Oregon Daily Emerald: Can you tell me your name, what year you are in school and what your major is?
Drake: My name is John Drake, I’m a junior and my major is psychology.
Emerald: Are you involved in any other activities or student groups on campus?
Drake: I’m in the Interfraternity Council, I’m V.P. event planning for that. I’m an OSPIRG intern, and I’m coordinating the U of O Hunger Clean-Up, which is part of a national campaign that university campuses take part in, where our eventual goal is to work up to a work project where individuals get endorsed by businesses and family, friends, stuff like that, and raise money for the homeless. And so that’s the second thing, and I’m then also a course assistant for my psychology professor.
Emerald: Does that mean you grade papers?
Drake: I’ve been able to teach a few discussion sections, but I’m usually just doing grunt work, grading papers, entering grades, that kind of stuff.
Emerald: Since your V.P. isn’t here, could you just tell me a little bit about him?
Drake: He’s a sophomore right now, and he’s a Sigma Phi Epsilon, he’s the president of his fraternity. And I failed to mention that I’m a Chi Psi, so we’re both greek-affiliated. And I believe he’s majoring in journalism. What else would you like to know?
Emerald: Why did you want him as your vice president?
Drake: I work alongside of him in the IFC, and we’ve worked together this past year, worked very well together, both very committed to the University. We’d like to see some improvements, and I just feel like we’re both very capable for this position.
Emerald: Why are you running for ASUO Executive?
Drake: Well, throughout my various activities that I’ve been involved in, especially this year, I feel like I can be a well-rounded voice for students. Ranging from the fraternity voice, to OSPIRG, to student activist groups, and an academic voice as well, being a course assistant, constantly in contact with professors, the students. I just feel like I can relate and be the voice for a very diverse student body.
Emerald: What is your legislative agenda?
Drake: Three primary things that we’re going to focus on is student voice, community building and diversity. Student voice would start off. If I’m elected, I would immediately have a position on the OSA, which is the student voice of the University of Oregon. With that, I would just want to represent everyone, work directly with them and just be a means for the students to project their needs, desires, that kind of stuff, to the University. The community building — I feel that I just want to strengthen ties between students, professors, faculty, as well as the neighboring community outside of the University. I feel like there’s not quite enough contact with the outside community, and I think since we do play such an active role, have such a huge impact on the community, it would be great to be able to be in more contact with them. Also part of the community is involvement in organizations. I’d like to see more students become involved in organizations, and part of the diversity thing is allowing, or just helping facilitate the different student groups to work together, collaborate, bring different ideas together, which I think makes every student group more effective. And when they do work together, there’s no polarization of views, or at least you help break down some of those views, and I just think that’s so important to be effective. If everybody can work together, collaborative effort, then more can be accomplished.
Emerald: OK, and how will you try and accomplish your goals legislatively? What are you planning to do?
Drake: Primarily just working with the other executive bodies, the rest of the ASUO, working with the different student organizations, bringing that back to the ASUO, relaying what it is they want to be accomplished, and working together with them.
Emerald: What are your campus initiatives?
Drake: Could you elaborate on that?
Emerald: What sort of things do you want to see changed in the campus life?
Drake: I guess I’d just like to increase the sense of community, involvement with all the students, organizations, that kind of stuff, just seeing everybody work together, or at least help to bring them together.
Emerald: How will you interact with the community?
Drake: I think the most effective way to do that is using already established groups who have contact and ties with community, with different students, and outside of the community as well. Working with them and utilizing those ties that they have will be a more effective means of making change.
Emerald: What established groups are you talking about; what are you referring to?
Drake: I’m talking about the OSPIRGs, multiethnic groups, student newspapers, all those different organizations. Greek system and stuff.
Emerald: How would you make the ASUO relevant to students?
Drake: I think the most effective way to do that is to allow the students to feel like they have a voice. And so, anything is more relevant to an individual when they feel like they can take part in it. And my goal is to allow each individual student to have their voice heard, to allow them to work alongside with their elected officials, and in doing so, the collaborative effort makes it worthwhile for each student, makes them feel like they can actually approach our student government with concerns or any ideas that they have.