability to engage, but I think it goes both ways. The administration should be consulting with students on their development projects. Whether or not most students would care is another story.

Some things have been going on during the last couple of months.

1. University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere released a white paper outlining his idea for a restructure of University funding and management. The proposal includes a $1.6 billion endowment for the university, a portion of which would be financed by state bonds. The legislature is not pleased, but it certainly has folks talking.

2. The UO got grilled hard by the Oregon Senate Business and Transportation Committee about the $227 million arena project, the process for which did not involve an open bidding process, as would most large scale university projects. The committee also tapped into the Bellotti Buyout. The essence of the Willamette Week article linked to above:

“The university does not inspire confidence,” says committee chairman Sen. Rick Metsger (D-Welches). “What you get from this project is either they don’t know what they’re doing or they don’t want the public to know. Neither is good.”

The process for building the arena is actually pretty convoluted and complicated, and many people are displeased with the progress.

3. The State of Oregon has a pretty unsustainable budget, to the tune of $563 million that will come in across the board cuts to all state entities. Including a $4.7 million cut to the University of Oregon.

4. The University Senate confirmed large-scale campus speech policy changes, with the addition of a Freedom of Inquiry Policy and Facilities Use Policy. This is a real victory for administrators, who wanted to deal with the Pacifica Forum issue but not be seen as only promoting certain kinds of speech or, y’know, violating the First Amendment. The new facilities use policy dictates that only university recognized groups — not individuals — can access space for free. “Non-university entities” can still have space, but they have to pay for it. You can read the Register-Guard’s opinion here.

5. The UO created an Office of Public Records to deal with public records requests as Lariviere tries to deal with the aftermath of the Mike Bellotti deal and an athletic program on the fringes of his reach. They’re hiring a public records officer, if you’re looking for a job.

6. Tuition is going up again. No, seriously.

7. Phil Knight’s private company, Phit LLC, wants to construct additional football facilities to the Len Casanova Athletic Center. But they want to do it in a way that sidesteps the public bidding process by having this private company lease the land from the university, construct on it, and then donate the finished project back to the University of Oregon. The state approves.

8. Jeremiah Masoli got kicked off the UO football team for getting pulled over with a suspended license and marijuana in his car after rolling a stop sign. Masoli was a good quarterback. He just keeps getting himself into trouble.

9. Colorado joined the Pac-10. Texas said no. People are concerned with the implications of where the university’s priorities lay. I just like the math and the excitement of it all. GO DUCKS!

And that brings us to today. Those were some things that happened.

Last minute reminder, today is Sudsquatch from 5-8. Carl’s Junior and Monster will be giving out stuff to people with tickets, which are 5 dollars. Proceeds go to the Red Cross and you get to hear music, all the while lounging in the sun. For 5 bucks, why not?

If anything else you get to see my beautiful face…

Alright, kids. Have fun with this one (emphasis added to maximize hilarity):

Eugene police arrested a woman Friday at the Pacifica Forum meeting on campus, while others were given citations after protesters deployed a stink bomb to disrupt the meeting.

. . .

The Emerald was unable to confirm how many protesters received citations on Friday. DPS spokesperson Sgt. Adam Lillengreen declined to comment, saying the report first had to be released at its scheduled time later today. Protesters who were given citations are not allowed back onto University property for 18 months.

. . .

Black Tea Society spokesperson Damage, who declined to give his legal name out of safety concerns, refused to give names of the other protesters who received citations. Damage also said he thought six Black Tea Society members were issued citations on Friday.

We may have damaged livers, but not damaged hearts. In partnership with the American Red Cross the Oregon Commentator is proud to present SudSquatch. All proceeds for the event will be donated to the Haiti reconstruction effort and low income families in Eugene that have been affected by flood or fire damage.

It only cost five dollars to spend a lovely Friday afternoon jamming out to Indubious and Sea Bell on the EMU lawn.  You can even charge it to your student account!

