Last month, the University administration approved all but two over-realized spending projects drafted by students, citing the need for further information. Former ASUO President Emily McLain had signed off on both of the unapproved projects, including a $64,050 request by the student group Black Women of Achievement to host a hair show, but she wrote a letter to the University president expressing concern about the event and asking that he consult with ASUO staff and review it further.
The other unapproved project involved renovations to a house operated by the Center for the Advancement of Sustainable Living. McLain supported that project, worth more than $110,000, but the administration rejected it because over-realized funds cannot be used for capital construction.
In her letter to University President Dave Frohnmayer, McLain questioned the BWA’s ability “to spend the full amount approved for them” and wrote that she had other concerns “of a more
confidential nature.”
“Individuals within the group have not been in student standing who are acting on behalf of the group,” McLain wrote. “Moreover, some members of the group have expressed concerns to our administration regarding the nature of this proposal and the support, or lack thereof that this proposal has within the
organizations involved.”
McLain was referring to Ashleigh Callier-Wells, who is listed on the BWA’s website as its director since 2007. But according to the University’s Office of the Registrar, Callier-Wells was not a registered student during the entire 2007-08 academic year. She could not be reached for comment.
The ASUO Senate approved the $64,000 request on May 14 with the support of every senator present other than then-Senate President Athan Papailiou, who regularly abstained from votes while leading meetings. During the group’s presentation to the Senate, all chatter ended when Callier-Wells spoke of the significance hair had in her life as a cancer patient. Senators spent little time discussing the proposal before voting for it, despite several having questioned and tried to reduce the amount of the project the previous night.
At what became known as an “unofficial” meeting on May 13, former Sen. Lee Warnecke said the BWA had “better advertise the hell out of (the event) and make it worth every dollar that we give them.” Warnecke also sought to eliminate $15,000 in the proposal designated for a DJ whom he said he had never heard of and was related to Callier-Wells. Former-Senate Vice President Patrick Boye said the DJ had a shout-out “on the last track of the Black Album” by Jay-Z, and he encouraged removing money earmarked for decorations.
McLain also participated in the discussion, saying that local organizations could donate balloons and it was not necessary to spend $500 to purchase them. The senators in attendance eventually agreed to fund the project at $5,500. The meeting took place without following parliamentary procedure after objections that the panel had not given sufficient notice for a public meeting to take place. No minutes were taken at the meeting, and senators agreed the next day to hear each proposal anew. None of the objections were repeated before the full Senate.
Vice President for Student Affairs Robin Holmes made the recommendation to Frohnmayer to not fund the hair show and the CASL renovations at this time. In an interview with the Emerald, she said either project could be funded if more information was provided to the ASUO and the new Senate and Executive approved of
the proposals.
Holmes said she did not approve the BWA project because it was made by someone who was not a University student, as well concerns about “whether the group would be able to deliver on the proposal.”
The proposal stated the event would take place on March 7, 2009, at the Hult Center in downtown Eugene. The budget included $25,000 for a “star performer” who was never named and a $1,000 runway. The planned advertising for the event included $500 for “commercial clips” and $200 for a camera crew.
“I just remember there were a lot of red flags,” Holmes said. “And there were a lot of people taking a look at this – students, staff – who had a lot of concerns about this. That’s a red flag for me and it’s a lot of money to use on something that a lot of people were expressing a lot of
concern about.”
Kari Herinckx, who was a member of the group but said she did not participate in planning the event, said she was unsure if the event “was even feasible. It seemed to be a pretty awkward situation for a lot of different reasons.” Herinckx said she was unaware of tensions within the group and Callier-Wells’ student status until after the appropriation had been voted on.
“It didn’t seem like a lot of members really knew what was up with the presentation,”
Herinckx said.
Still, conservative opponents of McLain, who was a staunch advocate for student programs, have portrayed the decision to approve the proposal and then warn Frohnmayer of its risk as a cowardly act designed to appease
her supporters.
Papailiou, who presided over the Senate meeting when the funds were approved and is now chief-of-staff to ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, said it did not make sense for McLain to pass the proposal to Frohnmayer instead of vetoing it.
“When I personally heard the request I had reservations about it,” Papailiou said, though he usually refrained from participating in Senate discussions because doing so would “interfere with my ability to run a meeting.”
“I think people should follow the courage of their convictions, and if there were reservations about it should have been vetoed instead of this sort of back-door memo,” he said.
McLain told the Emerald her decision to approve the proposal with reservations was simply a matter of timing. The project was voted on 10 days before her term expired, she didn’t receive the paperwork until almost a week later, and she signed off on all of the projects the day she left office.
“It was absolutely necessary for us to say, ‘This is what we think.’ We couldn’t change anything so that’s why we” wrote the letter, she said. “In my opinion, it was certainly not passing the buck. It was making a responsible decision with student fees. We just couldn’t do anything (else).”
It wasn’t until she was about to leave office, she said, that “other folks came to us and we realized (the money) wouldn’t be used after the Student Senate was told
it would.”
“There were internal group concerns that we would not share. They’ve obviously been talked about randomly around campus. It was clear that the money was not going to be used and it was an irresponsible use of student fees,” she said.
McLain said she did not hear concerns from group members until after the memos had been signed. However, the timing of events is unclear. The paperwork for every over-realized proposal, known officially as Incidental Fee Action Memos, were signed on May 24 – McLain’s last day in office. The letter to Frohnmayer is dated May 23.
“There were all of these
concerns before we were leaving office and we did not have time to look into it,” she said. “There’s no crazy story here. There was an internal issue and it looked like it would be an irresponsible use of student fees.”
Both in her letter and in the interview, McLain reiterated her support for CASL’s project. She said the proposed improvements to the eco-friendly house were not capital construction and pointed out that over-realized funds have been used to renovate portions of the EMU.
For his part, Dotters-Katz said he plans to leave aside the funds CASL requested in the hope the group can come up with another project that would better fit the requirements for use of
over-realized funds. Holmes also said CASL could ask for the funds for a different purpose and
potentially be approved.
Dotters-Katz is planning to use the rest of the over-realized funds for a
variety of projects, including bringing Greg Mortenson – author of “Three Cups of Tea,” a book about building schools in Pakistani villages – to McArthur Court at an estimated cost of $30,000 – $35,000. He also said he will make a proposal to the Senate to spend less than $5,000 on a collaboration between the School of Law and the Department of Public Safety for legal training for DPS officers, and another $5,000 working with the Veterans and Family Student Association to buy a satellite system that would allow family members to speak to deployed troops.
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