ASUO Senator Parker Williams resigned from senate on Friday due to her obligations with her sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma.

“Last year, I was elected Vice President of my sorority and with it came great responsibility,” Williams wrote in her resignation letter. “As a result, I have not been able to be as involved with senate as I would have liked, and it has caused me to resign.”

Earlier on Friday ASUO President Matthew Miyamoto requested in an email that Sen. Parker Williams resign due to her missing the five of the last seven senate meetings. According to the ASUO handbook, a senator is only allowed to miss two scheduled senate meetings.

After both Miyamoto and ASUO Ombudsperson Miles Sisk tried but couldn’t get in contact with Williams, Miyamoto decided to send the email requesting she resign by Monday at 9 a.m., but added that he would have to submit a grievance towards her to the ASUO Constitution Court.

“We understand that she’s heavily involved with other areas on campus, but we also believe she needs to give senate, and the people she’s representing the proper amount of time as well,” Miyamoto said.

“I value all of the experiences and things I have learned through ASUO Senate,” Williams wrote. “I am sad to not be apart of the ASUO, however it is a great group of people and I wish nothing but the best for them.”

According to Miyamoto, Williams’ seat won’t be filled until sometime during winter term. Senate will be accepting applications for the position once the body announces the empty seat. The ASUO Executive branch will then appoint a senator, which will then have to be confirmed by senate.

Enrollment for public universities has reached an all-time high this fall, according to an Oregon University System press release.

According to the release, 103,074 students are enrolled in Oregon public universities this fall. An increase of over 1,500 students attending Oregon universities has made this the tenth year in a row that enrollment has increased. Despite the overall increases in Oregon universities, the University of Oregon hasn’t had an increase in its enrollment. According to UO spokeswoman Julie Brown, the university has stayed at a consistent level of enrollment over the last two years.

“We’ve stayed consistent with our overall enrollment, but we’ve had a good increase in international students this year,” Brown said, in regards to the UO’s enrollment rate.

The high enrollment of international students is a trend consistent with the rest of the Oregon universities.

There are 8,683 international students attending Oregon universities this fall, which surpasses last year’s all-time high of international students. The most international students came from China, with an additional 718 Chinese students enrolling this fall. Along with Oregon State University, UO has one of the highest numbers of international students in the state with 2,550.

The percentage of increase in overall enrollment did see a dip for the second year in a row, following four years of increases in the 3-5 percent range. The overall enrollment increase this fall was 1.7 percent.

“We were expecting these results,” said Di Saunders, the director of communication for OUS. “There are a number of factors in play. Part of it is that during the recession we saw high percentages because more students were going back to school to learn more skills so they can be better equipped for the workforce. Now that we’re after the recession, we’re seeing people finding work and putting off schooling a little longer.”

Helena Schlegel’s college career is anything but paint by numbers.

Don’t get her wrong though, the sophomore Spanish and math major loves numbers — her dream job since junior high is to be a statistician for the Philadelphia Phillies. But her passions don’t end there.

Growing up in Tuscon, Ariz., Schlegel helped out with organizations that worked with underprivileged communities between her hometown and the border. While working in mostly Spanish-speaking communities, she felt like she could do more if she knew the language.

“Not knowing Spanish at the time was frustrating to me because I felt like I wasn’t able to help people fully get what they needed,” Schlegel said. “That’s why I also decided to major in Spanish. I wanted to understand the culture better and I wanted to be a bigger help working with underprivileged communities.”

Helping people who might not have as strong of a voice as others is what Schlegel loves to do best. It’s why she’s involved with the Oregon Student Association, the Student Labor Action Project and the Oregon Students of Color Coalition. Assisting minorities that might not have a voice otherwise is also why she decided to become an ASUO senator, even though she was hesitant at first.

“I’ve heard that the ASUO could be the best experience or worst experience for students, so I was pretty hesitant to get involved at first,” Schlegel said. “But I thought that I couldn’t really complain about some people not being heard if I wasn’t a part of what could be the thing that could change that.”

