ASUO Senate approves $15,000 request to bring ‘Daily Show’ comedian to campus
Senate unanimously approved the Students of the Indian Subcontinent’s $15,000 request to bring Hasan Minhaj, Senior Correspondent from the The Daily Show, to the group’s cultural night. This is the largest approved request of the year.

SIS’s request last week was originally tabled due to lack of fundraising efforts.

After last week’s meeting, SIS sent letters to departments around the university in hopes to fundraise for the event. The group has received commitments from the Department of International Studies, the School of Journalism and Communications and the Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence to help funding beginning spring term.

SIS is currently working on finalizing the contracts for the annual event, which took place at the end of May in 2015.

Senate confirms Elections Board Chairman

Senate confirmed Abraham Youhana as the ASUO election board chair, a position that recruits board members and oversees elections. Youhana is a sophomore double-majoring in Political Science and Business Administration. ASUO Director of Staff Casey Edwards said Youhana has shown “a lot of dedication” toward student organizations.

Youhana proposed extending the duration of ASUO elections and changing the election date to either end of winter term or middle of spring term. He says these changes will increase students’ knowledge of candidates and increase voter turnout.

Davies asked Yohana how he would handle controversy if it came up during elections.

Youhana said the election board will hold a forum to inform the student body and keep administration out of the election. He plans to expand the board to have “a more hands-on approach” to avoid controversy.

“[My goal] is to serve the students on this campus,” Youhana said.

Senate unanimously confirmed Youhana to the position.

ASUO Executive steps up for UO Miracle
UO Miracle, a student-run philanthropic organization, almost left the meeting without being funded for its upcoming Dance Marathon event. Because only ASUO-recognized groups can receive funds from Senate, UO Miracle was not allowed to request funds from surplus.

However, Joaquin Ramos, member of the Multicultural Center, offered to have the MCC sponsor the group. ASUO Finance Director Shawn Stevenson said that it would be easier for ASUO Executive to sponsor the group. Senate passed the event with 20 “yes,” zero “no” and two abstained votes.

UO Miracle is on track to become a ASUO recognized group within the week, Stevenson said.

Dance Marathon is Jan. 23 at 12 p.m. in the EMU Ballroom.

LGBTQA to bring AIDS quilt to UO
The LGBTQA’s $500 request to bring an AIDS quilt for its upcoming Sex Awareness Week was approved by Senate.

The quilt is one of 44,000 that commemorates people who died in the AIDS crisis during the 1980s.

Many senators shared their support for the event.

“This is a great cultural project to have on campus. I’m very proud that we can sponsor such an event,” Davies said.

The exhibit will take place at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art during Sex Awareness Week on Feb. 10.

Senate voted to table the third retreat resolution.
Senate continued to debate the retreat resolution saying the language would limit senate’s ability to approve funding for student groups and the nature of the request will intimidate some.

Senator Quinn Haaga said “it’s disappointing” that senate couldn’t finalize a resolution that has been available since end of Fall term.

Correction: A previous version of this story indicated that the contracts with Hasan Minhaj have been finalized and that the event was set for May 21 at 5 p.m. in Straub Hall. The contract, as well as the date, time and location of the cultural night, have not yet been finalized.

Students will receive more football tickets if negotiations between the ASUO Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee and the University of Oregon Athletic Department hold up.

The impending agreement between ACFC and the university athletic department will add 300 football tickets to the student lottery. The agreement will be discussed and possibly finalized at an upcoming budget meeting on Friday, Jan. 15, ASUO Finance Director Shawn Stevenson said.

Stevenson said that negotiations between ACFC and the athletics department has generally been hostile in the past from both sides. He said that students have been overly aggressive with their tactics and that athletics has always pushed for more money. However, negotiations this year went smoothly.

“This year, it was constructive negotiations. Both sides have been working to understand each other and do the best for the student body,” Stevenson said.

Last year, negotiations were heated when the athletic department threatened to cut student tickets if it did not receive a 3 percent budget increase. ACFC was unwilling to increase its budget without receiving more tickets.

As a result, 300 of the 5,448 tickets were withdrawn from the student lottery and sold as Pac-12 student season ticket packages.

However, the new agreement will return the 300 tickets that were lost from the student lottery while keeping the season ticket option.

