Ednaly Jimenez was unanimously approved by the 2016-17 senate as Summer Senate President, but she didn’t realize until Spring term President Max Burns later surprised her with her position at the transition meeting. 

“They were all laughing, and congratulating me on the position. I didn’t even know,” Jimenez said.

Despite taking the job unexpectedly, Jimenez is ready to lead.

Jimenez started serving as senator seat 1 on March 10, replacing Kevin Dobyns, who just graduated from the business school. As the new senate took office on May 25, Jimenez reapplied to continue serve on the senate and Programs Finance Committee.

The summer senate, including Hao Tan, Madison Moskowitz, Hassan Almumen, Blair Barnes and Awab Al-Rawe, is relatively new to the ASUO process, even Jimenez has only served as a senator for nine weeks. Tan was the freshman senator in 2014, but he didn’t have any voting power then.

Coming up on the agenda, the six senators will be meeting every two or three weeks to conduct ASUO business.

Jimenez said summer senate meetings will be less intense than usual, workload-wise and duration-wise.

“I was told to not be surprised if the meetings are 15 minutes long,” she said.

The senate will oversee a $5,000 surplus budget, and for the first meeting, Jimenez said there will be only one special request. Senate meetings during the school year usually last two to three hours, with senators voting on more than ten special requests each meeting.

Jimenez also said she expected the requests to be minor and less controversial than the ones during the school year. Many of them will be returning money to the surplus and transferring funds for upcoming retreats in the fall term, she said.

The senate will also transition its system from using Google docs to a Microsoft account, which Jimenez said is more secure.

On the other hand, the executive team, under the leadership of Quinn Haaga, will have a busy summer to prepare for the upcoming year.

In her recent email to campus community, Haaga said the priority is in advocating for affordable college – supporting ballot initiatives, bringing students to Salem and creating accessible online resources to educate students about tuition.

The ASUO executive is also looking into creating a pilot cultural competency training program for this summer IntroDUCKtion, which will enable incoming freshmen to contribute to the campus community as a more diverse space.

Accessibility and safety are also goals that Haaga is trying to achieve. She plans to work for more funding for carpool services, such as SafeRide and Designated Driver Shuttle.

“Supporting survivors [of violence] should always be a top priority for our university and is a sentiment that all university community members must hold,” Haaga said in the email. “We plan on supporting key resources for survivors such as the Domestic Violence Clinic in the Law School.”

Haaga, assisted by her two vice presidents Zach Lusby and Natalie Fisher, has been in touch with Vice President for Student Life Robin Holmes to lay out plans for these projects.

Days before the 2016 Track and Field U.S. Olympic Trials are set to take place at Historic Hayward Field, Eugene-based nonprofit organization TrackTown USA revealed that it is short on cash to host the event.

The organization turned to the city of Springfield for aid and was granted $75,000 from hotel tax revenues.

TrackTown USA is a Eugene-based nonprofit with the purpose “to elevate track and field in the mind of the American public and to enhance the profile of Eugene-Springfield region and the entire state of Oregon as ‘Track Town USA,’” according to its mission statement.

When TrackTown USA hosted the 2008 and 2012 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials, its revenue came from ticket sales but mostly from donations and funding from local and state governments.

“In 2008, we were fortunate to be able to receive funds from the federal government to help us with many things, in particular security,” TrackTown USA President Vin Lananna said at a meeting last week where he went to the City of Springfield to ask for funding. “This year, in 2016, that is not the case.”

The 10-day event is said to cost around $10 million. TrackTown USA declined to detail the budget gap or its expenditure plan. It’s unclear whether the grant from the City of Springfield would help close much of the shortfall.

TrackTown USA CEO Michael Reilly said he’s not worried, as they have “a small gap.”

According to its latest tax form in 2014, TrackTown USA received $4.9 million in ticket sales, government money and donations but spent over $5.9 million in hosting the World Junior Track & Field Championships and the Run TrackTown High Performance meet in Eugene. This also includes the pay and benefits for the three voting members — Lananna, Reilly and project director Sam Lapray, which totalled $647,000.

The University of Oregon will not financially support TrackTown USA, despite the trials being hosted on campus, according to UO spokesman Tobin Klinger.

The City of Eugene contributed a total of $200,000 to the Olympic Trials and to last year’s NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Between 2013 and 2020, TrackTown USA is receiving $590,000 from the city.

TrackTown USA was not able to be reached on June 24 for a comment.

