Live coverage of Wednesday night’s ASUO Senate meeting:
Author Archives | Craig Garcia
ASUO Senate: Jan. 29
Posted on 29 January 2014.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on ASUO Senate: Jan. 29
Whoville activists fill city hall
Posted on 28 January 2014.
All the seats in city hall were filled during Monday’s public forum at the City Council meeting. The top item on the agenda was what will happen to Whoville, the illegal homeless campsite on Broadway street that’s home to 50 people.
50 citizens throughout Eugene spoke about keeping Whoville active, at least until a viable shelter is able to replace it.
“Please, do not close Whoville until we have other shelter available,” Michael Adams said to City Council on Monday. “We’re not asking for Whoville to be open indefinitely, but with the possibility of snow happening this weekend, I don’t see how you could close it down.”
Last week a fence was put up surrounding the Whoville lot, indicating that the city is getting closer to shutting down the premises. However no date has been announced by the city.
In November, City Council voted to pass two legal campsites for the homeless to sleep at, but the Roosevelt Boulevard site is the only one that’s currently up, and it’s filled to capacity at 15. If the 40-50 people who live in Whoville were to be evicted, the other concern is that all of the tents, appliances, and warming station that were donated would have to be left behind, leaving the ex-Whoville residents to start all over again.
“We’re heading into a debacle with Whoville that we we’re hoping to avoid,” Jean Stacey, a chairwoman for Opportunity Village said. “They can’t take all of the things that were given to their community with them. According to my estimates, it’ll cost $100,000 of the taxpayers money to shut Whoville down.”
The consensus from the public was to keep Whoville until there is a better alternative available, however few had alternate proposals. Dan Bryant, President of Opportunity Village, was one of the few who brought a proposal.
“The support we had with the city with building our opportunity village was fantastic,” Bryant said. “We want to offer our support to build another transitional community. It would be better insulated and better for the community then what is currently offered. I’m looking forward to the support that we will hopefully have with the city.”
Opportunity Village is currently situated on North Garfield st., where they have a mini-suburb of small housing areas built for the homeless.
Before the public forum section of the meeting, the council proposed to extend the Overnight Sleeping Pilot Program Ordinance, which is the program that is designated to set up as of now two legal campsites for the homeless to spend their nights. The proposal would extend the program to Oct. 31, 2014 instead of Mar. 31, 2014.
The plan is currently just a proposal, and a public forum will be held to discuss it in mid-February.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Whoville activists fill city hall
Upcoming budget cuts still look to save student jobs
Posted on 28 January 2014.
Expected budget cuts for the 2014-2015 academic year have now become a reality for the University of Oregon. Student groups won’t be financially growing as much as they’d like to next year, but all the student jobs that could have been affected by the cuts are poised to survive.
Committees such as the EMU Board and the Department Finance Committee allocate funds to student services like the EMU food services, ticketing services, Holden Leadership Center and the Mills International Center. The EMU Board and DFC only have a 3.5 percent increase this year, which was the percent increase in incidental fee growth as capped by a recommendation from UO administration. The incidental fee is a fee that every UO student pays, and students will be paying less of it next year, but in return all incidental fee-funded operations have been forced to tighten their budgets.
The tightening was expected to affect student employees, but at this point, all the student jobs seem to be safe.
“The departments were prepared for the 3.5 percent increase because in November that’s what we made our benchmark,” ASUO Senator and EMU Board member Quinn MacLean said. “There’s going to be some shifting around, but we’ve been able to manage giving the departments the money they need for their employees next year.”
To keep jobs, MacLean is expecting the overall ASUO budget to be at a 4.5 percent increase. The DFC’s increase is slightly above the 3.5 line as well with their expected increase being at 3.66 percent. The DFC’s slight increase comes from funding the Mills International Center, which is adding a few paid positions in order to keep with the Center’s high demand.
“The Mills added a bunch of positions because the usage of the center has been pretty high. For us to give them just the bare minimum would have led to cutting jobs,” ASUO Senator and DFC member Ryan Fritsen, said. “It was difficult from a larger standpoint, but we needed to take into account the future of the organization.”