Schlegel’s goals for senate this year are to make sure students feel more familiar with the student groups and programs at the University of Oregon, and that the students she represents are properly represented. According to ASUO Senate Vice President Amy Jones, Schlegel’s doing that and then some.

“Helena advocates for critical issues that often lack student voices, and she’s passionate and determined to make our university a better place and home for every student on our campus,” Jones said. “I admire her drive, dedication and how she continuously steps up to challenges and tasks that others shy away from.”

Schlegel’s friends share Jones’ thoughts. According Samantha Cohen, a close friend and student volunteer for the ASUO Women’s Center, Schlegel goes out to talk to student groups to see what their concerns and thoughts are.

“She works hard to make sure she represents everyone,” Cohen said. “I also really love that she advocates for gender inclusion here on campus. She sincerely believes in equity and equality for all and I love that about her.”

“My steady goal is that I work with people,” Schlegel said. Whether that comes in the form of her working as a mathematician somewhere, or going across the word and utilizing her Spanish skills, she wants to work with and help whoever needs it.

Seven of the eight students who were appointed by the ASUO Executive branch for roles in the Constitution Court, Program Finance Committee, Department Finance Committee and the EMU Board were confirmed by senate with ease during the body’s Wednesday night meeting. MacGregor Ehlen’s confirmation for Elections Coordinator however wasn’t as simple, and after over an hour of debate between Ehlen and the senate, Ehlen eventually withdrew his application and left the meeting.

The hold up on Ehlen’s confirmation was because he was the only individual who applied, he was not interviewed for the position. The executive branch looked over his application and were pleased enough with his credentials to appoint him, but senate wasn’t comfortable proceeding without a proper interview.

While interviews are traditionally held for students applying for ASUO positions such as the Elections Coordinator, the ASUO Constitution, better known as the Green Tape Notebook, fails to require an interview process.

“If you guys want to ask me the questions that the interview would have I’d be more than happy to answer them,” Ehlen said to the senate after sitting with the body for over an hour.

The senate was also concerned that the executive appointed him because Ehlen is a friend of ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz. According to Ehlen though, that had nothing to do with his appointment.

“[Dotters-Katz] is a friend of mine, but I don’t think that would have much bearing over my decisions,” Ehlen said. “I can definitely assure you I will not give anyone advantages because they’re my friend.”

Dotters-Katz, who did not attend the meeting, said that he and Ehlen being friends had nothing to do with the appointment.

“He is well qualified for the position and we stand behind our appointee,” Dotters-Katz said.

After spending nearly two hours discussing their next steps, Sen. Miles Sisk wanted  to postpone the confirmation until the next meeting, with the condition being that Ehlen had a proper interview within the week. The motion failed, so Ehlen decided to withdraw his application.

“How about I just do this. I’m going to formally withdraw my application,” Ehlen said. I don’t want to do this the wrong way. I’ll just withdraw my application, and you guys can tell me when to come back.”

The deadline to find an Elections Coordinator has passed, but senate has decided to extend the deadline in the hopes of finding more applicants for the position. Ehlen does plan on reapplying for the job.

Aubrey Hoffman and Thomas Bush were both confirmed by the senate to be members of the ASUO Constitution Court, and Linnea Havener, Corry Higgins and Seela Sankey were confirmed to be members of the EMU Board.

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s ASUO Senate meeting:

Senate Agenda

Senate Speaker’s List

The ASUO Executive gave its official support Wednesday night to decrease the growth cap for the incidental fee from 7 percent to 3.5 percent.

“The incidental fee does tremendous things for students here on campus,” ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz wrote in the memo regarding the recommendation. “However, unsustainable and constant 7 percent growth year after year has grown our budget and fee into one of the largest in the country.”

The incidental fee is the fee that students pay that help fund student groups and programs. According to a bill passed earlier this year by the Oregon Legislative, all University of Oregon fees have been capped at 5 percent. Along with this legislation, the UO administration has recommended to bring all institutional fees, including the Incidental Fee, down to 3.5 percent.

