Only a few items remain on the agenda for this year’s ASUO Senate. Senate’s May 13 meeting mostly focused on tying up loose ends: transfers within groups, over-realized fund discussion and resolutions.

Special requests took a relative backseat to the public forum, as the room was packed with members of groups that turned out in force to lobby for portions of the over-realized fund. Speakers each got five minutes each to speak. Among the recommendations for the over-realized fund was money for new rowing machines for the UO Rowing Team, $40,000 for free HIV testing for students, and $150,000 for a trans conference with keynote speakers and various other opportunities.

Senate will not vote on any of the over-realized recommendations until next week’s meeting.

Most of the special requests were transfers within groups, with a couple of returns of funds to surplus. The UO Motorcycle Club and the Taiwanese Student Association were the only groups to request funds. The surplus ended up with more money than it had before the meeting, $20,939.79.

Senate also passed a resolution presented by Senate ombudsperson Sammy Cohen. The resolution reads that the ASUO condemns changes to the wording of university policy regarding confidentiality of student counseling records. It also condemns the University Counseling and Testing Center’s release of the counseling records of Jane Doe, a student who was allegedly raped by three men’s basketball players in March 2014.

Discussion of the ASUO Constitution Court’s decision that it should not be mandatory for incidental-fee funded events to be held in facilities that have gender inclusive bathrooms continued at the Senate meeting. ASUO Con. Court Chief Justice, Allison Apana, stood up to introduce the next Chief Justice Tom Bush, several students were seen standing in the audience with their backs towards the senate.

“I think that 16 CC is a really lazy and bigoted decision,” said Elle Mallon, one of the audience members who stood. “And that the Chief Justice who oversaw it doesn’t deserve our recognition”

At the end of the meeting, the ASUO senators discussed how to move forward with the letter that was presented to them last week. The letter called for senate to sign a letter to be sent to the Office of Affirmative Action, to condemn the Con. Court decision regarding gender-inclusive bathrooms at I-fee funded events.  There was even discussion on a possible construction of a resolution in response to the decision. Resolutions, such as this one, would be non-binding, and would serve as an official recommendation by the senate for action.

Senate meetings are 7 p.m. in the EMU Walnut Room. For more information about the ASUO, visit its website.

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s Senate meeting

Access the agenda here.

Robin Holmes met with the Board of Trustees on Friday to discuss proposals for changes to student health insurance through the university and changes to the student conduct code, particularly with regard to sexual assault.

Under the current system, all students pay a mandatory health center fee of $161 per term, with a $15 charge incurred every visit and with costs like that of an ambulance left uncovered. Holmes and Michael Eyster, senior associate vice president for student life and executive director of the University Health Center presented the new proposal, which is called UO Care. This system will offer three choices of coverage to provide students with options as to how much coverage they want.

The ideal standard for comprehensive coverage is called “platinum,” and that’s the coverage around which the options are built. For example, students who enter school with comprehensive coverage under their parents’ or their own policies will be able to opt into a baseline $110-per-term Health Support Fee. Students who have policies that provide some, but not “platinum” coverage, will opt into the UO Care Supplemental plan, which costs $175 but eliminates the $15-per-visit cost. This covers health services in the Eugene and Springfield area. For students who want worldwide and year-round coverage, the UO Care Comprehensive plan will offer “platinum” coverage for $690 per term.

Trustee Kurt Wilcox asked if providing more money to Health Center staff would be a priority in any potential changes. Holmes responded that those negotiations are with a union that encompasses seven institutions across the state.

“As we’re thinking about where money is going, that would be the place,” Wilcox said.

Holmes then went on to discuss the changes to the student conduct code which have been tested out, to improve the way the office of affirmative action can handle sexual assault. This includes eliminating the need for a student that brings forth allegations of sexual misconduct to testify in court and turning the appeals process over to one officer in charge. Holmes said she will be available if a student thinks the findings by the officers are unwarranted.

Additionally, Holmes said she would like to see changes in student-funded legal services, which provide services to students in need of defense, but not those who bring forth allegations. She also brought up ways to discourage a student accused of sexual misconduct from closing their own inquiry by transferring to another school, such as placing their transcript on hold.

All of the policies were limited to discussion and none are set in stone yet. Voting on the proposals will take place at the June 4 and June 5 meetings.

Six University of Oregon employees are being investigated for complaints regarding their handling of the counseling records of a student who said she was sexually assaulted by three men’s basketball players last March.

The Oregon Bar is investigating UO interim General Counsel Douglas Park and associate General Counsel Samantha Hill, The Oregonian reported May 8. The remaining four employees, including Vice President for Student Life and licensed psychologist Robin Holmes, are being investigated by the Oregon Board of Psychologist Examiners.

UO spokesperson Julie Brown said the university is aware of the investigations. She predicted all six employees would be cleared of any wrongdoing.

“We are confident (the board and bar association) will clear the individuals of what we believe are false claims and accusations,” she said. “The individuals involved are fully cooperating with the entities leading the inquiries and continue to carry out their job responsibilities with honesty and professionalism for our students.”

The investigations were triggered by complaints filed by Jennifer Morlok, who was the senior therapist who counseled the student, identified only as Jane Doe in court documents. The Oregonian reported that on Dec. 10, 2014, Shelly Kerr, director of the University Counseling and Testing Center, released Doe’s entire file of counseling records to the general counsel’s office without her permission. A month later, Doe filed a lawsuit against the university and men’s basketball coach Dana Altman, citing the records release as one of multiple grounds for the suit.

