Spring term’s ASUO offices move from the old wing of the EMU to a new location in MacArthur Court has spurred a significant drop in senator attendance of scheduled office hours.

The office hour issue was brought to Senate Ombudsperson Miles Sisk’s attention the second Friday of spring term when he received a call at 3:30 p.m. to come back to the ASUO office to sign five special request forms.

The forms require a senator’s signature and are usually signed during office hours. No one had been in that day. According to the ASUO website, five senators have Friday office hours at different locations around campus.

Sisk isn’t the only one who has noticed an apathy towards office hours.

“I personally have noticed a few senators regularly not showing up on a consistent basis,” Senator Helena Schlegel said. “But the office assistants are sending out more frequent emails needing special requests signed, and other students are starting to comment on the lack of senators in the office, which is troublesome.”

As the Senate Ombudsperson, Sisk polices and enforces senate duties. He tracks meeting attendance, office hours and makes sure that things like cultural competence trainings and finance retreats are attended.

Currently there is no sign-in system for office hours. Instead, Sisk makes random drop-ins to see if senators are serving their required hours.

“Really, the way that I view the whole office hour requirement rules within the GTN (ASUO Constitution) isn’t just to have senators sitting in an office but the idea is that they could be accessible to the student body,” Sisk said. “Frankly in the EMU South they’re not very accessible. At this point, it’s not very widely used.”

The ASUO constitution requires senators to hold three office hours a week. The constitution also states that failure to hold two-thirds of those office hours for three weeks results in the Senate Ombudsperson filing a grievance with the Constitution Court against the senator in question. This isn’t Sisk’s goal.

Sisk explained that with only a month left of the current senate, any grievance filed would only serve to embarrass senators.

“Frankly most of the people who are leaving don’t care anymore,” Sisk said. “So for me, greivancing someone would be more of a pain in the head for myself than for anyone else.”

Sisk has tried to combat these issues by offering alternatives to traditional office hours.

“I’ve tried making it so that they can go out and branch out, meet with groups, go do other activities outside,” Sisk said. “Because that’s honestly why we have office hours in the first place so that they can make those connections and be accessible. If sitting in an office isn’t accessible for most students then something needs to change.”

ASUO President Elect Beatriz Gutierrez would encourage members of the ASUO to hold office hours in different places like group and program meetings.

“I think that’s a good idea,” Gutierrez said. “I would like myself and people in my executive to go out and talk to people and their programs and unions until they feel safe enough to come to us.”

Sisk said that since addressing the lack of attendance at senate he has seen an upward trend in office hour attendance.

The University of Oregon Muslim Student Association hosted a benefit Saturday, May 3, featuring performances by Muslim comedians Adam Saleh and Sheikh Akbar and an auction to raise money for Syrian relief.

MSA’s Vice President Sabeen Waqar expected a large turnout, around 450 people. According to Waqar the majority of attendees were expected to be students, but many Eugene families who attend the local mosque came to show their support as well.

Talal Alzaid — an American English Institute student at the UO — is one of many who attended the event specifically to support Syrian relief efforts.

“We need to help the Syrian people because they’re going through a hard time,” Alzaid said.”I came for the whole event, not one specific thing.”

The event aimed to raise money for the Islamic Relief USA organization, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the fund, and was free to guests. According to Waqar, the event cost roughly $7,000 with no sponsors. The funds came from the MSA’s account and personal contributions.

“The one thing we want to get out of the event is to spread awareness of what’s going on in Syria … and give to the IRUSA,” Waqar said. “A lot of people don’t even know about the conflict in Syria.”

Waqar said the fundraiser raised close to $9,300 in donations for IRUSA with 53 individuals contributing — almost double what MSA expected to raise for the cause not including t-shirt sales.

Those who are interested in supporting IRUSA can purchase MSA t-shirts for $8 by contacting the group through their Facebook page or visiting the club’s office in the Multicultural Center in the EMU. They can also donate to IRUSA directly.

The posters are torn down, the chalk is fading and the campaign twitter accounts are sitting idle. In short, ASUO elections season has come to an end.

The current ASUO term ends May 24 and a new administration takes office May 25. The upcoming transition will bring a new crop of senators to the ASUO. Of the twenty senate seats three will be filled by current senators Miles Sisk, Rebecca Rhodes and Josh Seligsohn.

Candidates from both campaigns, 12 senators from the Mighty Oregon campaign and four senators from the Ducks Like You campaign, won senate seats in the election. Senate seat 15 was not filled and will be appointed by the Executive. No candidates were on the ballot for senate seat 15 and no write-in option met the received at least 10 percent of the vote or accepted the position.

Mighty Oregon swept most of the senate seats while Ducks Like You won the executive race. Despite the divided government, senators from both campaigns are determined to work together to improve the ASUO.

“I do feel that everyone who got elected, both on our ticket and on Mighty Oregon’s ticket, are going to ultimately make great changes for our senate.” Senator Elect Samantha Cohen said.

