Oregon Daily Emerald: First of all, could you spell your name for the record?
Lee: Jonah Lee
Emerald: What year are you?
Lee: This is my third year.
Emerald: What are you majoring in?
Lee: I am in the EMS and biology major.
Emerald: What are you going to do with that after you graduate?
Lee: Hopefully get to med school.
Emerald: Where are you from?
Lee: I’m from a lot of places. I grew up on the East Coast, and moved to Phoenix, Ariz., and then moved to Portland, and now I’m here.
Emerald: Why are you running for ASUO?
Lee: Well, I know that getting involved on campus is a huge thing, I am involved in greek life so that kind of opened up my eyes and experiences to just how much influence one person can have, and I know a lot of people from the ASUO and Senate and such, so that has kind of sparked my interest as far as reaching more people and different types of people, and getting that going.
Emerald: And you said you were part of greek life. Are you in a fraternity?
Lee: Yes. I’m in Sigma Alpha Epsilon, and I’m also the Inter-Fraternity Council President.
Emerald: Are you involved in any clubs or activities on campus?
Lee: Yeah. I’m involved in CIP, the Community Internship Program, I’m the leadership division head there. Myself and a GTF, we teach a class on campus.
Emerald: Which class?
Lee: Education 409, it’s an education leadership class. CIP sponsors many different kinds of programs like that, and volunteer work and such. And we also offer more classes, not just mine, for students to gain credit for the work they do outside of campus.
Emerald: And Outdoor School is through CIP, right?
Lee: Yes.
Emerald: How are you going to, if elected as a senator, how are you going to make time for that with all of your other obligations?
Lee: Well it’s kind of like, people with their free time, they go and work out or go hang out with friends or go watch movies or stuff like that, and with me, I always like to keep busy. When I have free time, I just sit on it, so getting involved in different things has provided me with like a real opportunity to be social and be productive in a mannerism where I can help other people. Which is probably why I think the health profession is probably a good idea for me. So, making time for something like senator, like greek life, like CIP, or whatever, has never been an issue with me. I’ve always been able to put my 100 percent into whatever I’ve been working on at the time.
Emerald: Excellent time management skills. OK, on to the questions. How are you going to figure out how to spend the surplus that the ASUO senate is in charge of dispersing?
Lee: Well, I’m running for student seat 16, which is science academic senator, but I think that coming from a science perspective, I can see just what a different department has to offer the campus. And so I know that working with the other senators and getting an idea of how really the interworkings of budget and things like that — I’ve gotten a little taste of that with greek life and other organizations with budget, finance committee and stuff like that. But, I think that the best thing to do is educate myself and educate other people as far as what is the need and what is the benefit, and balance things out from there. And it’s not like, by any means, I’m not sitting there going ‘oh I’m senate seat 16 science department so science give us all the money type of thing.’ But really trying to understand what is going on, and more Importantly, trying to help other people understand what’s going on.
Emerald: Would you say that the science department’s level of funding needs improvement?
Lee: Well, all of them need improvement. I know that a lot of students who are science majors may not necessarily be influenced as much as other departments as far as tuition hikes and budget troubles or whatnot, but I’m sure there is a need for it. And I’m sure that every department can say this as well. So I think it’s just trying to find basically what is the best solution by learning about each and every department.
Emerald: This is kind of a silly question, but how will you interact with student groups on campus?
Lee: Well, if you know anybody on campus who knows me, I’m a fairly social person and I’m very much the type of personality that I rely much on what I do and the actions that I take based on relationships and stem the leadership off of those relationships. And so meeting people, like, I’m the type of person that will walk into a room with 20 strangers and walk out with 20 friends. So, like, I think that meeting people isn’t a big concern of mine because I always end up just doing that, faculty and GTF’s and TA’s and students, and even just different people who see the science department as something else, because perception is a big thing as well. Like, I think that’s something I can bring to the table, that like nobody really else — I’m not saying nobody else can, but that I do very well. And getting to know what other people want, truly getting to know what other people want, not just what people will write on a piece of paper like, that’s kind of how I operate, and that’s how I advance an organization and how I advance a certain department, in this case.
Emerald: What are the most important issues facing the students you would represent as a senator?
Lee: Like, as the science department or just in general?
Emerald: Both as the science senator and a student body representative.
