Dallas Brown
President
Age: 21
Major: Political science and psychology
Hometown: Bend
Year: Junior
Emily McLain
Vice President
Age: 20
Major: Political science
Hometown: Forest Grove
Year: Junior
(full transcript)
 
Emerald: First question. It’s not really a question. Briefly summarize your platform.
McLain: I’ll go first. One of our main issues is dealing with green energy on campus and we believe that we have a unique platform because we have already been in touch with members of the environmental community, but more than that we have a plan to increase the role of the environmental director. And also, we hope to increase the help the ASUO offers the environmental director, and also their ability to coordinate with all of the many different environmental groups.
Brown: We’d also like to continue to work with the administration, faculty and making sustainable energy a goal of campus and the fact that we want to be progressive and continue to be on the forefront and really represent the University. I think that’s something that campus needs. I think that’s fiscally responsible and I also think it’s a responsible thing to do for the environment. Another issue that’s important to us is we want to increase representation for (graduate teaching fellow) students and also law students. They pay the incidental fee and we think that’s important that they’re represented. We’d like to see an east side campus bus stop and we’d like to work with (the Lane Transit District) to try to create that so that people in the dorms and also who are going to school on that part of campus have easier access. I think it would also help with individuals who have disabilities. This campus is long and we do have a lot of interesting weather over here, and if we could make that more available for students, we could really help them out in that way.
McLain: And then, I think that one of the important things to talk about is the – let’s see, what have we …
Brown: Well, I think we could talk about our budget.
McLain: Oh yeah, do you want me to do that? OK. I think that we are really exited to examine the mechanism by which we evaluate the funding for school groups. And we think that we want to try and change that a little bit, like add to the standard by which we evaluate them. And, I mean, that we need to look at what they’re offering campus as well as what they spent in the last fiscal year. And we think that a lot of students will be excited about that because they’ll get to come talk to us or talk to the budget committee, and also explain more of what they’ve done and not just what they’ve spent.
Brown: There’s too much focus on how much groups spend, in fact that’s the only focus there is when it comes to the budgeting process and we would like that to change. We want to actually see what the group’s do on campus, not just how much they could spend, because that’s wasteful and inefficient. For the most part our campaign’s going to take a real close look at how to do budget reform to make it fair for everybody, but to also increase the productivity that those groups offer the cultural and physical development of campus. Furthermore, I think another issue that represents us is we want to make sure that student jobs are available on campus. There are a lot of restrictions for individuals getting jobs on campus and we want to make it available for kids to have the opportunity to fund their education and also gain valuable leadership experience. I think we too often outsource competitive jobs to nonstudents off campus that come in and I think that’s not an appropriate way to deal with things. I think we should have the ability to create jobs for students, not limit what students can and cannot do here. I think we should definitely prioritize the individual who utilize this University to have those jobs so they can continue coming to school and be able to fund them. I think those are our main four platforms that we’re going to stand on mostly. There’s numerous other ones that can be checked out on the Web site as well.
Emerald: OK, the second questions is: What qualifies you for this position?
Brown: I can start. Last year, I participated on the debate team and I feel that I possess the speaking skills to talk to people and I believe that’s something that is a qualification that’s necessary. This year I’ve been a member of the (Student) Senate so I’m aware of how ASUO politics work. I served on Student Senate, Academic Senate and University Senate. I know parliamentary procedure, the budgeting process and how the ASUO operates. Also, I’m the co-director of (Designated Driver Shuttle). I helped write the operations manual. I was in charge of 20 employees, and through that experience I’ve gained a lot of managing experience working with budgets and having supervision roles.
McLain: I’ve also been involved with the debate team here on campus and I actually just spent my spring break at the national debate tournament and also at the national speech tournament, which is where I just got back from. And also I’ve been an intern at Oregon’s regional government, Metro, for the last two summers. And I’ve participated with litigation-making when it comes to making the public record for Oregon and when they have lawsuits. And I’ve also participated in land-use planning decisions, like getting the help within the office. And I think that that really makes me qualified for having already worked in a professional political office.
