The ASUO have ushered in a new administration with new ideas to advocate for the student body. The Ducks Empowered campaign ended up winning the vote in April and President Sabinna Pierre was sworn in on May 23 along with her running mate Montse Mendez and 33 other student officials.
Mendez has since stepped down from her position as vice president, citing a “hostile work environment,” and Chief of Staff Hibo Abtidon stepped down earlier this week.
Pierre could not be reached after multiple requests for a comment on this story.
As stated in the ASUO’s constitution, Pierre was required to publish a Fulfillment of Duties statement to all students about her administration’s commitments and promises made during the campaign. In her statement, she outlined 5 different initiatives that she intended to pursue.
The first initiative President Pierre outlined in her statement was about food security for UO students.
“ASUO will continue to strengthen the food pantry, building on the work of previous administrations,” Pierre said in the document. “We want to continue strengthening great food security programs such as the Produce Drop, Ducks Feeding Ducks, Ducks Leftover Textover, Supplement Nutrition Program (SNAP) Enrollment events, and the Cooking Classes in partnership with Food for Lane County will be the focus of our fortification.”
The document goes on to outline more of her initiatives in the document. This includes a promise for fair student pay and tuition engagement.
In her statement, Pierre outlined many other groups that she intends to fight for. “We want to continue working with and recognizing the various communities her on campus in the fight towards an equal pay and proper benefits. These communities include, but are not limited to the UP Campus Labor Council (CLC), United Academics (AAUP/AFT Local 3209), the Graduate Teaching Fellow Federation (GTFF) and the Service Employees International Union (SEIU).”
Pierre continued by outlining what her administration intends to do around mental health. The document outlined that ASUO intends to partner with services like the University Health Center and the Duck Nest. The document states that this administration hopes to open up new opportunities through working with these services and developing new programs around the importance of mental health.
Her final initiative outlined ways that she hopes her administration could be held accountable and follow through with full transparency and clear communication.
“One of the promises my administrative cabinet ran on is ensuring that we find ways to keep the student body informed,” Pierre said about her initiative on accountability, transparency and communication.
Senate President Isaiah Boyd commented on his hopes of working with this new administration.
“The legislative branch looks forward to working alongside the executive this academic year, and I look forward to advancing the initiatives set forth by the executive. I believe that these initiatives should be placed in action in the near future, however, given the complexities of these processes I know both the executive and legislative aim to perfecting these as best as possible prior to their release,” Boyd said in an email.
As stated throughout her campaign, Pierre hopes that these initiatives will not only create a thriving student body, but also help marginalized communities amplify their voices on campus. Students will have to wait for this upcoming budgeting season to see if these initiatives will pass from promises to policy.
