An air of nostalgia and camaraderie hung over the current senators’ final meeting of the year Wednesday night. It was evident early on that all the senators greatly enjoyed their time serving on the body and weren’t quite ready to move on.
During introductions, everyone was asked to talk about what they will miss most about this year’s Senate. Many jokes were told, but a tone of sadness was palpable.
“I’m just going to miss everybody,” Sen. Jeremy Hedlund said. @@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/senate.php?a=30@@
After introductions, state Rep. Phil Barnhart spoke in front of the body. He explained that the lines for his district were redrawn, which means he will now be in charge of the entire University. Because of his ties to the school, he was excited to start working with students. @@http://www.leg.state.or.us/barnhart/@@
“My first memory of the University was being three and watching my dad smooth concrete in front of Carson,” Barnhart said. “My dad built all of the dorms except for these recent ones and the one that was named after him.”
Barnhart said that he once sat on student senate and admitted to getting a “contact high” from the energy in the room.
“If there are issues you want help with, let me know,” Barnhart said. “I hope you will help me get the issues right and make sure I represent the students well.”
Barnhart took his seat, and ASUO President Ben Eckstein stood to address Senate for the last time. @@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/executive.php?a=12@@
“This year has brought a lot of challenges and opportunities, and it has brought us all closer together,” he said. “I want to thank all of you for your hard work this year — you’ve given other senates I’ve worked with a run for their money. Thank for supporting our association.”
He then extended a heartfelt thanks to the ASUO Executive for the work they did this year. Those that were there from the Executive stood and received a standing ovation from the room.
“I’m excited for those of you who are leaving and graduating,” Eckstein said. “I can’t wait to see where you are in five years.”
When Eckstein concluded his address, the body finished a few final special requests, working groups and resolutions. ASUO Sen. Ben Bowman voiced his pride in the way Senate gave out money. @@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/senate.php?a=30@@
“I think we did a really good job this year at allocating funds,” he said. “Good work, folks.”
After a lot of laughs and a little bit of tension, the current Senate body left the Walnut Room for their last time as senators.