“The ASUO Executive would like to give the ASUO Senate and ASUO Finance Committees the most complete and accurate information involving the ASUO budget process,” Dotters-Katz wrote. “Therefore, it is important that we are direct with our intention to veto any final budget recommendation that exceeds 3.5 percent.”

According to the memo, this isn’t the executive’s final decision, but it is the current plan on moving forward for the 2014-2015 school year.

In the memo it mentions that along with being under-realized several hundred-thousand dollars, decreasing the growth to 3.5 percent will make this year’s budgeting process difficult, and will further reduce growth for student programs. However, the executive said that not every expenditure in the Incidental Fee is vital and that they have work carefully to craft a budget recommendation that realizes the upcoming financial struggles.

The next step in the process will be the senate discussing the 3.5 percent growth cap in its meeting tonight. The discussion will look to find common ground for all the senators so that they can give their recommendation on the cap.

“Hard choices are going to have to be made, and our final budget will include some suffering for groups and organizations that only seek to grow and better serve students. We did not make this decision with ignorance of these concerns and frustrations,” Dotters-Katz wrote. “However, we believe that leaders must to step up in difficult times and make the difficult and occasionally unpopular choices based on the options they have.”

During Wednesday’s night senate meeting, the body will be discussing their thoughts on the cap.

ASUO Executive Memo

The safety net that the ASUO has for getting funds won’t come into play for the coming year’s budget process. For the first time in five years, ASUO administrators have under-realized their funds — the amount of fee-paying University of Oregon students they thought were going to be enrolled this year turned out to be less than expected — about $100,000 less according to External Vice President Greg Mills.

“It’s rare, but I think we’re going to see (being under-realized) more often,” Mills said. “The amount of students we let in has kind of hit a plateau.”

When the ASUO is over-realized, those funds are put into a surplus, which can then be used to fund special requests from student groups throughout the year. This year’s surplus is at approximately $300,000, one of the largest surpluses the ASUO has ever had. That’s fortunate, as the this year’s surplus will have to transfer over to next because there’s 8no extra over-realized funds for next year.

“Being under-realized means that no extra money will be added to the surplus [from that fund],” Sen. Taylor Allison said, who was the former ASUO Senate treasurer last year. “The special request surplus is funded by whatever amount of money we have from being over-realized  the previous year. So since there won’t be any over-realized funds for next year’s surplus, whatever’s left in this year’s will roll over to next year.”

Although money from the over-realized fund won’t be added to a surplus, that doesn’t necessarily mean ASUO won’t have extra cash at the end of the year. Any money student groups don’t spend will be added to a surplus fund.

“Until you see another growth in number of students, it’s rare we’re going to see a large over-realized fund again,” Mills said.

To fill the $100,000 difference, the ASUO will take money from its Prudent Reserve, which according to the ASUO Green Tape Notebook is what is used to “insure against shortfalls due to under-realized enrollment and/or other unforeseen contingencies.” Five percent of the total incidental fee budget funds the Prudent Reserve, which is already thinning out due to the ASUO’s decision to put a 3.5 percent cap on increasing the incidental fee.

Along with 5 percent of the fee serving as the sole funds for the Prudent Reserve, the incidental fee also serves as the primary funds for the Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee, Departments Finance Committee, Programs Finance Committee and the EMU Board. Some things the ACFC does is make contracts with the athletic department so that there are tickets for students, as well as making a contract with the Lane Transit bus system, so that there are student passes. The DFC funds larger student groups, such as the Oregon Marching Band and the Mills International Center, while the PFC funds 140 student groups, such as the Women’s Center and Multicultural Center. The EMU Board focuses on all things related to the EMU building.

With all of those groups being funded by an incidental fee that has a 3.5 percent cap and has less money due there not being an influx of students, the fee will be stretched to its max next year.