In honor of EMU Director Dusty Miller’s retirement (see an interview with him in today’s ODE), I have been reading A Common Ground, a book by EMU Director Emeritus Adell McMillan about the first 50 years of the EMU’s history. In addition to lots of fun information about the building and surrounding culture, the book talks a lot about the ASUO and student groups, as the building and the entities that operate inside it have an inherent connection. I’d like to share something I found in this book, one of the many gems that are hidden in its pages:

One of the early public incidents involving radical student protest, occurred in late January 1969 in the EMU when U.S. Navy recruiters had scheduled table space to hand out literature and talk with interested students. According to [Richard C.] Reynolds[, Director of the Erb Memorial Union], a notice had been placed in the Oregon Daily Emerald that a “mock trial” would be held in the building during this time where students would try the recruiters for war atrocities. Radical students approached the table and put ona guerilla theater type trial that lasted for 45 to 50 minutes. Most of that group left and then a student “spontaneously attacked the table; doing damage and assaulting the recruiters.” . . . bit by bit the students told [University President] Johnson what had happened: the Navy recruiters had been manhandled and literally ejected by force and the protesters had burned the recruiter’s literature and the Navy flag.

The next part is the best part. I call it proof that the ASUO Senate, once upon a time, had balls.

The ASUO Senate took a strong position in opposition to the actions against the recruiters and passed a bill, titled “Free Inquiry and the Eviction of Military Naval Recruiters,” that stated:

WHEREAS: This University has repeatedly upheld the principles of free expression and free inquiry.
WHEREAS: Free inquiry is so vital to this University and any university.
WHEREAS: No man or group of men should sit in judgement upon and thereby limit or restrict ideas of another man or group of men.
WHEREAS: The recent forceful eviction of U.S. Naval recruiters from the Erb Memorial Student Union was a violation of and great discredit to these traditions of free expression and free inquiry.
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT: The ASUO Senate condemns the actions taken by those involved in the eviction of military recruiters, as well as any other action taken by anyone to curtail the free exchange of ideas.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED THAT: The ASUO Senate proudly reaffirms the University of Oregon’s belief in freedom of expression and free inquiry and trusts that the actions taken by an intolerant minority may not be construed to reflect the official policies and practices of the University of Oregon.

A free and open exchange of ideas is one of the building blocks of a legitimate institution of higher education. It is one of a few delicate factors that are integral to a complete and legitimate collegiate experience. Higher education is not about the memorization of facts or getting good grades. It is about learning how to think critically, hearing different opinions on a variety issues and becoming a more informed world citizen. By silencing speech and ideas of those entities which we find offensive, we are “sitting in judgment upon” fellow members of our world community and working directly in opposition to the goals of higher education institutions.

The importance of free speech on campus is something the 1968-69 ASUO Senate knew very well, and it’s something for which the University community of 2010 should continue to fight. I tend to have a large amount of faith in my fellow students at this university. The ability to think critically on the issue of free speech is something that all of us are capable of.

In the words of John Stuart Mill, “If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”

Melinda Grier the attorney in the middle of the Mike Bellotti pay out scandal is on her way out, and she is not leaving for ESPN. The controversy started when Bellotti resigned from the Athletic Director position after nine months on the job to become a college football analyst for ESPN. When Bellotti left he received a very healthy compensation package of $2.3 million or around $255,555 for each month as Athletic Director.

The outcry over a public institution paying millions of dollars in what is being called a “handshake deal” has become a source of controversy for the University of Oregon.  The deal was negotiated orally but never formally, written down or signed, similar to wagers one would make  a golf course only a million times more money. The UO is claiming that the compensation will come from the Athletic Department’s well endowed private donors.

Now the UO has a interm Athletic Director, no head basketball coach for it’s  new $200 million dollar arena and no general counsel. What a year to become president Mr. Lariviere!

According to Cimmeron Gillespie, who I just ran into in the hallway, the Pacifica Forum is no longer meeting at the downtown Baker Center. They will be having their next meeting this Friday at Agate Hall on 18th and Agate – namely, on campus.

Let the shitshow begin, I suppose.

Trapped waist deep in mud with an ice-cold tide quickly rising, Kenny Phelps desperately cries out “Don’t leave me!” to his friend Miles O’Malley. Miles throws Kenny a tube of PVC and tells him to breath through it. The cold grey moon illuminates and casts a blue ambiance from the reflected water as Miles runs off-stage to find help. The house lights fade, and Kenny walks downstage, out of sight.

(more…)

Students in the EMU Monday afternoon were treated to a special surprise: Puddles conducted a walking tour of the building, high-fiving, hugging, and even getting a few numbers.

Rain or shine, Puddles makes time to visit students.

He made friendly chat with some students.

But got numbers from others…

…and even a kiss from Ballroom Dance Club member Britt McGinnis

OC: What students groups are you involved in?

AM: I am an ASUO senator, I work on the board of directors for the  Oregon Daily Emerald, I am a student on the University hearings board, and I also serve  in the student leader capacity on many University committees.

