A majority of the ASUO senate voted to affirm an EMU Decision Resolution and veto ASUO President Isaiah Boyd’s decision at an emergency meeting on Feb. 18. Former ASUO Vice President Odalis Aguilar-Aguilar and former ASUO senate Vice President Ella Meloy drafted the resolution.

This meeting follows ASUO’s decision to remove the EMU from the Incidental Fee budget, and place it under the oversight of the Tuition and Fee Advisory Board within the existing student union budget. The Incidental Fee, or I-Fee, is a mandatory student fee that funds programs including ASUO legal services and the Men’s Resource Center.

ASUO President Isaiah Boyd and University of Oregon Vice President of Student Life Kevin Marbury primarily led the decision.

The ASUO senate oversees the allocation of the I-Fee budget to programs and services on campus including the Men’s and Women’s Centers, Lane Transit District bus passes and Mills International Center.

Sponsors of the resolution include members from the Student Insurgent, Young Democratic Socialists of America, the EMU Board and current and former members of ASUO.

According to the ASUO Constitution, “any decision made by the ASUO president may be overridden by a two-thirds vote of the student senate within five school days of having received written notification of the ASUO president’s decision.”

Senator Jenna Travers sponsored the resolution. She said Marbury’s statements of promised student autonomy within the EMU is not the same as ASUO autonomy. “We need to be able to make these decisions, represent students that is our job as leaders,” she said.

She also responded to previous statements Boyd made regarding programing costs within the EMU like elevator costs and office supplies.

“We pay for trivial things all the time because they keep our programs that students rely on alive,” Travers said. “I’m happy to pay for office supplies and municipal things if it keeps our programs alive.”

Senator Annika Mayne acknowledged the student support shown for the resolution. “It’s our job,” they said, “so let’s do that.”

Mayne also commented on the concern that funding to ASUO-funded programs will be cut if the EMU remains in the I-Fee budget. “I do not understand how making some cuts to programs means that we should give up the EMU,” she said.

“Giving up this amount of student autonomy in our I-Fee is ridiculous,” Mayne said.

Senator and EMU Board member Kavi Shrestha said there was a lack of consultation about the decision within ASUO and the EMU board. 

At a Feb. 17 EMU board meeting, Marbury presented the EMU transition. Shrestha said Marbury told the board “we didn’t feel like we needed to involve people in this conversation.”

Marbury said that programs within the EMU were not consulted about the decision.

“It was made very apparent last night that trust in administration prioritizing student voice is supposed to be our primary source of comfort in maintaining student autonomy over the EMU,” Shrestha said. 

Senator Raul Patel said he felt misinformed of the situation. “I was under the impression that it was entirely President Boyd’s decision,” he said. “Frankly, the topic was so foreign to me that I didn’t even know where to start with questions.”

The ASUO senate will now have to create a new budget proposal for TFAB and present that to the board of trustees.