The EMU Board and the DFC are able to afford the extra fiscal leg room due to an expected zero percent increase for the Program Finance Committee budget.
“It’ll be at about zero percent,” ASUO Senator and PFC member Taylor Allison, said. “Some programs will get decreases for lack of spending, and then 5 groups will be getting just their service level increases, but those have already been accounted for.”
The Women’s Center, Men’s Center, ASUO office, Multicultural Center and Safe Ride are the groups who are getting service level increases which Allison says will be anywhere between 3 and 5 percent, depending on the group.
The Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee have arguably been cutting off the highest increases out of all the committees. The Athletics department requested a 10 percent increase, but ACFC only approved 3 percent, and OSPIRG was all together defunded by ACFC during their budget hearing.
“OSPIRG wasn’t happy with the amount, and I can understand why they’re upset, but at the end of the day it wasn’t our fault that they were defunded. We did all we could do, and I think we made a very responsible decision,” ASUO Senator and ACFC member Josh Losner, said. “It’s a tough year to do this because of the cuts, but unfortunately everyone is making sacrifices. I’m very glad we’re being fiscally responsible.”
After a few more budget hearings this week, all the committees are expected to reach their 3.5 percent quota, with student jobs intact. How the budget cut will affect the services that all the groups provided is still uncertain.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Upcoming budget cuts still look to save student jobs
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy denies Whoville as a state of emergency
Posted on 25 January 2014.
Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy wrote in a memo sent out on Friday that she’s decided to decline Whoville’s request for the campsite to be declared as a state of emergency.
In response to Whoville’s request, Piercy has asked the Eugene City Council to move rapidly with opening the second legal rest stop site. The council decided over the winter holidays to legalize two sites. One of them is on Roosevelt and the other is at Northwest Expressway. Whoville’s approval to be a legal campsite was denied, and the city’s decision was to close down the site after the holidays when the first legal site was in place.
“On Monday, council will be asked to support extending the pilot rest stop program,” Piercy wrote in her memo. “If that is approved, Community Supported Shelters has agreed to oversee the second site and we will be able to begin the process of opening the second site. It’s important to recognize that while critical and humane – rest stops are not a solution to homelessness.”
Piercy went on to say that though they’re working with homeless groups such as the Egan Warming Centers, Cahoots, Buckley House, Looking Glass, Shelter Care and St. Vincent DePaul, the city is still aware that there needs to be a better and more permanent solution to homelessness.
“I am actively asking that we find some way to provide some basic shelter for those who are still using drugs or alcohol and are not accepted into any shelter we currently have, or at Opportunity Village or the rest stops,” Piercy wrote. “We will continue to work with our private and public partners to find more solutions to the unmet need we see in our area because we do believe that shelter is a basic human right.”
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy denies Whoville as a state of emergency
Q&A: Comedian Mike Birbiglia talks performing in Eugene and future works
Posted on 24 January 2014.
Mike Birbiglia is a comedic renaissance man. He took his critically acclaimed one-man show, “Sleepwalk With Me,” and adapted it into a book and an award-winning film that he wrote, directed and starred in. Recently, Birbiglia released “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend,” another critical darling that takes a unique and humorous perspective on his personal highs and lows in relationships.
The Emerald spoke to Birbiglia to talk about his new tour, “Thank God for Jokes,” which will be at the McDonald Theatre in Eugene on Jan. 25.
So how’s performing in Eugene?
What’s great about this tour is that I’m now able to go back to the cities that I really like, instead of before where I’d just go to wherever would have me. The last time I was in Eugene I performed in the public library, which was great. I was doing a book signing there and they asked me if I could perform and I said, “Sure,” and it was actually kind of awesome. It was me, people who knew me and a bunch of homeless people that were there. It was a great dynamic.
Are there plans to adapt “Thank God for Jokes” into another medium?
I’m not going to say which story from it could be used, but I will say that there’s a movie idea in there, but I try to keep that under wraps. I have a lot of ideas circulating.
What’s your favorite medium to write for?