Cohen, a sophomore, is a family and human services major filling senate seat 13 from the Ducks Like You campaign. Cohen has been involved with the ASUO Women’s Center, the Oregon Student Association and other groups of campus. This campaign was Cohen’s first ASUO election.

“I really wanted to represent the student body,” Cohen said about her decision to run for senate. “I have attended senate meetings in the past and I was very disappointed in how I saw some senators react to issues on campus. I felt like people whose voices needed to be heard weren’t being heard.”

As a senator Cohen plans to get involved in the Sexual Assault Prevention Task Force, now known as the Organization Against Sexual Assault, and promote cultural competency.

Senator Elect Yelin Oh is no stranger to the ASUO. Oh, a junior, won her seat of the Programs Finance Committee last year while running on the Ducks for a Difference campaign. This year Oh was elected to senate seat 1 on the Mighty Oregon campaign.

Oh’s involvement in both progressive and conservative campaigns on campus reflects her desire for an ASUO that is diverse in thought and unafraid to work and listen to one another.

Her experience on PFC helped Oh to understand the complexities of the ASUO budget. As a senator Oh hopes to make it easier for programs to go through the PFC process.

“I want to help the process get easier with surplus funds and speaking at senate,” Oh said. “I think a lot of people, except those on PFC, don’t realize that a lot of the program leaders are new and don’t know what’s going on or don’t know a lot about the process.”

ASUO Senate Vice President Amy Jones offers this advice to incoming senators.

“My advice for future senators is to always be willing to learn,” she said. “Be conscious about which voices are missing from the room and reach out to students with different views from your own so that you can begin to understand a more complete picture. It is critical to recognize that there is privilege associated with your position, and respect is earned by your work ethic, how you treat those you disagree with and by your words and actions both in Senate and on campus each day.”

Former Mighty Oregon vice presidential candidate Austin Palacios lead the charge for elections reform at tonight’s ASUO senate meeting.

“Elections season has proven time and time again that the focus we have on the way we go about student government is wrong.” Palacios said. “However, to let the bad weigh us down is a mistake.”

Palacios wants to shift the focus of student government from the shadow of elections to the services that the ASUO provides with its $15 million budget.

“What we need is reformation of a historical election season to insure the future of student voices with integrity,” Palacios said.

Palacios charged the ASUO to abide by its mission statement to provide for the social, cultural, educational and physical development of its members, and for the advancement of their individual and collective interests both within and without the university.

Many echoed Palacios’ sentiments. Senator Miles Sisk created a working group on elections reform at the meeting. The group will discuss suggestions made by Senator Elect Andrew Lubash at last week’s ASUO senate meeting. The suggestions include instituting an automatic runoff election, similar to the elections at Oregon State University.

ASUO External Vice President Greg Mills also raised concerns about this elections season.

“This year in this elections cycle we did take a hit to student autonomy,” Mills said.

The hit that Mills referred to is administration stepping into election, making changes to the ballot and elections date.

During the meeting Senator Marita Maffit nominated fellow senator Taylor Allison to be on the Board of Trustees interviewing committee. The committee will search for a replacement for ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz on the University of Oregon Board of Trustees.

No money was spent during tonight’s 43 minutes ASUO senate meeting.

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s ASUO Senate meeting:

Senate Agenda

Beatriz Gutierrez won the ASUO presidential election on her 21st birthday. After receiving the news and celebrating with her team, Gutierrez sat down with the Emerald to discuss the ASUO, campaigning and the future of student government.

What have you learned from this campaign?

A lot. Being genuine really goes far. Really caring about people and what’s important to them goes a long way. Trusting my team is the best thing that I could have done. They’re amazing and I never questioned their decisions. Being the top of the ticket didn’t mean I was the head of the team. It was really humbling and an honor.

You have a house divided with the senate being majority Mighty Oregon and you’ll appoint the executive. How do you plan to work together with those different sides after such an ugly election?

Even with the election being ugly I don’t think it changes people to be ugly. I think we’ll be fine working together and beginning to build relationships before the work starts, making sure that we all understand each other’s foundations and differences.

In the primary you were down 190 vote. In the runoff you won by 713 votes. That’s an incredible 900 vote turnaround. What did that?

I think being on the street did that. I talked to a lot of people, and consistent visibility, working with the GTFF. They helped a lot and this week they had events and were continuously promoting it as well. Trying to make sure that all our bases were covered. 

Do you think that there needs to be some elections reform? 

Yes, definitely. Especially going through this process, I feel like it has been difficult to not have money. There are a lot of things that go into it that sometimes feel like it’s against us. It’s reproducing what there is outside and I don’t feel like we have those kinds of boundaries because we’re so much smaller.

You have primarily worked with unions and programs — what’s it going to be like for you to be on the other side of the table?

I think it’ll be nice. It’ll just be a table now because at first it was a table that divided people into ‘I’m from here and you’re from there’ but now there won’t be much of a difference. I’m excited to work with students.

How will you restore faith in the ASUO after all the recent scandals, campaigning and general drama?

