The ASUO Summer Senate was operating within the confines of its bylaws by holding a 27-minute meeting Tuesday evening, but the nervousness among its members permeated their minds and hung thick in the air of the Alsea Room in the EMU.
ASUO Vice President Katie Taylor expressed as much when, responding to confusion about the ASUO Executive’s request to transfer funds, she said, “I’m just reading what I wrote down when I talked to (ASUO President) Ben (Eckstein). I don’t really know what I’m doing yet.”
The short meeting was punctuated by confused questions within the group, with Summer Senate Chair Harlan Mechling asking his fellow senators why there was an “Approval of the Minutes” line item on the meeting’s agenda, an agenda he sent out just two days prior.
The ASUO Senate, as a public body in the state of Oregon, is required by Oregon Public Meetings Law and its own rules to take minutes of its meetings in order to inform the public on its goings-on. The Summer Senate manages a fund of $5,000.
The confusion was not only among the members of the ASUO Senate, but also among the Executive representatives.
Taylor, when requesting to transfer funds within the Executive’s budget, mistakenly told the rest of the group that the money she was moving was fundraised, when in reality the money was provided by University students.
Senators expressed concern over the transfer, which involved moving $1,460.90 in unused funds into a “Special Events and Projects” line item. Budgets have line items to ensure that funds are allocated for specific events, and the “Special Events and Projects” line item would be used for a variety of projects that have yet to be determined.
When asked by Sen. Lindy Mabuya what the funds would be used for, Taylor said, “There is lots of flexibility. We could put on lots of small events. It changes from year to year, depending on the administration. That’s why we want to use this money for that. It will provide more flexibility throughout the summer.”
Sen. Laura Hinman also expressed concern, saying, “Normally when a group would come in, I would almost rather the money go back to surplus and you could ask for money for special projects.” Surplus funds can be requested by any student program for unforeseen expenses or additional events and projects.
Taylor then incorrectly stated that the money was coming from fundraising accounts, which assuaged Hinman’s concerns. The transfer passed with one abstention.
Later, in an email, Taylor corrected her mistake, writing, “So I cleared up the fundraising. You were right that this money was all (incidental fee) money. We have miscellaneous expenses that we want to be able to handle that fall under the special events and projects line item.”
Taylor also incorrectly stated that the funds would be used to pay for events throughout the summer, when the fiscal year ends on June 30. All unused funds before that date will roll into next year’s surplus fund.
Summer Senate also approved an Executive transfer of $2,464.68 from unused funds to fill a deficit in its “Advertising: Help Wanted” line item, which was left by former ASUO President Amelie Rousseau, and a transfer within group for Unbound, the University’s online literary magazine, to make up for a deficit in a previous event.
Of the six members of the ASUO Senate, only three were in attendance. Summer Senate Chair Harlan Mechling, Vice Chair Katherine DuPont and Hinman were joined by Mabuya and Sen. Jena Langham, as well as Taylor, ASUO vice president. Sens. Kaitlyn Lange, Brianna Woodside-Gomez and Emma Newman were absent.