AW: I am a member of Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority , I currently an advocate for the Substance Abuse Prevention Program and I’m working on internships for my major as well.

OC: Can you give us a description of your platform?

AM: Our platform is very comprehensive. It’s all under the realm of saving student’s money. The first is responsible spending; we have athletic tickets, LTD and enhancing the EMU. So I will go through the first two. The first is responsible spending, every year the mandatory fee students pay goes up, and we want to make sure it does not do this because currently we pay the highest mandatory fee in the country. We have as student leaders autonomy in our student government, we have direct access over the allocation of the money and in our capacity we want to make sure that number does not increase and in fact decrease. The next is student tickets, it has been a pretty long process for myself I have been very involved in the student ticketing process. This past year we created the season pass program, I think this was very well received very well thought out and implemented because  it gives more students a opportunity to attend football games. It also gives, fans who are willing to pay for a season pass a guaranteed spot at football home game. That is something that many students really wanted and will provide them that opportunity. Next it actually decreased the size of the ASUO budget, we were able to reduce the size of the ASUO athletics contract by 5%, while increasing opportunity to attend those games. Because actually increased the amount of tickets being obtained by combining season passes and free tickets with a full student section for every Pac-10 home game and that was all done while reducing the budget, which was a great success. We want to continue this because we have the opportunity to increase opportunity while limiting costs. We want to expand the student section at Autzen stadium. Frankly 5,445 seats is not enough seats with the size of the student body we have now. So our first priority would be to lobby to increase the size of the student section at Autzen stadium.

AW: As you can see Alex really loves football and football tickets. I’m going to touch on a few of our platform points that are also very important. One of them being the EMU renovation that is going to happen with the Oregon 20/20 plan. With that being said there is several points we need to keep in mind  in that renovation as a potential executive and that is increasing the space and facilities s and making the facilities in general more  accessible for clubs, students groups, unions, all the students using resources at the EMU. Also increasing revenue because right now our EMU is not self sustainable, we are not bringing a lot of money in, and we are looking at getting a few more businesses and potentially a sports bar in the new EMU which would bring in a lot more revenue than right now and create more of a residential community  where students really want to be. In addition to that we want to make sure that the EMU renovation includes input from students. We realize this is not something that is going to be happening any time within our legacy here, if you will. We would like to make sure that students are advocated for and when this does happen that it is well thought out and students are represented. Next I would like to address the issue of the urban Farm. Right now the urban farm has been here for thirty or forty years and they are a growing program but they do not have enough space and in order to work with them and address that issue we would like  to put them on the I-fee.  Also work with the CASTLE project as they are a partnership and we believe that  sustainable living and sustainable parking are really important.

AM: Our next issue is student parking. Some students do not live within the realm of the bus stops, some students have no other choice to drive to school and to attend class they need to bring their car. Right now it cost an incredible amount to obtain a parking spot and currently the administration has more passes than it currently has spots. Which is the first thing we need to fix. Secondly, we also need to increase the amount of parking places we have. It is unfair to make students pay these outrageous fees to even get to class. The tangible way we can do that is to open up the Autzen lot for student parking. The Autzen parking lot is currently only used for football games and unfortunately there is not very many of those days.  Every other day it is an empty lot not being used in any other sort of function.  We can open the Autzen  lot, let students park there and rework the LTD contract to provide a shuttle service from the Autzen lot to campus which will hopefully decrease the cost that is necessary  to get a parking spot and increase the spots available so students have a tangible way to get to school without paying  over $300 for parking fees.

AW: And also making sure that the LTD services are staying were they are right now and providing as much as possible  for students with a lower cost in addition to the parking issue that Alex addressed.

OC: You talked about keeping the  I-fee low,  how would you achieve that?

AM: There are a variety of ways, first is creative growth. That is something that I strive for and something that I think the season passes did.  Season passes increased opportunity while lowering the budget. Again we lowered the budget by 5% and increasing opportunity for additional services to students and that will lower the I-fee. Additionally if we move services off the fee to the general fund. Currently, the career center is in the process of moving off the I-fee to the general fund. The career center obviously still stands is still functional however students will not be paying for it through their mandatory fees. We can do the exact same thing with campus recycling. Campus recycling is a wonderful program, something we need on campus, something that we support however the administration is glad to pick it up, it can easily fall into facilities and services  which is really where it belongs.  If we move that of the fee and into the g-fund within in facilities and services  we can lower the I-fee without reducing services, we can maintain and in fact increase services  with creative growth and that is exactly how we lower the I-fee. Alden?