I’d have to narrow it down to movies and stand-up. I love movies because of the precision and the humor, and I love stand-up for the sheer unpredictability of it. Anything can happen at any given night. The show could end up being the best night of your life. It’s a unique and great experience that we all get to share together. The show’s called “Thank God For Jokes” because jokes have the ability to bring us all closer together. The closest I’ve ever felt to people is when I share jokes with them. That’s really the goal of my tour—to have all of the people in the room all in on the same inside joke.
What I like about your Twitter is that you’re a comedian first and a promoter second. How important do you think it is for comedians to be active on social media?
It’s a little bit like a dating site for entertainment. People can survey what I write on Twitter, and people will decide from that whether they like me or not. What’s cool about now is that people can draw an audience to a show not because they have a TV show or anything but because we gain an audience through our Twitter, Facebook or Netflix.
What new projects are you working on?
I’m writing two scripts right now. One is a loose adaptation of “My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend” and the other screenplay is kind of a secret, but I’m pretty excited about it. Truthfully, I’m most excited about the tour right now. It’s 90 minutes of new material, and in some ways I think it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever done.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Q&A: Comedian Mike Birbiglia talks performing in Eugene and future works
ASUO Sen. Alivia Feliciano removed from University Senate due to lack of attendance
Posted on 24 January 2014.
ASUO Senator Alivia Feliciano was removed from her University Senate seat on Friday due to having too many unexcused absences.
According to an email sent out by ASUO Executive Coordinator Lisa Shimizu, Feliciano has missed the last three Senate meetings since her appointment. According to the University of Oregon Constitution in section 8.1, a senator’s seat is considered vacant if they have been absent to two regularly scheduled meetings during one term. The Constitution also states that the seat remains empty unless the senator notified the Executive Coordinator about why they would be absent.
According to Shimizu’s email, Feliciano has received several emails regarding her absence, but there hasn’t been any reply. The Emerald reached out to Feliciano for a comment, but no contact was made.
“I was notified that a student senator was removed from the University Senate due to lack of attendance,” ASUO President and fellow University Senator Sam Dotters-Katz said. “I’m unaware of the circumstances surrounding Senator Feliciano’s removal, so I can’t comment to this specific situation.”
From the ASUO Senate, five senators are suppose to be appointed to the University Senate board. As of now only Liz Avalos, Brent Rovianek and Helena Schlegel have been appointed.
“We were going to have nominations for one University Senate seat during our Wednesday meeting, but now with the recent news, we’ll go ahead and have two nominations,” ASUO Senate President Matthew Miyamoto said. “Feliciano was dropped from University Senate, but she’s still very much a part of the ASUO Senate.”
If only two senators are nominated then both will automatically be appointed to their University Senate seats. If more than two are nominated though, then they will have an impromptu election during the ASUO Senate meeting.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on ASUO Sen. Alivia Feliciano removed from University Senate due to lack of attendance
Whoville rallies against Eugene City Council
Posted on 23 January 2014.
Whoville held a rally Thursday to protest against the Eugene City Council’s reluctance to recognize them as a legal campsite. Whoville is a homeless camp that’s been home to over 50 residents for the past four months.
On Jan. 17, the Eugene Police Department was sent out by the city to give an eviction notice to the residents of Whoville on the grounds that their presence is illegally occupying ground intended for public use.
For the residents of Whoville, it’s not that easy to find a new place to stay.
“There are no other places to go,” Nathan Showers said, a resident of Whoville that’s been with the site since the beginning. “All of our resources are here. We have dining services, and the hospital and bathrooms are all within walking distance. Other sites like this don’t have any of these amenities right near them. At some places, getting to the hospital would be a three mile walk.”
The purpose of the rally was to get the City Council’s attention, and to ask them why they’re evicting people of Whoville right now, in the middle of Winter.
“Our city is embarrassed,” Dan Bryant, the President of Opportunity Village Eugene, said. “I’m sure that they’re getting pressure from people in the public who don’t like seeing this site. We should be embarrassed, but we should be embarrassed of how many people we have who live in Eugene that are fighting just to have their human rights.”