“The reserve is incidental-fee funded, so it’s going to affect how we disperse the incidental fee next year too,” Mills said.

After fundraising $3,400 for a conference, the Oregon Students of Color Coalition want to host on the University of Oregon campus. The OSCC went to the ASUO Senate to see if it would grant the group’s special request to fund the remaining $2,400.

Senators Amy Jones and Helena Schlegel are active supporters of OSCC, and they stood with the group during the request. The $2,400 would be used to cover the registration fees so that they could make the conference free to the public.

“This conference is not just for students of color,” Jones said. “As a person that can’t define themselves as colored, I’ve gotten nothing but enthusiasm from the people at OSCC.”

Sen. Kevin Frazier moved to grant OSCC’s full request, and the body passed the motion unanimously. The Oregon Students of Color Conference will be happening at the UO Nov. 15-17.

Frazier also moved to make a special task force that will discuss Senate Bill 270, the bill that approved independent governing boards for the university. Frazier wants the task force to discuss what some better ways are that the students’ voices can be heard by the board. Frazier thinks that just having one student on the board (ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz) isn’t enough for a proper student voice.

“To represent the 20,000 plus students, we only have on student on the board,” Frazier said. “That just doesn’t seem to make too much sense.”

After the committee and officer updates, the senate called an executive session and requested that all members of the audience leave the room except for the Emerald, senate members and Assistant Vice President and Dean of Students Paul Shang.

Senate President Matthew Miyamoto cited ORS 192.660(2)(b), which states that the executive session was called “to consider the dismissal or disciplining of, or to hear complaints or charges brought against, a public officer, employee, staff member or individual agent who does not request an open hearing.”

Follow Craig Garcia on Twitter @CraiGarcia

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s ASUO Senate meeting:

Senate Speaker’s List

Senate Agenda

Cryptic and legal jargon make requesting financial help from the ASUO a daunting and time consuming task for student groups. That’s why student groups looking to make special requests from the ASUO Senate start with an uphill battle — the complexities of the special request forms they have to fill out are intimidating, to say the least.

“At first I was really nervous going into it, but after getting some of my questions answered, it became a littler easier,” Iris Tian said, the vice president of the student publication HuaFeng. Her magazine had recently approached the senate to request $4,000 for production purposes.

The special request form is the application that has to be filled out before a student group can present its case as to why it needs financial assistance. Whether a group is looking to go to a conference or it needs to buy a new printer, all student groups fill out the same form, which makes the questions on the form both too general and specific at the same time.

Riddled with legal language, Tian found the special request application process to be a little more daunting than expected when she began working on the form. The publication’s request was delayed due to the application process, but after getting some help from some ASUO members, she was able to finish the application process and have her request accepted.

“It’s pretty cryptic and it’s not easy to fill out for the groups,” ASUO Senate President Matthew Miyamoto said. “I definitely want to rebuild the request form they use.”

The pool used to fund these requests is currently sitting around $302,000, making this year one of the largest surplus amounts the senate has ever had. Some senators along with Miyamoto are looking to make the process less daunting, but they haven’t made too much progress on rebuilding the process yet.

“My understanding is that the update to the forms in the future will be able to give us more information than the previous system,” Sen. Taylor Allison said. “There will be separate special request forms for conferences, events, retreats, et cetera and it’ll hopefully make our meetings more efficient, so that the forms give us a better understanding ahead of time of what exactly their request entails.”

Even with talks about the new process, the senate will still be looking at all requests carefully to make sure that they’re giving to the groups that need it the most.

“There is a part under Section A (in the special request form) that asks the groups, ‘What other funding options have you exhausted, and what were the results?’” ASUO Senate Treasurer Marita Maffit said. “This can mean anything from asking academic departments or other programs for financial support. I think a lot of the times groups that come to Senate asking for requests are not always aware of all of the other options, so it would be good to have a page that actually explains all of those.”

According to Maffit, there isn’t a current timeline on when the new process will come about.