The 2016 U.S. Olympic Track & Field Trials are set to start July 1 at Hayward Field.

The City of Eugene is asking Donald Trump campaign for a reimbursement of almost $100,000 to cover the costs of overtime compensation for the rally in May.

Eugene Police Chief Pete Kerns said the overtime expenses add up to $78,000 in a news release Wednesday afternoon. Kerns also included $6,800 overtime expenses for the Eugene-Springfield Fire, $4,500 for meals given to 170 officers and $3,000 for other costs.

“This is probably the highest cost of any campaign visit for which we’ve provided security,” Kerns said in the email. “The challenges were unique and unlike any we’ve seen.”

This announcement from the EPD comes just days after the Federal Election Commission reported the Trump campaign’s deteriorating funding do to high costs of travel and manufacturing of his famous “Make America Great Again” hats.

Although no arrests were made at the May rally, the threat of violence at the event required days of planning, which increased the overall costs, Kerns said.

About 100 officers, deputies and troopers from Portland, Springfield, Lane County, Multnomah County and the Oregon State Police volunteered their time at no cost to the city of Eugene during the rally, Kerns said.

Upon awaiting the response from Donald Trump campaign, the costs are being covered by vacancy savings in this year’s EPD budget, Kerns said.

More than 120 University of Oregon tenure and non-tenure faculty members received promotions or earned tenure for the academic year 2015-2016 at the reception on June 7, according to Around the O.

Out of 60 tenure-track faculty members and 67 non-tenure-track faculty members, 45 members of College of Arts and Sciences received tenures and promotion, the most out of any other colleges on campus.

Twelve members from Office of Research and Innovation who specialized in Neuroscience and Indian Language were also granted with promotions this year.

Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Doug Blandy said that it can typically take a faculty member six years to be promoted from associate professor to full professor.

Last year, the number for tenured positions was 60 and non-tenured was 88. The significant uptick in non-tenure positions was due to the fact that the UO had just finished collective bargaining negotiations, which tend to push for non-tenure track positions. In 2014, the total number of tenures and promotions was 81.

The numbers for this year may still increase, as the number of overall new hires that are offered non-tenured jobs is still not set, and won’t be until the end of summer.

“We are incredibly proud of our faculty and are excited to celebrate these career advancements,” Provost Scott Coltrane said in the news release. “As a leading research university, we strive to recruit, retain and reward the best and most productive professionals for all our faculty positions.”

The applications for promotion and tenure were reviewed and approved by Deans of each school and Office of Academics Affairs. The process prolongs the whole year, from Fall term to early Spring term.

The full list of 2015-2016 faculty promotion can be found here.

Troy Shinn also contributed to this post.

A service for student survivors on campus could be gone by the end of this year.

University of Oregon post-grad law student, Kasia Mlynski, is providing a unique service for UO students under the help of the law school. Mlynski is currently the only resource that can offer legal advice, counseling and services for student survivors of sexual assault, domestic/dating violence or stalking.

“The university definitely values my position. By allowing this service to exist, the university is already a front-runner – very few universities offer free legal service for student survivors,” Mlynski said.

Her service is different from those that ASUO Legal Services and Student Advocacy Office provide, which helps students deal with rental contracts, insurance companies and housing issues, Mlynski said.

According to the Student Code of Conduct, ASUO Legal Services and Student Advocacy Office can’t represent a student against another student. This limits these services from helping survivors obtain restraining orders.

Mlynski, along with two other attorneys, help student survivors in civil legal matters, including obtaining protective orders. She can also serve as students’ advisor in the process of reporting to the university or law enforcement.

This service is rather new at the university. Starting in 2014, Mlynski is the first attorney to provide legal services for student survivors, she said. Under the guidance of professor Merle Weiner, UO Law School gave Mlynski a two-year grant to create this position.

In the last two years working at the UO clinic, Mlynski said the number of students that come for help grows each year. Some just came once for the legal advice, some keep coming back to receive moral support and one case lasted nine months, Mlynski recalled.

That’s about to change.

Coming to ASUO Senate meeting on May 4, Weiner said the grant that finances the service will end this September. She is hoping to find an alternative source of funding.

Without the funding, this service will be abolished, Mlynski said.

“It’s the matter of prioritizing resources. I understand that having this position costs [the university] money,” she said.

At the meeting, Weiner estimated that the service costs about $97,000 a year. ASUO President at the time, Helena Schlegel, said she hoped the senate can consider funding the service with the returning over-realized budget.