Vickie Nelson, the organizer for Occupy Eugene, the grassroots income inequality protest group, says that the next call to action is to have Mayor Kitty Piercy declare Whoville as a state of emergency, which will legalize the Whoville site for an indefinite amount of time. Although it’s in Piercy’s jurisdiction to do so, a one time exception might set the precedent for other illegal homeless campsites to petition the same.
“It’s winter, it’s cold and we have fewer beds and more people seeking shelter than ever before,” Nelson said. “It’s only January and already two people in our area have died outside in the cold with no one nearby to assist them or call for help.”
Bryant says that Whoville shouldn’t be looked at as a permanent situation. To Bryant, the campsite is a transitional place for people with all sorts of harsh backgrounds to sleep safely while they focus on improving their life situations.
“Very few people want to be here. They would prefer to be in better housing,” Bryant said. “Finding ways to get them better housing is what we need to be doing right now. Once we do that, then we can close it down, but that’s the right way to close it down… not forcing them out like this.”
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on Whoville rallies against Eugene City Council
ASUO Senate confirms five new senators and a freshman representative
Posted on 23 January 2014.
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.”
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on ASUO Senate confirms five new senators and a freshman representative
ASUO Senate: Jan. 22
Posted on 22 January 2014.
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on ASUO Senate: Jan. 22
After a false start, MacGregor Ehlen is the new ASUO Elections Board coordinator
Posted on 21 January 2014.
From rejection to winning unanimous support from the ASUO Senate within two months, newly appointed Elections Board Coordinator MacGregor Ehlen is a firsthand witness to the ASUO’s quick change of heart.
On Nov. 13 of last year, Ehlen went to senate to be approved of his appointment to the board by the ASUO Executive. Ehlen’s approval was expected to be simple, yet it was anything but.
Ehlen’s credentials are strong. He was a member of Santa Clara University’s senate for two years, he worked on Creswell City Councilman Jacob Daniels’ election as a field director in 2012 and he started his own campaign consultant firm called The Ehlen Group.
On top of his credentials, Ehlen was the only applicant for the position.
However, the senate was unconvinced.
The first concern senate voiced in opposition to Ehlen’s appointment was his relationship with ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz. The job of the elections coordinator is to regulate all the parties involved in elections. With Ehlen being friends with Dotters-Katz, senate found it difficult to believe that he would make a bipartisan decision.
“He’s a friend of mine, but I don’t think that would have much bearing over my decision,” Ehlen said. “I can definitely assure you I will not give anyone advantages because they’re a friend.”
Ehlen also admitted that the Executive branch didn’t conduct an interview prior to selecting him for the position, which was concerning to senate.
“I don’t feel comfortable voting ‘yes’ because that will set a low precedent for us,” Sen. Amy Jones said in the meeting. “Just because we don’t confirm the applicant tonight doesn’t mean he isn’t an applicant in the future.”
After three hours of debate, Ehlen pulled his application. Ehlen’s plan was for the ASUO to advertise for the position again to see if they could get more applicants.
The position was advertised, and again no one applied – except for Ehlen.
“While we re-opened the application process and continued our outreach, no other applicants were received,” Dotters-Katz said. “Chief Justice Allison Apana, Senate President Matthew Miyamoto and myself concluded an in-person interview of Mr. Ehlen, and his nomination was supported by all involved.”
Apana believes Ehlen’s qualifications make him a competent and collaborative candidate who can bring practical knowledge to the position.
“I personally voted to appoint him as Election Board chair because of his experience in politics and his eagerness to learn and lead others,” Apana said. “I admire his passion and perseverance shown through his repeated attempts to obtain this position.”
With sweeping recommendations from the appointment board, senate showed no hesitance of Ehlen’s approval the second time around, unanimously making him the new Elections Board coordinator months after his first appointment. Whether his friendship with Dotters-Katz or him being the only option turns out to be a negative for him during the upcoming election is uncertain. Either way, Ehlen says he’s ready for the challenge.
“What I want to do is make sure that everything is done fairly, and nobody is bending the rule,” Ehlen said. “I know how elections are run, and I know what tricks are used. I don’t want the elections to leave a bad taste in anyone’s mouth.”
Posted in UncategorizedComments Off on After a false start, MacGregor Ehlen is the new ASUO Elections Board coordinator