Oregon Daily Emerald: What’s your year and major?
Martell: Sophomore, pre-business.
Emerald: Do you do anything at the University? Belong to any groups, fraternities, clubs?
Martell: I’m just a member of the PFC this year, and I’m on the ASUO Child Care Task Force.
Emerald: So you’re already a member of the ASUO. How long have you been in the ASUO?
Martell: I interned last year, and this followed up.
Emerald: Why are you interested in student government?
Martell: I did it first just to meet people and get involved, and now I’m really passionate about the student fee. I think it’s important — our most important fee — it’s money that we pay that we get to control, (and) it’s good to provide it for the students, whereas the administration and students sometimes have different goals.
Emerald: How will you figure out how to spend the surplus?
Martell: I don’t think anybody really knows how to spend it exactly. It’s kind of on a what-comes-up basis: special circumstances, emergencies, when something breaks. There’s a new insurance policy where the deductible’s gone up from $500 to $2,500, so if a large piece of equipment breaks, that’s what the surplus is used for. And then just other new activities that haven’t been budgeted that add to the cultural and physical development of campus.
Emerald: Physical and cultural development. How might you see something as a physical or cultural development on campus and give them money to do that?
Martell: It’s hard to define because it covers such a wide array of things. Lots of student groups come in and want help on unexpected expenses for culture nights here on campus. The lamp posts that were built with surplus a few years back — they both make campus prettier and safer.
Emerald: Is there anything you have in mind that’s specific, like this is something the group has to have done or has to be doing in order to be worthy of the surplus money?
Martell: A group needs to be relatively fiscally responsible. They have to have what they need budgeted with line-item descriptions. Basically, if they are prepared.
Emerald: How will you interact with student groups?
Martell: With special requests and surplus?
Emerald: Both as a senator and as a PFC member.
Martell: Probably continuing much of (this year). I (was) in contact with a lot of them, especially during fall term, during tag we’re just getting to know the groups, them getting to know me, and just trying to observe what they do and talking to them about what they do and what’s important. And then I try to make it to the culture nights and the events that they put on to get a feel for how they work and how they add to the campus.
Emerald: What about as a regular senator working with groups?
Martell: I think that the same things as a PFC member and a senator, they both cover that.
Emerald: So as a senator dealing with the surplus, you try to make it out to the culture nights and getting to know the group?
Martell: Yeah, I think that attending their events is how you get to know the group than when you allocate the surplus, allocating to activities that help the groups reach their goals.
Emerald: What do you think are the most important issues facing the student groups you represent, or students you represent?
Martell: Right now, higher education funding is probably the biggest issue affecting everybody, and the ASUO Exec and all the people involved in student government have been doing a pretty good job campaigning and really having their presence known. And I think get out the votes, and (senators’) presence in the legislative area is really what to work on.
Emerald: Is the senate involved in that, in the get out the vote campaigns?
Martell: They are to an extent; it is available to senators. I know that (in the past) many senators and people on senate chose to participate in those activities, but it isn’t their goal as a whole. But it is something that I believe they can take a stand on.
Emerald: So you’re going to continue to work with the Executive in these campaigns as a senator?
Martell: Yeah. Not as a senator, but just for myself. That’s because I’m passionate about those things to get involved. And I would encourage the other senators to do the same.
Emerald: What’s the most important thing you should know in order to deal with the budget process?
Martell: There’s a lot in the budget process.
Emerald: The most important thing.
Martell: Just — when you’re starting the PFC process — just knowing that it’s a huge time commitment, and you have to be very dedicated if you want to get through. And then — yeah, just know there’s a huge time commitment, you need to be dedicated to go through. Because the groups are dedicated, and if you’re not dedicated you’re doing a disservice to these groups. Just be prepared to spend a lot of time.
Emerald: Do you think that, being on PFC this year, what’s something that you might change?
Martell: Well there’s not a lot that I would change; I think we did a really good job this year. (We) made a lot of good steps, and weaknesses in the past.
Emerald: What kind of weaknesses?
Martell: I know last year a lot of groups felt the PFC didn’t listen to what they were trying to say. They said the PFC wasn’t professional. I wasn’t on the group so I can’t — I’m definitely not saying that was true. But this year, at the end, the groups — of course there were complaints, by nature there’s going to be complaints — but the groups seemed overall satisfied.
Emerald: You think this year was an improvement?
Martell: Yeah, I’m sure this year was an improvement. We’ve had many compliments. So I think just going off with what we’ve done last year, trying to keep going in the same direction.
Emerald: Do you happen to know how many standing committees the senate is obligated to have?
Martell: Each senator?
Emerald: No, how many standing committees is the senate obligated to have?
Martell: ADFC, PFC, EMU Board, Rules Committee, academic committees, I’m sure there is a couple more I’m not remembering.
Emerald: What’s the most important part of section 5 of the student senate rules and why?
Martell: Is that duties? Yeah, I don’t know if you can pick one out. Because if you don’t do all of your duties, not doing one duty takes away from all the other duties that you need to fulfill. You have to do all of them; you can’t just focus on doing one and let the others slip.
Emerald: Is there any one that you might be able to focus on — not to make the other duties insignificant — but one that’s more important?
Martell: Your office hour obligations. I think that if you do your office hours, I think most senators — I know that I spend more than my office hours in the office — but if you’re not fulfilling your office hours there’s no — I don’t think you can redeem your other duties to their full. So I think that you have to do your office hours because without those, you won’t have time for the rest of your things. And you’re available to students, because people come in and have questions, if you’re there to answer them. You need to be there — you’re helping them, representing them. But they’re all equal — I don’t think you have to do all of them.
Emerald: You don’t have to do all the duties?
Martell: Well, no, you do have to do all the duties. I’m saying if you’re just there for your office hours, that’s not good enough. You have to fulfill all the duties.