During a special meeting Monday night, the ASUO Student Senate approved appointments to the Programs Finance Committee, enabling the PFC process to continue after being halted two weeks ago due to injunctions placed against three of the committee’s members.
Senators approved senior Mike Sherman to Seat 3 and freshman Jared Axelrod to the PFC at-large position formerly occupied by Dan Kieffer, filling all positions on the seven-member committee.
Kieffer, along with PFC members Mason Quiroz and Eden Cortez, received injunctions from the ASUO Constitution Court preventing them from voting after the PFC’s controversial hearing of the Oregon Commentator’s budget Feb. 1. The court has since extended the injunction against Quiroz, and Kieffer has resigned.
Sherman served on the Senate for the past two years. Axelrod is a former ASUO intern.
PFC chairwoman Persis Pohowalla said the appointments will allow her committee to resume meeting tonight.
During the meeting, Pohowalla said it was “unfortunate” the injunctions have prevented committee members from “functioning as proper committee members,” but said her main concern is the “entire budget” because the PFC has exceeded its funding benchmark. She said the PFC has until March 31 to submit a finished budget to University President Dave Frohnmayer after it is
approved by the Senate.
She said if the PFC does not submit a budget that is approved, groups will be funded at last year’s levels.
During the meeting, Quiroz urged the Senate not to approve the appointments because he said it would result in inexperienced PFC members sitting in on hearings of budgets that will be reassessed later in the process.
Senate President James George said Quiroz could still be the “knowledgeable voice at those meetings,” even though Quiroz can’t vote.
Quiroz also expressed concerns with the hiring process, which he said did not include sufficient input from PFC members.
Several seators said they approved of the appointments.
“I feel confident that the executive … did well in their hiring process,” Senator Nick Hudson said.

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