Senate did not know the exact amount of the returning over-realized budget. Senator President Max Burns said it’s unlikely senate could use the over-realized budget for Mlynski’s service.

According to the ASUO Constitution, the senate will have to have an open-process for all programs on campus to apply for the over-realized budget. The committee then interviews and selects a list of the final applicants to recommend to senate. The process takes more than four weeks, Over-Realized Budget Committee Chair Martin Martinez said.

“I don’t want to leave any false hope,” Burns said. “It’s not our fault if this is not going to happen. We wish we could have had more time.”

“We are hoping the university will help fund us, apart from ASUO,” she said. “There’s also a possibility that we could try and re-apply for this grant. But at this point, there’s no guarantee.”

Talk about the infamous incident that happened at Shasta Lake this month continued with an hour-and-half long panel hosted by the newly elected ASUO Executive today in Pacific 30.

Seven panelists, including Greek Life members, environmental activist student and ASUO members, took on ten questions from ASUO Internal VP Zach Lusby on the matter. The event attracted about 15 students and campus members.

Several panelists emphasized the importance of educating participants prior to the event.

President of the Sigma Chi fraternity, Ted Pollack said up to two years ago, the Oregon State University Greek community had the police chief come to talk about the impact of their actions before heading to Shasta.

“You have people that have very minimum education on the environmental impact that they have, and you have people who have better understanding of it and just don’t care,” Pollack said. “By educating people right before the event, it will refresh people’s mind.”

But several panelists insisted that the problem should not be entirely blamed on UO Greek Life members.

“Not only members of Fraternity and Sorority went there,” UO student and Envision Magazine Publisher Anna Kathryn Sengupta said. “I agree though, that it does come down to students that were there, and people that left things there are the most responsible […] but it’s not exclusive to Fraternity and Sorority Life.”

ASUO President Quinn Haaga said other universities who participated at the event, such as University of California, Davis and OSU, had the support from their administrations with medic boats.

She said UO administration will not get involved anytime soon, but she plans to take the issue head on next year by requiring registration and hosting educational panels.

Delta Tau Delta member and former ASUO Senator Nakai Corral was one of the captains at Shasta the weekend the trashing happened. He said the golden rule at Shasta is “to listen to the captain.”

He said students usually get to Shasta on Thursday and continue a three-day straight party with drugs and alcohol. Therefore by the morning of Sunday, it is most people’s priority to get out as soon as possible instead of cleaning up the trash.  

UO Outdoor Program Director of Operations Dave Villalobos said there’s a lack of knowledge among students about the Shasta event, creating a bad reputation of Greek Life members.

“A lot of people don’t understand what [the panelists] were talking about. I think a lot of students don’t have access to the skills and education of how to navigate of what [the panel] has navigated,” Villalobos said. “It’s set up in a way legally that you can’t be held accountable to it – That’s a problem fundamentally.”

Haaga said she will also establish a sustainability chair within Greek chapters to prevent similar incidents in the future.

“It is not the first time this happened. It’s a big issue in our community and the world, so having designated people who are committed to stay there and clean up makes sure we leave the place nice and clean,” Haaga said.

Lusby encourages students to email him at asuoivp@uoregon.edu with questions and concerns about the incident.

ASUO reporter Tran Nguyen sits down with newly inducted ASUO President Quinn Haaga to talk about her background, her experience with ASUO and what she has in plan for the ASUO’s future.

The 2016-2017 ASUO Senate had its first meeting in the newly opened portion of the EMU building.

In April 2016, the I’m with UO slate, under the leadership of senator Quinn Haaga, swept the student government election and won every open seat. Today, it takes over the office that oversees a $16 million budget.

Here’s what you missed:

ASUO Senate appoints a senate seat and a Programs Finance Committee at-large seat.

• Ednaly Jimenez-Gomez, who served senate seat 1 when former president Kevin Dobyns stepped down due to graduation, has been confirmed to take over senate seat 3.
• Jimenez-Gomez will serve on Programs Finance Committee, which was internal VP Zach Lusby’s seat this past year. Senate confirmed Jimenez-Gomez unanimously. 
• Yuri D’Agosto, who was running with One Oregon this year, is also confirmed to a Programs Finance Committee at-large seat. Senate also confirmed D’Agosto unanimously.

Senate passed 15 special requests and a return of $8,000 to surplus.

• Ahiru Daiko, UO’s Taiko ensemble,  requested $2,150 to buy shirts, stickers and business cards due to its number of growing members.
• American Marketing Association requested to transfer $500 to host its annual AMA End of Year Social on May 19.
• Interfraternity Council requested to transfer $3,018 to host its annual Greek Excellence Awards on June 6.
• ASUO Office requested to transfer $7,069 to pay for its pro staff and to replace IT equipment.
• LGBTQA3 requested to transfer $1,256 for office supplies and for food for the Queer Prom on May 27.
• Men’s Center requested $3,100 from surplus and $93 within its budget to balance the deficit for the Graduate Teaching Fellow director’s pay.
• Veterans and Family Student Association requested to transfer $685 within its budget for Veterans Awareness Week.
• Safe Ride requested to return $8,000 to surplus.
• Designated Driver Shuttle requested to transfer $8,000 within its budget for maintenance.
• Vietnamese Students Association requested to transfer $1,144.
• Divisi requested to transfer $190.

Senate bends rules to confirm six members for summer senate.

• The process to confirm summer senate requires two weeks, according to the Green Tape Notebook. But since this is the last meeting of the year, senate passed to condense the process to one week and confirmed six senators to hold meetings during the summer.
• The six senators include: Hao Tan, Madison Moskowitz, Hassan Almumen, Blair Barnes, Ednaly Jimenez-Gomez and Awab Al-Rawe. Senator Barnes will be the senate president.

Follow our live coverage of Wednesday’s ASUO Senate budget meeting below.

Access the full agenda here.

Last week, University of Oregon student Tanner Staab criticized the university in a video for a satirical event posted by UO Students for Tuition Transparency and UO Stand Up Society.

In the video, Staab poses as a UO Ambassador giving a campus tour to potential students, or “recruits,” and points out the on-going construction around campus, failing residence halls, shortage of campus parking and the university’s lack of prioritizing academic funding.

“The library here at the University of Oregon, Go Ducks, is one of the biggest resources. And because education is our top priority, every year we find it fair to cut their budget,” Staab said in the video. “Because who needs books when you got balls?”

Staab, a member of the UO Stand Up Society, said the video was a cumulative work of his experiences at the university.

“I would be honored to get backlash. That means I have done my job,” Staab said.

UO Students for Tuition Transparency came together last Winter when Schill proposed a 4.76 percent and 4.46 percent, for instate and out-of-state student respectively, to the Board of Trustees amid the opposition from student government and campus community.

The group collected more than 350 stories from students who were struggling to pay their tuition last winter term, but its effort fell on deaf ears when Board of Trustees passed Schill’s proposal on March 4.

UO Students for Tuition Transparency member, Lauren Young, said the group is far from finished. She said students need to understand the decision-making process in order to make a difference.

“I didn’t know what [Tuitions and Fees Advisory Board] or [Board of Trustees] were before,” Young said. “So we want to be the resource for students about tuition on this campus.”

Young said the event was an alternative way to inform students on the decision-making process on campus. It was not a platform for hate speech, rather, an open space to shed light on the otherwise heavy and dry topic such as tuition.

“The event will definitely pack a punch,” Young said. “It will provide an open discussion between students and administration about tuition. And although, at the end of the day, they are just jokes, but this is a good way to understand the issue.”

Many of them mocked the university and its system at the event, including Cailin Wolff.

Wolff impersonated UO President Michael Schill by dressing in an oversized wrinkly white collar shirt and black baggy dress pants.

“Hi, my name is Michael Schill and I’m your university president. Pause for applause, pause for applause,” Wolff said. “Ah, Johnson Hall Correspondents event–It is not everyday I am able to hear directly from students about their needs. I mean I could, but sound sad.”

Performer Will Komoda took another approach with his performance. Komoda criticized the university for not updating its financial documents, which all appeared to be “under construction” or “being updated.”

“It might seem like there’s nothing here,” Komoda said as he addressed the university’s website, ”But I was told by a reliable source that, mathematically, they call this imaginary number.”

UO Students for Tuition Transparency member Connor Kwiecien said the group reached out to administration inviting them to the event, but to no avail.  

UO Students for Tuition Transparency is not the only group who is advocating for tuition transparency on campus. Member of Multicultural Center, Vickie Gimm, is calling students to attend the hearing of Higher Education Coordinating Commission, where “Tuition & Fees Advisory Board will be making up excuses for raising tuition and justifying ruining [students’] lives,“ she said in the Facebook event.

The hearing will be in Oregon State Capitol on May 24 at 9 a.m.