ACFC member Ben Brown said that the athletic department’s revenue growth last year allowed for an increase in student tickets without a need to increase ACFC’s current budget of $1.69 million.

According to Eric Roedl, the executive senior associate athletic director, the football program generates 70 percent of all athletic revenue and is integral for supporting all other athletic programs. This allows the athletic department to keep costs down for students in their fees.

“We get a lot of pressure in our program to be financially self-supporting. We’re not costing our school and peers as much as other schools are,” Roedl said.

Despite the increase in football tickets, Brown said that basketball tickets will remain the same due to a lack of demand from students.

Students currently receive 1,854 tickets for basketball, but those seats are rarely filled with the exception of games against big-name schools like Arizona and USC.

ACFC considered negotiating to decrease the amount paid for basketball tickets due to the lack of demand, but it did not want to risk losing any tickets, Stevenson said.

Although there will not be an increase in basketball tickets, Brown is still satisfied with the way negotiations have played out compared to past years.

“Athletics has historically been the hardest part for contracts, but this year it has been the easiest. They leveled with students and we really appreciate that,” Brown said.

Roedl said that the athletic department wants to try to reward students for their support as they are an important part of the game day experience.

“We value the role of students at athletic events. We want to try to meet the needs of students,” Roedl said.

Jennifer Reynolds, an associate professor of law and faculty director of the Appropriate Resolution Center, has been named the interim University of Oregon ombudsperson, the university announced Friday morning. Reynolds will hold the position from Jan. 15 to May 15 while the university continues searching for a permanent replacement.

As ombudsperson, Reynolds will work as an independent, neutral confidant for the UO Ombuds Program. She will help informally resolve university-related concerns. The program provides a confidential space for members of the university to discuss their concerns, access support and find problem-resolution resources.

Reynold’s will replace Bruce MacAllister, who vacated the position in November to pursue other on-going consulting commitments in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

In its first meeting of Winter term, Senate voted to table The Students of the Indians Subcontinent’s $15,000 request that would have brought Indian-American comedian Hasan Minhaj to its culture night.

SIS’s plan is to book Minhaj, known for his role as Senior Correspondent on The Daily Show, to accompany other performers at their annual culture night. According to the request, the $15,000 will cover travel and performance costs.

The group has yet to fundraise on their own for the event.

Senate President Kevin Dobyns was in favor due to the group’s professionalism and past fundraising successes. Senator Martin Martinez also supported the event, saying senate should act fast so SIS can guarantee having Minhaj at its cultural night.

However, Senator Cavan Davies, among others, wants to see the student group fundraise before making a decision on the largest request of this year.

“[The Senate] has voted down other special funding requests solely because there was no effort shown in fundraising. If we want to be viewpoint neutral, we need to at least table this until fundraising can be shown,” Davies said.

Senator Robin Lilley said that approving the request may set a precedent that other groups do not need to fundraise and that surplus funds are not reserved as a last resort.

Senate voted to table the request to next week with 11 “yes” votes and 9 “no” votes.

Senate also debated the location for the event because the EMU Ballroom will be under renovation spring term.

The Senate passed two special requests involving the AccessABILITY Student Union, a group consisting of students with disabilities and able-bodied allies.

One request called for the creation of a working group between the ASUO and the AASU.

The other request asked for $1,225 to host Reinventing the Wheel, a traveling exhibition of photo essays with 21 individuals who have spinal cord injuries.The event will help students understand experiences that people have with this injury and hopes to break stereotypes of how people perceive others with disabilities.

Senate also funded University of Oregon Graduate Christian Fellowship $1,300 for its second annual Veritas Forum. This event aims to bring people with different beliefs together and “focus on the theme of race, faith, and reconciliation for this years’ event.” The event is Jan. 20 at 7 p.m. in the EMU Ballroom.

The Senate voted down the surplus resolution with 3 “yes” votes and 17 “no” votes. The resolution would have required Senate to leave $75,000 untouched for 2016-2017 to support student activities. Any requests that would tap into the surplus would require ¾ majority approval.

Dobyns wanted a smaller amount of $50,000.

Senate Vice President Quinn Haaga argued that the resolution would put requests later in the year under more scrutiny and put them at a disadvantage.

Finance committees are having their first meetings to create recommendations for budget season.

Department Finance Committee Chair Zach Rentschler said he’s working toward bringing free HIV tests for students.

