Seven students are vying for the position of Senate Seat No. 1 on the ASUO Programs Finance Committee. The PFC decides how to spend approximately $5 million in student incidental fees, but whoever wins seat No. 1 will also have weekly senate meetings to attend. The Emerald asked each candidate general questions and also asked two specific questions to see what each hopeful knows about government: Who is responsible for maintaining the senate Web site, and what is the most important part of Senate Rules Section 5, which lists senators’ duties?
Alyce Chong, the incumbent, is a 21-year-old business major. She grew up in the Portland area. She was the only candidate who knew that the senate vice president is responsible for maintaining the Web site and said one important senate duty is checking mailboxes to see when special requests come in from student groups.
Q: How would you figure out how to spend the senate surplus?
Chong: We’ll figure out the surplus based upon what will come into effect next year and the special requests that come in. I’ve been told that no other PFC member in previous years have run for re-election, and I think there’s some correlation between where people don’t run again and a lack of consistency, because they don’t know the issues that happened before. I want to help the programs out so next year it will be smoother.
Q: How would you interact with student groups?
Chong: I’ve done it for the past year. I have a working relationship with these groups already, so hopefully that will continue to grow.
Q: What’s the most important thing you feel you need to know in order to deal with the budget process?
Chong: The most important thing — there’s, like, so many things. Some of the important things are reviewing your past funding, and I feel like a lot of groups didn’t want to be punished for past leadership errors, and so a really important thing to keep in mind for future PFC members is explaining when we have to keep them accountable for that.
Adrian T. Gilmore, a 25-year-old law student, focused on the tuition surcharge, incidental fees and being open to negotiation with students. He said he would ask the administration to pick up some of the surcharge, which he said heavily affects law students. Gilmore was able to narrow down who is responsible for the senate Web site to either the senate president or vice president, and he said the most important senate duty is ensuring fair and equal representation.
Q: How would you figure out how to spend the surplus?
Gilmore: Negotiating with students and student groups is the best way to get an understanding of how to allocate incidentals to groups. Publications like the Emerald provide good resources for understanding students’ needs because it’s the voice of the students. Negotiation is the best process — just being open to any and all suggestions.
Q: How would you interact with student groups?
Gilmore: Holding meetings and just talking to people, and, like I said, keeping up-to-date with certain publications like the Emerald — making students a part of the negotiation process.
Q: What is the most important thing you should know in order to deal with the budget process?
Gilmore: I think accountability is an important part. Knowing where money is going and how it is being used. Oftentimes, problems arise with budgets where large amounts of money are being spent and it’s difficult to track where it’s going. It’s important to manage finances so the budget can be spent more efficiently.
Hargobind Khalsa, a 19-year-old junior in the international studies program, ran a small business at the boarding school he attended in Northern India and has lived in two countries. While Khalsa did not know who maintains the senate Web site, he said the most important senate duty is allocating the student fee money.
Q: How would you figure out how to spend the surplus?
Khalsa: I would allocate based on need, based on the past, like how much (a group has) spent before. But also, I’m totally not inflexible, if a group can prove to me that they’re going to use this money for something that is going to benefit the culture or the community of the University.
Q: How will you interact with student groups?
Khalsa: That’s what I think the real position is — someone who’d be good at the senate is someone who’s got a personal relationship with all the groups.
Q: How many groups do you have contact with right now?
Khalsa: Ten, maybe. Democrats, Republicans, lesbian, gay, transgender, which always makes an interesting debate, Students for Peace, Jewish students. Student groups’ work is essentially what makes the University a community.
Q: What is the most important thing you should know in order to deal with the budget process?
Khalsa: Probably the rules. The rules have definitely been somewhat of a problem, at least over the past year. And it’s the senators’ job — we’re serving these groups. It’s partially their responsibility, but it’s also our responsibility to educate them.
The Emerald was not able to obtain a photo of Khalsa by press time.
Thirty-year-old Damion Meany, a biology and biochemistry double major, has served as a U.S. Marine, worked as a bartender, and as a student, once took 26 credits in one term. He did not know who maintains the senate Web site or what the senators’ duties are.
Q: How will you figure out how to spend the surplus?
Meany: I would like to see somebody that has the foresight to say well hey, you know, if we don’t need all this money, then let’s stop taking it from the students. OSPIRG, I think, might very well be doing things that are in all of our best interests as students; however, in order to get some hundred thousand dollars of student money, they need to involve the students in that process.
Q: How will you interact with student groups?
Meany: In the PFC meetings, it looks like the student groups are kind of being rushed through procedure, and if they understand how the bureaucratic procedure goes then they can represent themselves well.
Q: What is the most important thing you should know in order to deal with the budget process?
Meany: I’m going to get really deep on you here: All of us as individuals have a choice to make as to what we’re going to do with the world we’re handed, and I think that the vast majority of people who get into political positions chose to figure out how to work the system — the good parts of the system and the bad parts of the system — to their own personal advantage. One of the problems with the budget process is you get people that are just thinking in terms of this is what they want to do with their career, so they won’t look critically at programs.
Richard Reed, a 20-year-old sophomore studying business with minors in French and economics, said he’s loved politics for as long as he can remember. Reed said he did not know who maintains the Web site and had no idea what Section 5 was or what senators’ duties are.
Q: How would you figure out how to spend the senate surplus?
Reed: The best way to do that is to cut costs. I really am not the biggest fan of raising the incidental fees much at all, but hopefully we can find just a few more ways every dollar counts.
Q: How will you interact with student groups?
Reed: Face-to-face as much as possible. I believe (this year the PFC) had a recordly low number of groups that didn’t get any funding, and I think that’s in direct part due to the communication.
Q: How many student groups do you know right now?
Reed: Maybe 10 to 15. I’m in Delta Sigma Phi fraternity, a greek organization. Then there’s ISA , there’s the ASA, JSA, all that. I am a big fan of the greek system. We have a group of greeks that are all sharing resources, sharing contacts in order to help each o
ther become more involved with the ASUO and politics in general. I’d say about 15 are running.
Q: What is the most important thing you should know in
order to deal with the budget process?
Reed: It would be what is an efficient use of money. I mean you’ve got X amount of money — you can’t go over it. If you do, you’re going to have to start charging people more and more money, which is, as far as I’m concerned, not an option.
The Emerald was unable to schedule an interview with Trevor Sehrer by press time.
The final candidate, Thomas Wortman, hasn’t made up his mind on whether to stay in the race. The 20-year-old sophomore, a philosophy major, has worked for OSPIRG and interned with the ASUO. He didn’t know who maintained the senate Web site or what the senators’ duties were.
Q: How will you figure out how to spend the senate surplus?
Wortman: I don’t know. I’ve just got to use my best judgment. I think that I’d try and support those that felt a need to be less represented.
Q: How will you interact with student groups?
Wortman: Yeah, I’m down with student groups, I think.
Q: What is the most important thing you should know in order to deal with the budget process?
Wortman: Just a realistic idea of how much funds there are and where they’re going, and also, you look at the programs themselves and see if there are some programs that are heads and tails above the rest as far as productivity and what they’re trying to accomplish. I think they should get rewarded for that.
Q: So what would sway you into staying in the race?
Wortman: I’m just going to talk it over with my sister and my mom. I’m starting to play in a band, and photography has become a very important part of my life, sort of a move to the arts for me, anyway, and so I don’t know how the ASUO is going to fit in that. It’s weird, because something is kind of telling me I should, and so that’s why I’ve even stayed aboard this long.
The Emerald was not able to obtain Wortman’s photo by press time.

Click below to see the full transcript of each candidate’s interview: