On Nov. 13., the Associated Students of the University of Oregon Senate failed to pass “A Green New Deal For UO” resolution after 35 minutes of public comments and discussions between senators.
The motion ultimately failed with a 19-to-two vote.
If passed, the resolution would have encouraged “a more just and sustainable future by ending the University of Oregon’s reliance on fossil fuels.”
“The climate crisis is the defining issue of our time and represents an existential threat not just to all humans and non-humans but to all systems and structures on our shared planet,” the resolution said.
The resolution was written by UO students Declan Zupo and Jack Dodson, and several ASUO Senators, including Bella Esbeck, Erin Luedemann, Jess Fisher, Rachel Withers and Andrew Ducharme. It was co-sponsored by several student organizations, including the UO Climate Justice League and UO Young Democratic Socialists of America.
Roughly 30 members of the UO Climate Justice League were in attendance and in support of the resolution. They held signs with messages including “planet over profit” and “green new deal now.”
Zupo and Dodson presented the resolution and its contents to the Senate, discussing its components. These included the decarbonization of UO, which called for a 50% reduction in emissions by 2030, as well as the implementation of “mandatory climate education for all undergraduate students.”
Dodson said “We want them to reduce their reliance on fossil fuels and that’s why we’re here.”
Some senators, including Tiera Garrety and Rain Baumann Gwirtz, addressed a few concerns they had about the content of the resolution, specifically passages that discussed the involvement of Indigenous voices, the reduction of animal products served on campus and wording around the use of “composting.”
“I think what is probably the best move for this is…to incorporate Indigenous knowledge or incorporate Indigenous ideas,” Garrety said.
ASUO Senator Elanor Potter, who voted no, said that she was hesitant about passing the bill before it was ready.
“I was concerned about voting yes for the sake of getting it passed and I wanted to ensure that the amendments that we discussed would actually be made.”
ASUO Senator Daniel Vo, who voted yes, said that he voted yes because the bill could be passed and changes could still be made later.
“I agree with the rest of the senators that there are some parts that need to be edited to better reflect student representation and their ideas,” Vo said. “My thought process is that we can still approve the resolution and go back and make edits if we wanted to.”
According to Zupo, CJL expected the resolution to pass.
“Yes, we [CJL] did [expect the resolution to pass],” Zupo said. “But I’m still happy with the outcome as it is. It would be a lot more important for us to include something that we may have left out than to push through an unfinished final product.”
Zupo said that the next steps are to “expand [the senate working group] to include some more voices.”
The resolution will make its way back to the Senate for reconsideration once changes are made.