Emerald: Great. Third question: Why do you guys want this job? These jobs.
Brown: I would like to start because I think the ASUO has a lot of potential that it hasn’t yet reached, and I believe that with the proper people in office that it can become more organized, more successful on campus and really take on a larger role as far as governing and representing student interests. I’m very - I set high standards for myself and others. I make things - I like to think that I get things done, and I try to do my best to represent others, and to make things run efficiently and I believe we’ll do such in the ASUO office. I know right now, to me, it’s a little bit of a mess. You go in there and there’s things everywhere it’s a little unorganized and people really are conservative in the fact that they don’t want to take projects on that they think isn’t within the scope of the ASUO. I don’t want to limit the scope of the ASUO. I want to expand it. I want to make student government something that people could actually have respect for because they actually see things getting done. As a member of the Senate what I’ve seen most is people saying ‘We shouldn’t do this because it hasn’t been done before.’ That isn’t going to be our attitude. Our attitude is: We should do this because it hasn’t been done before.
McLain: I really want this job because I’m excited to put to work the skills that I’ve already learned within political office and actually help the students at this university that haven’t really had their voices represented in student government because I think that a lot of students at the University of Oregon are disoriented when it comes to the ASUO and when it comes to what student politics really can do. And I think that I would really like to help give more recognition to the environmental community and also use my speaking ability and my negotiating skills to work with the administration and to work with the professors and to really get people connected a little bit more than I see they have been. And I’m really excited to try something new at the University and get involved.
Emerald: Since we’re doing good on time I think I’ll ask a follow-up for Dallas’ comments. Anything specific you have in mind as far as projects that maybe past ASUOers have been unwilling to take on?
Brown: One project that I think is really important is we need to have more representation in Salem. ASUO needs to be the voice they were in the early 90s
in the fact that when it comes to legislation years and creating budgets for higher education we need to have representatives in there pushing for the students. We represent a constituency of over 20,000 students and when we could turn their voices into votes, then we actually have the power, then people will take us seriously. So I want to go in there and I want to do that. I want to reform the budget so that it doesn’t just continue to increase without increasing the efficiency on campus. I want to improve transportation. Those are all very lofty goals, and a lot of people are going to tell our campaign that these goals are not going to be achievable, just because in the past ASUO hasn’t taken on such huge goals. But I don’t believe so. We have made an effort to surround our campaign with individuals who are dedicated, political and active, and those are going to be the kind of individuals we surround the office with. They’re going to be the people we fill the cabinet positions with. Highly motivated, dedicated people. We’re going to get the best of the best on campus. That’s what we intend to do.
Emerald: Great, the last question that we have prepared is: What should be the role of student government in city, state, federal and international level of politics?
McLain: I think that.
Emerald: A minute and 20 left.
McLain: OK. Just like Dallas said, we represent a very large constituency of people who can be voters. And although we recognize that people our age aren’t always the largest turnout, we think that when you’re willing to go out with really motivated and excited people, you can get people to participate, you can get students to participate, and I think that the role in state, local and federal, like you said, should be very large and should be something that is constantly being aspired for, and is something that we could really do and is something that students could be interested in because it takes you a little bit beyond the University and takes you into the community that you also live in.
Brown: One of our broader political aspiration includes making, expanding the (Family Planning Expansion Project). The contract expires in October and though it may be renewed, we want to make sure that it’s renewed and when it is renewed that services aren’t cut. We’d like to make sure that it’s open to everybody, regardless of sexual orientation because it’s important for people to receive sexual education and also contraceptives and way to prevent sexually transmitted disease through education, and also through services provided. We think that should be offered to everybody, and that’s a very political thing that we’d like to continue to do. As far as community goes, we’re going to work with the city of Eugene to make sure that (the Department of Public Safety) and (the Eugene Police Department) are treating students appropriately, and using resources that benefit students, not hinders students.