AW:  We would like to also prepare ahead of time. When it comes to student budgets there are a lot of groups that are dealing with a large or small budget anomaly and are having issues but right now we don’t have advising or resources to create that budget and have to propose it to senate. The process of asking for money and budget forecasting is not that is readily accessible to all student groups. So we would like to improve that process and make sure that we are preparing ahead of time, not only ourselves but all groups involved so we don’t have unnecessary or unplanned shortfalls so that we don’t have that overwhelming surplus to refill the hole we can potentially create without planning ahead.

OC: Alex, you were big on bringing the New York Times to campus and if elected would you keep the NYT on campus.

AM: In the primary debates today they asked us what would you do in the first ten weeks of office I answered that the NYT is a clear tangible benefit that was in demand by the students and unfortunately it was not funded through the ASUO process this year which is OK, because as the executive if elected one of the first things we would do is secure funding mostly through fundraising as soon as possible.

OC: Can you define “sustainability?”

AM: Sustainability will not require funds to be continually increased, so if you want to be sustainable you are self-sufficient. You are able to provide for yourself without taking outside resources or outside funding and keeping the intake of student funds increasing every year.

OC: If you get elected, what is the one thing a year from now you would be proud of.

AM: The thing I would be most proud of is expanding the student section at  Autzen stadium bringing the NYT to campus and most importantly reducing the cost of education at this university. That is my prime goal. That’s what I personally would be most proud of because this is a wonderful university, however it costs more and more every year to come here and as the ASUO president one of the most important things I could do to lower the cost of education.

AW: I think we both share that is important that students funds stay here on campus and students know where their funds are going and transparency within student government is very clear. I want students to be informed on what we are spending their money on and what their resources are and just exactly what it is what were doing.

OC: Thank you for your time.

OC- Could you give us an outline of your platform?

AR- We have four main platform points.  First is better advocating for student housing rights on campus,  thirdly is you know more efficient spending and making sure that our fees are spent wisely and effectively, and then we have sustainability and making sure that students have a say in how that money is spent for student sustainability improvement on campus and then

MA- Also making sure students voices are heard.
AR- yes, definitely, and then fourthly is you know building communities, fostering civic engagement and  bridging gaps between communities on campus.

OC- Can you divulge into what student groups you’re involved with currently?

AR-for sure  I am currently working with the ASUO executive and I created the first annual farmers market. I am a member of Pi Beta Phi where I was publications chair I was an honest college chip leader, freshman mentor and fig assistant.  I was an honors college editor and chief of the arts journal.  I’ve been a member of alternative spring break and I am on the, er I was on the Greek judicial board.

MA- oh and then me as well?

OC- Yes

MA- Okay so I’m a campaign manager with OSPIRG,  I’m the team coordinator with the climate justice league.  I’ m also a member of the students of the Indian subcontinent and then I was last year a member of the Warsaw sports business club.

OC-Your website’s mission says  “we will make sure legislators and candidates for governor know that students can’t afford anymore debt” how do you reconcile that statement with your support for OSPIRG a group that would incur  117 thousand dollars to students if operational.

MA-um yea what was the question?

OC-*repeats question*

MA-yea totally, one of the things about OSPIRG is its cost effective so you’re getting a $600,000  organization for $117,000. um also they work on issues that save um students and citizens of Oregon money, such as the health care bill that passed in Oregon last year, to save citizens of Oregon 12 billion dollars over ten years, um so those are the kind of things that they are able to  to do with that 117 thousand dollars so its not like you’re throwing away money, its that you’re making an investment to get money back,  and the other thing is, ya know,  I’m voting yes on OSPIRG,  but as president and vice president you know we respect what students think, and so its really up to students if they think that OSPIRG is important on campus,  so theres a question on the ballot  and if students vote to have OSPIRG on this campus, if they think its important to them then we should respect that.

OC-  I noticed on one of your campaign website your bullet point is a civic engagement minor, can you explain that?

AR- yea totally, its something were really excited about,  its been talked about  vice president Kassa has been  working on that this year and we are going to continue  promote the creation of this minor, and the theory behind it is that you know students should be able to learn  outside their academic life, you know they’re in class for a couple hours a day but so much of our learning and experience comes outside the classroom and the minor would allow students to get academic credit for things that they’re already involved in. Community service that they are already doing on campus, both in campus  on campus and within the Eugene community as well. um and so it would be kinda like working with um some sort of internship independent project attached to a organization both on or off campus and then also mixing and matching classes that fit with that project, with that specific passion interest. so we’re really excited about it and i think that its a really great way for students to take autonomy over their own education and be able to find things that they’re going to learn tangible skillsfor the future at the same time they’re making a difference.