Lee: Well, again, like my personal view on what is important — a lot of that has to do with the dynamic of UO changing. Lots of changes have been taking place since I’ve been here freshman year, everything down from the population of student body to you know, budget and things like that. So, personally, I think that it’s kind of a generalized answer but the change of UO is consistent and it’s constant and it’s moving in a direction, and I think that trying to figure out what that direction is a big thing for people to understand for where they want their community to go. So, in essence, I don’t think there is one specific area I’d want to focus on, but definitely I’m sure there are specific editors I can be focusing on with other people’s opinions and ideas and where they want to see things go as far as student body and faculty, as well.
Emerald: Is the direction that you see the UO going, the direction you would like to see it continue to go or would you like to try and steer it in a different direction?
Lee: Trying to throw me on political sides? Well, actually I have been fortunate enough to be, I’m part of ASPAC, I think that’s what it is, and so I have been fortunate enough to know what it’s like to be on the student side and hear the complaints and the in-classroom conversations versus hear what President Frohnmayer is doing about it, and hear what certain administrative groups are doing about it like Anne Leavitt and Chris Loschiavo and Gregg Lobisser, like, I am on a first-name basis with those people. So I understand from an administrative standpoint and I also understand from a student standpoint of where things are coming from and how things are being dealt with. As far as the direction of UO is going, I don’t consider it good or bad, it’s just change. What makes change good or bad is how people react to it and how people deal with it, and so I’m again, fortunately enough, I happen to know certain things that maybe a regular UO student may not, so I think I can present that in a fashion that change isn’t a bad thing.
Emerald: Could you say the name of that group again?
Lee: ASPAC?
Emerald: Yes.
Lee: Associated Students President Advisory Council.
Emerald: Is that students who meet with the administration?
Lee: Yeah, it’s certain organizations and senators, which is why I know some things about senate, those types of students and student leaders are invited to meet w/ President Frohnmayer every once in
a while and we just basically have a conversation and it gives President Frohnmayer an opportunity to understand what the student demand is and what student concerns are, and in a way, it’s kind of like he gets the general overall minutes of everybody’s ideas and what’s going on, I almost want to say senate takes ASPAC information and like, does it, whereas ASPAC is just an informative conversation, we like ‘Hey, this is something you might not be getting in your presidential reports’ you know, so it’s that type of meeting and conversation.
Emerald: What’s the most important part of section 5 of the student senate rules and why?
Lee: Want to brief me over on that one?
Emerald: I think it’s the duties.
Lee: You mean like the certain responsibilities?
Emerald: Of the senator.
Lee: Well, if the rules has to do with senator responsibilities, I think it’s an Important thing to have things laid out for you. Whether it’s a to-do list or responsibilities or constitution or bylaws, or whatnot, which I’m by far way too familiar with as far as process and procedures, but it’s important to have something there because you have something there to kind of fall back on, as well as you have something to keep people accountable for. Like, when I say fall back on, I mean if you get yourself in trouble, it’s kind of like the hear-all and end-all of your position and of your organization, it’s kind of like if there’s a moral question involved or a unconstitutional question involved you can always look back on the responsibilities and be like, ‘Hey, this is beyond my jurisdiction’ or ‘this is something that I need to be dealing with,’ versus ‘I think this is a good idea so we’ll just do it this way.’ And it also keeps people accountable because nobody wants to have somebody in a position where they are not going to do their job above and beyond. The above and beyond is kind of the unsaid bullet points at the end of your responsibilities and I think that that’s extremely important as well as the said bullet responsibilities. Other than that I think it’s important for people to be accountable, and a lot of times when you get in the groove of things and like being part of an organization, you just kind of truck along. Get what you need to be getting done, do what you need to be doing, and it’s important to look over that every once in a while, and see like, ‘Oh, this is something to be focusing on’ or ‘Here’s something I’ve been neglecting’ or ‘Here’s something I could be working better with’ or ‘Here’s something where I can improve’ and I think that senator responsibilities and pretty much any time you are part of an organization, that should be revised every year. That should be, there should be an evaluation. It’s kind of a lot of paperwork and red tape but, at the same time it’s important because you want to improve your organization, not just do it and pass it on for another year.
Emerald: Do you have anything else that you want to add?
Lee: I don’t think so.
Jonah Lee’s Interview
Daily Emerald
April 7, 2003
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