Live coverage of tonight’s ASUO Senate meeting.

Access the full agenda here.

During a meeting with students on Jan. 5, Catherine Carroll, a possible candidate for the new associate vice president and Title IX coordinator position, said that higher education institutions are in the “dark ages” regarding the handling of sexual misconduct cases.

“There is a lot of room for innovation. Universities across the country are struggling with this because they don’t know what they’re doing,” Carroll said. “Educational administrations […] are a bit notorious for not meeting their federal, legal obligations.”

Carroll visited Jan. 4-5, where she held a presentation for students and faculty in the EMU Gumwood Room. She conducted interviews with other administrators such as President Michael Schill and Vice President of Student Life Robin Homes.

According to Kathie Stanley, chair of the search committee, the committee was unable to reach an agreement on a candidate last month but identified Carroll as a possible candidate for the position.

Some of the responsibilities of this new position include creating a campus-wide strategy to reduce sexual assault, supervising Title IX officers and investigations and coordinating the Sexual Assault Advisory Council.

Carroll, who is the current Title IX officer and director at the University of Maryland, highlighted the need for greater accessibility to resources for victims, greater transparency on sexual misconduct processes, training sessions for administrators on how to handle sexual misconduct and combining all sexual assault resources under one campaign.

At the meeting, Maxine David, a member of the Organization Against Sexual Assault, told Carroll that students have “very little faith” in the administration to handle sexual misconduct after the university filed a countersuit against the victim of an alleged rape by three former university basketball athletes.

Carroll agreed and said that there is always a tension between students and administrators. She says that university administrators nationwide are disconnected in their intentions to handle these cases because they are ill-informed and they rely on people below them to give information.

“[The university has] a number of [administrators] who have been trying to do the right thing, but it doesn’t mean that it was the right thing,” Carroll said.

Michele De La Cruz, who works with the Sexual Wellness Awareness Team, commended the school’s efforts to tackle sexual assault, but criticized confusing policies and how resources are not unified under a single campaign.

“I’m amazed at how long it has taken me to understand and to learn what our policies are … and what our services are [after working with SWAT since last year],” De La Cruz said.

Carroll applied for this position because she feels she receives little support from the president at Maryland, whom she rarely sees.

A copy of Carroll’s application for the position can be found here.

Police released sketches on Saturday of the possible suspects, or suspect, who committed two armed robberies in the University of Oregon campus area last weekend, according to the Register-Guard.

Detectives drew the sketches after speaking with both victims of the crime. In both crimes, a man approached them with a handgun and demanded their cellphones and other items that they had with them.

Police said that both victims described the robber as a black man in his 20s who wore a black sweatshirt and a black, puffy vest.

The crimes took place between 4:45 a.m. and 5:20 a.m. One of them occurred near 20th Avenue and Patterson Street, and the other occurred near a sorority house in the 800 block of East 15th Avenue.

Police ask anyone with information about the robberies to call Eugene police Detective Jed McGuire, 541-682-6308.

Between 4:45 a.m. and 5:20 a.m., two armed robberies occurred near the University of Oregon according to a campus crime alert sent out around 9 a.m. today.

In both cases, the suspect was armed with a handgun and demanded cell phones and anything else that the victims had with them.

The suspect was described by both victims as a black male in his 20s, 5’10” tall, medium build, clean shaven, wearing a black, hooded sweatshirt with a black, puffy vest.

The first incident was reported by a man at 4:45 a.m. saying he was robbed at gunpoint near 20th avenue and Patterson Street.

The second incident was reported by a female, UO student who was also robbed at gunpoint at 5:05 a.m. near the Delta Delta Delta sorority on 851 E. 15th Avenue.

The Tuition and Fees Advisory Board held a second open forum Nov. 30 to address the concerns of students and faculty regarding the proposal of a guaranteed tuition program. This program would set a fixed tuition for four years for each incoming freshman class rather than annual increases.

So far, the board does not have a finalized proposal of what the possible tuition and fee costs would be for next year’s freshman because they have not yet worked out potential student problems.

Before setting a price, the board will need to figure out who will graduate in more or less than four years, number of transfer students and possible increased costs.

Roger Thompson, Vice President for Enrollment, says that the board is still discussing what the university’s program will look like because of student problems and the lack of a concrete proposal.

