After Constitution Court Justice Allison Apana declared that the $142,000 for the Mallard Madness concert be returned to the over-realized fund Tuesday, many students, in and out of student government, have plenty to say about the ruling, the loss of a concert and the process of student government.
Students are left both confident and confounded as the ruling is sinking-in. There will be no Macklemore concert, and the over-realized fund will retain $142,000.
Sarah Lampert, a University of Oregon junior, was satisfied with the outcome.
“There are other things we can spend money on other than Macklemore, especially since students were still going to pay for their tickets to get in,” she said.
Still, others are not contended with the court decision.
Harlan Mechling, ASUO Academic Affairs Director, was disappointed with Tuesday’s ruling.
“I think Con Court made the wrong decision on this one,” Mechling said. “Senate voted to give the money to Mallard Madness and it seems to be a perfectly legitimate transfer. President Laura Hinman and the Executive have been doing great work this year and it’s unfortunate that the court is choosing to interfere with the process and slow down some of the progress we have made so far as a student body.”
His sentiments are shared by UO senior Kit Fallon.
“I think it’s a shame,” Fallon said. “Everyone was excited for the concert, and from what I understand everything related to the money was copacetic. I think the University needs to have more opportunities on campus for students to mingle, and the Macklemore concert would have been a nice start to that kind of thing.”
Still, others are taking a more thoughtful approach to the concert. UO senior Ellen Fields thinks that maybe time was a factor in the fast transferring of funds.
“A touring musician like Macklemore probably has a rigorous schedule to follow. It seems that the ASUO would have been aware of this and worked to get funding lined up quickly.”
She added, “That is certainly not to say that Macklemore is more important than the students and student groups, which should be the highest priority.”