The university responded with a counterclaim against the student, a move that prompted public outcry. The counterclaim was later dropped.

Morlok told The Oregonian that she filed the complaints that prompted the investigations in January, saying that releasing Doe’s records was “the worst thing I could think of.”

Both the bar association and the psychologist examiner board have the authority to take punitive actions in the event of findings of misconduct. The bar association can permanently disbar an attorney for extreme misconduct, and the board of examiners can also revoke a practitioner’s license for severe violations. Rules governing the release of patient psychological records are established by Oregon state law.

Holmes and another psychologist under investigation were appointed by Acting Provost and Vice President Frances Bronet to a committee to establish new confidentiality policies for university clinics.

Follow Kaylee Tornay on Twitter @ka_tornay

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s Senate meeting.

Access the agenda here.

Doug Park, who has been the University of Oregon’s interim general counsel since July 2014, was named as the second finalist in the general counsel hiring process that has been going on since December 2014.

As interim general counsel, Park currently holds the position in question, but the university must put him through the general hiring process at this time. The only other named finalist so far has been Thomas Dorer from the University of Hartford, whose candidacy was announced on Tuesday. The hiring committee appointed by the president will be announcing each candidate, of which there are five, two days before their on-campus interviews. These interviews are not open to the public and will run from April 30 to May 14

Park attended the University of Washington for his bachelor’s degree in English, and got his law degree at the UO.

The general counsel is the chief legal officer for the University. Primary responsibilities include handling the university’s legal affairs and overseeing legal services for the university and the UO board of trustees. The general counsel also supervises the office budget and staff, including five other attorneys.

More information about the general counsel hiring can be found on the President’s website.

The ASUO has been involved in aiding groups that fight sexual violence throughout the year. Its most significant contributions have come through funding in two forms.

First, the ASUO funded programs involved in sexual violence awareness and prevention, like Sexual Assault Support Services (SASS), which was budgeted $89,486. Other budgeted programs and departments don’t deal exclusively with sexual assault but hold events to continue the dialogue. This includes the Women’s Center, which also houses the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team, which was budgeted a total of $36,918 for its programs. The Men’s Center also held events regarding sexual violence and was budgeted $3,600 for program expenses. The ASUO Executive budget includes that of the Sexual Violence Prevention Task Force, which was budgeted $41,290.

Besides the budget, ASUO Senate allocated several thousand dollars from surplus for events put on throughout the year pertaining to sexual assault. In November, Saferide received $163 for a panel discussion coordinated with the Women’s Center called “Let’s Talk About It.” The student group Forbidden Fruit, which puts the Rocky Horror Picture Show, also received $800 for a show focused on consent and sex positivity. In January, the LGBTQA received $700 for an event to promote “Better, Safer Kink.”

In February, the ASUO Senate also passed an amended version of a resolution calling for a halt to the expansion of Fraternity and Sorority Life. The resolution is due to findings of disproportionate incidents of sexual assault within the organizations. The amendment recommended delaying the halt on expansion until spring 2015, to wait on the results of the next campus climate survey.

The tables were crowded with senators and senators-elect at last night’s meeting as the Senate looks to the future.

Senators handled 12 special requests, many of which were transfers within groups or back to surplus. This is common as the school year winds down, when groups find money left over from requests earlier in the year that can be redistributed or even returned to surplus. Last week, more money was returned to surplus than was allocated, actually increasing the amount for the first time during a Senate meeting all year.

Some of the requests still caused extended debate among senators, like the $9,435 request from the Advertising Team, which is in the running for the finals of the National Student Advertising Competition, which will be held on June 10-13. The team wanted to send its team of 26 students to Las Vegas for the competition. A victory here would be the first since 1988.

Senate became focused on the fact that the Ad Team has not yet qualified for the finals. First, they need to move past the next round, which is a conference call that they’ll hear the results of on May 6. Although the team was fairly confident it will be moving onto the finals, several senators threw out the possibility of tabling the request until it was certain. However, it decided that postponing the purchase of airfare would only mean higher prices and it could be more prudent in paying for plane tickets now at the lower price. If the group does not make it to the Las Vegas finals, it will return the money to surplus. Senate passed the request, but not unanimously.

Senate also spent time deliberating over granting a $2,000 request from the new group Art Ducko, which is a cartoon and comic magazine that is heading into producing its second print issue. Senators including Robin Lilley and Kate Klosno expressed hesitation over granting what they said they believed was a large amount of money to such a new publication, in part because the magazine was gifted $1,000 recently that it wanted to save for other expenses.

Senator-elect Zach Lusby, who works for The Siren, another campus publication, suggested that the magazine look into cheaper printing options like reducing the size and quality of paper. Eventually, Lilley amended the motion to $1,000 and Senate passed that allocation.

Upcoming on the ASUO frontier is the signing of the newest version of the Clark Document, which is the document that describes the nature of the relationship between university administration and the ASUO. The signing will happen in Johnson Hall on May 8. Meanwhile, events surrounding Sexual Violence Prevention Week continue with Take Back the Night on April 30.

The ASUO Senate meets at 7 p.m. on Wednesday nights in the EMU Walnut Room. To learn more about the ASUO, visit its website.

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s Senate meeting

View the agenda here.

Live coverage of Wednesday night’s Senate meeting

View the agenda here.