It’s just going to be one student at a time. It’s going to be a challenge but once we’re over it people will see that we’re just students trying to make change for them.

What are some good things that the ASUO has been doing that you’re excited to build on?

The Sexual Assault Task Force. It’ll be amazing to see what it can do next year. I know I’ve talked to Sam Dotters-Katz about it already. That’s really exciting that that is happening, especially on this campus.

How are you now moving on with your life after all this?

I’m not having campaign dreams anymore. I was having campaign dreams where I was on the street or flyering, it was intense. I’m starting to do my research. I know that a lot of people said that I’m not experienced and I think I can totally learn to make up for it.

**Updated** Daniel Garges is being transferred to Lane County Jail on charges of Attempted Murder, Assault Two and Assault Four.

Daniel Garges, 38, of Eugene was arrested as a suspect in a shooting that occurred yesterday afternoon.

Garges was detained in Marion County this morning according to Lt. Scott Fellman of the Eugene Police Department. The Salem Police Department, Oregon State Police, Woodburn Police Depeartment, Silverton Police Department, and the Gervais Police Department all assisted in the arrest.

Marion County police were able to identify the suspect by the car believed to be driven by Garges from the scene of the shooting to Salem.

The Eugene Police Department and SWAT team units waited nine hours outside Garges’ apartment before receiving information that he was not present at his residence.

“The initial information given said that he was in the apartment, and this being a violent assault case we’re going to take every precaution,” Lt. Fellman told the press earlier today.

According to a press release from EPD, the victim is currently in stable condition and expected to survive. The victim is describe as a female in her twenties. Police are withholding anymore information about the victim for safety reasons.

There was only one gunshot wound on the victim, but police don’t know how many bullets were fired. The shooting is a suspected domestic violence case. The relationship between the suspect and the victim is believed to be boyfriend/girlfriend and both lived at the residence together, according to police.

According to EPD, the shooting is possibly drug-related due to the suspect’s extensive criminal history and status as a felon.

Graduate Teaching Fellows protested unfair labor practices outside Johnson Hall Friday afternoon. University of Oregon GTFs have been working without a contract for the past month. This afternoon there will be another bargaining session between the GTFF and the university.

“The GTFF has been bargaining with the University of Oregon since November,” Matthew Hannah, English Ph.D. candidate and vice president of organizing for the GTFF said. “The university has consistently failed to meet us at the bargaining table.”

According to Hannah, the university did not come prepared with counter offers at last week’s bargaining session.

“They’ve hired this very expensive lawyer from Portland who just shows up and demeans us at the bargaining table,” Hannah said. “We’re frustrated, we’ve had enough and we’re going to start seeing more of these actions as GTFs continue the process of trying to get a fair contract.”

The fair contract that the GTFF refers to includes the addition of major dental, parental leave, and a raise to match the cost of living in Eugene. GTF monthly salaries are currently $264 short of the cost of living outlined by the UO financial aid website.

“To us that’s unconscionable,” Hannah said. “We shouldn’t be taking out loans, most of us can’t take out loans. We really want to meet the cost of living raise here in Eugene.”

Hannah isn’t optimistic for today’s bargaining session.

“It seems like they’re stalling,” Hannah said. “We’re disturbed by the way they treat us at the table.”

Julie Brown, University of Oregon Director of Communications, told the Emerald that the University is presenting a counter offer this afternoon. The proposed offer includes a 4.5 percent salary increase of the two-year contract.

In a unanimous vote the ASUO senate funded $7,000 for the upcoming Campus Block Party event. The Campus Block Party will feature student artists, musicians, local food vendors and student businesses. 

The event comes after funding for a similar event was tabled after last week’s ASUO senate meeting. Last week the Oregon Voice requested $3,000 for a proposed event for its 25th anniversary event. After the ASUO senate took issue aspects of the proposed venue the motion was tabled.

This week the Oregon Voice was back, but not alone. Teaming with Ethos Magazine, Envision Magazine and the UO Cultural Forum the Oregon Voice proposed a bigger, better event. The Campus Block Party will take place May 31 on 14th Avenue between Hilyard Street and Patterson Street.

“It’s like the event that I presented to you last week but on a larger scale,” said Izzi Rassouli from the Oregon Voice. “This will be a UO inclusive event.”

The goal of the Campus Block Party is to highlight student accomplishments and to connect the campus and Eugene community through a unifying event. The organizers of the Campus Block Party estimate that over 2,000 students will attend the event.

“Student bands, student artists, student comedians sounds perfect,” Senator Amy Jones said. “I’m kind of glad that we didn’t fund the first event because this sounds a lot better.”

By featuring student artists the events will directly fund and celebrate UO students. Student bands like Dirty Man and The Chiefs, Face for Radio, Zendeavors and Small Joys are scheduled to perform at the event.

“This is one of the most thoroughly put together proposals we’ve ever had,” Senator Taylor Allison said. “This is the kind of campus, community, culture event that brings people together.”

This is the inaugural year for the Campus Block Party, with the intention of making the event annual.

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s ASUO Senate meeting:

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Senate Agenda