“If we come up with a proposal, we don’t want it to be half-baked,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that the board has studied three other institutions that are similar to the University of Oregon that have implemented a guaranteed tuition plan – the University of Colorado, University of Kansas and the University of Arizona – to see how it affects the schools graduation and retention rates, enrollment and other factors.

Thompson is optimistic that providing guaranteed tuition will be helpful for incoming students.

“We are able to talk with families honestly and ethically about the total cost to earn a degree. We can’t do that if we don’t know what that’s going to be. That, to me, is the biggest benefit,” Thompson said.

Shawn Stevenson, ASUO Finance Director, raised concerns surrounding the economic viability of a guaranteed tuition plan.

Stevenson worries that any unexpected future costs or cuts will result in the incoming freshman cohort to take the brunt of the burden.

“The burden of decision making will be put on the administration, but those costs will find its way to the student body,” Stevenson said.

Jamie Moffitt, Vice President for Finance and Administration, says that potential cost increases, such as Oregon’s Public Employees Retirement System, and revenue sources could change in the future and that would affect how much incoming students would pay.

“We are trying to plan for things like the PERS increase […] This is the issue that makes me the most nervous,” Moffitt said.

With so many unknown variables regarding how a guaranteed tuition plan will impact students, Stevenson urged the board to wait a full year before implementing the plan so that the university has a full understanding of the situation.

Thompson disagreed with postponing implementation.

“Things already move way too slow [at the University of Oregon]. It’s time to ride,” Thompson said.

The Black Student Task Force released a list of demands to the University of Oregon administration Nov. 17 aiming to address on campus racial issues.

The task force is comprised of the UO Black Women of Achievement and the Black Student Union.

Some of the demands from the task force include: creation of an African-American Opportunities Program, hiring black faculty “across all academic disciplines”, and renaming all KKK-related buildings on campus — specifically Deady Hall.

Shaniece Curry, the External Director of the UO Black Women of Achievement, says that black students do not feel safe, respected, nor supported on campus. In the list of demands, the task force states that the “UO remains unsafe and unwelcoming for Black Students” with students experiencing “historical structural violence […], cultural insensitivity and racism.”

“There’s a certain demographic in our state and our campus that is not being catered to and those are black lives,” Curry said. “There is not enough resources on campus for black students on campus to really thrive.”

To change this, the task force is working with the administration, including President Michael Schill, to “create a healthy and positive campus climate for Black Students,” according to the list of demands. In Schill’s opening remarks at today’s “Lessons from Mizzou: A Campus Conversation” event, which was created to generate a conversation between students, faculty and administrators regarding race at the UO, Schill said he was optimistic that the demands will be met.

“Some of these requests will be easier to achieve than others, but I believe we can make good progress in the coming weeks and months on most, if not all, of those requests,” Schill said.

The release of the demands follows the recent march organized by the Black Women of Achievement last Thursday, Nov. 12, where about 500 students marched to demonstrate solidarity with Black students from the University of Missouri and to address issues that Black students face at the UO.

Here is the complete list of demands:

1. Change the names of all of the KKK-related buildings on campus.
2. Create an African-American Opportunities program that is comparable, in scope and impact, to the Opportunities program for the Latino student population and community.
3. Commit to creating a Funding Resource and Scholarship initiative that is designed exclusively to support and meet the unique needs of students that identify as Black/African American.
4. Commit to having Ethnic Studies 101 as a graduation requirement.
5. Commit to creating an Academic Residential Community (ARC) that will feature African-American history/Oregon Black Diaspora.
6. Commit to hiring an African-American advisor/retention specialist as well as Black faculty across all academic disciplines, especially major UO departments such as Architecture, Business, Education, Math, and Science departments.
7. Create a substantial endowment fund and support system to fund and open a Black Cultural Center.
8. Commit to creating a Black Student Leadership Task Force.
9. Commit to conducting seminars and workshops by bringing in a black faculty from a peer institution who specializes in Black history and contemporary black issues.
10. Commit to creating a Student Advisory Board for The Office of Equity & Inclusion and Center for Multicultural Academic Excellence (CMAE).
11. A commitment to immediate change of Fraternity & Sorority Life Baseline Standards for University recognition.
12. Commit to immediately keeping and publishing data on efforts to increase Black student acceptance, retention, and safety.