The Student Senate over-realized committee met last night in what members said was an unofficial meeting after no public notice of the meeting was provided 24 hours in advance, a violation of Oregon Public Meetings Law.
A notice of the meeting was e-mailed at 2:06 p.m. The meeting began at 7 p.m.
Emerald Editor-in-Chief Laura Powers told the committee it would not be in compliance with the law and the meeting should be postponed. Senate Vice President Patrick Boye said the meeting would continue in an informal capacity.
Senators voted on each proposal vying for about $750,000 of over-realized student fees by giving each other a thumbs up or down. They did not follow parliamentary procedure or take minutes during the meeting.
“This committee doesn’t have to exist,” Boye said in an interview after the meeting. Senators’ schedules would not have permitted a postponement of the committee meeting or a postponement of Wednesday’s meeting when Senate will vote on the committee’s recommendations, Boye said.
Senate President Athan Papailiou told committee members the ASUO Constitution Court has warned deliberate violations of public meetings law will face stiff penalties.
At 7:01 p.m., Papailiou sent a revised agenda for Wednesday’s Senate meeting. Senate usually meets at 7 p.m. Tonight it will begin 20 minutes later to accommodate an over-realized committee meeting where the decisions at Tuesday’s informal meeting will be finalized.
Powers intends to file grievances against Boye and Sen. Billy Hatch, the committee chairman and vice chairman, and the entire committee for the public meetings violation.
“If it takes a grievance against me to make sure that 43 programs have an opportunity to receive funding, then so be it,” Boye said. “I did what was best for the student body.”
While senators maintained they were making no formal recommendations, they examined every proposal, including questioning a request for a $500 miniature refrigerator from the Black Student Union.
Along with Boye and Hatch, Sens. Kevin Parks, Nate Gulley, Samantha Brodey, Lee Warnecke, Sarah Oaks and Diego Hernandez and ASUO President Emily McLain were in attendance. Parks left an hour and a half into the four and a half hour meeting, but left behind a list of how he would have voted on each proposal.
Committee members decided to allow the full Senate to debate two proposals on which the committee was gridlocked: a $7,066 proposal from the Emerald for delivery bicycles and a $54,000 proposal from ASUO President-elect Sam Dotters-Katz to keep Knight Library open 24 hours a day, 5 days a week in 2008-09 academic year.
The committee decided to recommend the Senate fully fund proposals from Campus Recycling, the Outdoor Program, Moss Street Children’s Center, emuLAN, Craft Center workshops, Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living, Global Health, MEChA, the Multicultural Center, an Outlaws moot court competition, EMU facilities, and Cultural Forum.
The committee will recommend to partially fund proposals from Black Women of Achievement, Oregon Review of International Law, Women’s Law Forum, Oregon International Law Project, Sustainable Advantage, Black Student Union, Sustainability Coalition, KWVA and Service Learning Program’s Alternative Spring Break.
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