The ASUO Senate is back to being a full house after the confirmations of six new senators took place during Wednesday night’s meeting. Katie Rosenberg, Alex Titus, Hugo Nicolas, Cody Koenig and Jacob Derman are the new senators who will be joining, and Emily Wu will be the freshman representative.
“We had to fill an unusually high amount of seats at one time, but I’m beyond confident that we’ve picked out the best students for the job,” ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz said in Wednesday’s meeting before he introduced the senators individually. “They’ll give our body some strong diversity.”
Of the six, Nicolas and Koenig won’t become fully confirmed senators until the next senate meeting. Koenig and Nicolas also serve as Department Finance Committee members, but since the senate seats they’re filling are not joint committee seats, they have to resign from their DFC positions. Koenig and Nicolas will be resigning during the DFC meeting on Thursday.
“Some senate seats are joint committee seats and some seats aren’t,” Sen. Taylor Allison said. “Since the seats they’re filling are academic chairs, then they’re technically no longer able to serve on both bodies.”
DFC will begin their hiring process to fill the soon empty seats this week.
Rosenberg is currently a member of the Wilderness Club and Toastmasters International, a nonprofit organization dedicated to building future leaders out of students. Outside of her three years of experience in high school student government, Rosenberg was also Allison’s intern last year.
“I work my best when I’m at my busiest,” Roseberg said. “I’m excited to start, and I’m really looking forward to getting more involved in the university.
Titus is a sophomore majoring in economics. In the past he’s interned for Young Entrepreneurs Business Week and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
“I really do like service, and I think that’s one way that every college student can learn leadership,” Titus said. “I want to be a voice in student government, and I’m ready to be a part of this.”
Nicolas is a leading advocate for undocumented Oregon students, and he was the vice president of Chemeketa Community College’s student government. When Nicolas was 11 years old, he immigrated from Mexico to the United States.
“This is the applicant that this body wants,” Dotters-Katz said. “This is a future president of the ASUO. He’s a strong applicant.”
Koenig is a journalism major, who has done PR for groups around campus such as Duck TV. Koenig is a junior and has been serving on the Department Finance Committee since the beginning of the year.
“I feel like my passion lies with senate,” Koenig said. “I’ll speak my voice, and I’ll stay true to myself no matter what.”
Derman was a political science major until he decided to drop the major so that he could be appointed for the undeclared senate seat.
“I wasn’t really that attached to doing that major anyways,” Derman said. “I know it sounds nerdy, but being on senate is one of my goals for freshman year. I’m really looking forward to the opportunity.”
Wu is majoring in economics and she was confirmed to be the freshman representative.
“This is an ideal position for me because I have strong experience in outreach,” Wu said. “I’d be able to reach out to a large portion of the freshman class.”