OC- Would there be restrictions on to what you can study?

AR- I’m not sure what the restrictions would be, but I think that it would definitely have to be, you know, planned out with an adviser, but again it would definitely be very creative and you know,  you would have say over how that was put together.

OC- Another one of your campaign centers around renters rights. Could you explain  that?

AR-Yea definitely, so iIthink you know a lot of you know Eugene students are first time renters so you know they’re reluctant to fend for themselves to find housing on their own,  even you know from the first time they enroll in school you know the administration has allowed 4x more freshman than we have beds for currently, so you know that right there students have to find housing on their own, they’re being you know having to have roommates that they don’t know before or they’re not necessarily their first choice for a living situations  and then you know when they do become renters  you know they move out of the residence halls,  students haven’t really been educated on what their rights are what they can do against you know big real estate companies or just ya know one on one you know landlords smaller time landlords, and  I think the ASUO is a great place for students to get educated on what their rights are, so you know holding workshops going to groups in the residence halls and things like that. and just letting them know just being able to support them in finding housing and also when they’re in it just making sure they’re in contact with things like legal services, conflict resolution, things that already exist on campus that not enough students know about.

OC- Are you guys running on the slate?

AR- no were independent candidates, like you.

OC-nice, that brings me to this question. What would you do if you guys were voted to executive positions to keep senators on the senate.

AR-I think one thing that’s really important is just maintaining good you know personal and professional relationships with each and every senator. That means you know both Getachew and sorry, both Maneesh and I will do a great job, I think Getachew has done ya know tried to do that as the vice president but I think  Maneesh and I really value that and making sure that we ya know promote good relations between senate and the executive so we can get ya know get really good work done and work together on that. Ya know so checking with them having meetings, making sure were communicating with not just the senate president but every senator.

OC- So at the end of the 2010/1011 school year, if you’re voted in whats the one thing that you want students to reflect on your administration?

MA- the one thing, that’s tough. I think one of the things for me is just to see how passionate we are about a lot of the issues that we care about, I mean I know Amelie is really passionate about like the farmers market and civic engagement and housing, she talks a lot about that, I’m really passionate about civic engagement as well as well as sustainability, we both have done a lot of work on this campus.  we’ve seen what students can do when we collaborate and when we work together on issues that we care about,  and we really just want to be a voice for that positive energy and that activism

AR-for sure

MA-and so I think one of the things I want people to look back on is hopefully how were able to bring people together, because I think that’s really important, and I think there is a lot of students on this campus that care about similar things, and we just want to give them the support and the resources that they can.

AR-  I would second that and I’d say that  ya know we don’t necessarily know, like we have some goals that we want to accomplish, but its about figuring out. What students want to have done, and what they want to change, and what goals they want to set for themselves, and then supporting that and fostering growth ya know, not just environmental groups but all communities on campus and ya know  putting fun events together that like ya know we can learn to support each other.  Ya know maybe making something like sustainability goals that we can you know really see the changes of you know before and after so you know once we set those with as much student input as possible. Then we’ll be able to look back and see how well we did and how well we um were able to be kind of the facilitators for making student action happen.

OC-Well done. Thank you for your time.

April Fools.

In the past week 5,157 votes were cast for the ASUO elections. The McCafferty/Williams campaign will be squaring off against Rousseau/Arora next week in the battle for the executive position as no candidate received a majority vote. For president the results were.

Gritzmacher/McAdams- 405

McCafferty/ Williams-1508

Rousseau/Arora- 1188

Lesiak/Cast of Muppet Treasure Island- 186

Casteneda/Esparza- 707

Other Write Ins-184

Reality Check Dominated the voting over the past week winning a number of senate seats in the first week.  All ballot measures were passed including OSPIRG’s.

Funny Write-In Votes: Satan, Sub Zero, Lady Gaga, Akon, John Muir, Gerald from “Hey Arnold,” Dicktits Mcsausageweiner, Masoli is innocent, Mr. Miagi, Sudsy O’Sullivan, The Waitress, Lamp, Fuckly McDickballs and Grim Gnarlicon.

Lastly over thirty people wrote in votes that consisted of “ASUO sucks” or “ASUO is a waste of time.”