The Student Senate met on Dec. 3 to wrap up the remaining business of fall term, including two surplus spending requests totaling nearly $6,800, fixing a resolution dealing with the future of McArthur Court and confirming several Executive appointments.
Despite worries that there might not be enough senators available during finals week, 13 were in attendance – one more than necessary to make quorum and vote on appointments.
Sens. Dan Feldman, Billy Hatch, Kyle McKenzie, Sarah Oaks, and Karen Trippe missed the meeting.

UO AMA

The UO American Marketing Association received $3,161 after some confusion and haggling. The group’s president, Joey Mucha, said the group wanted the money to send six members of its executive board to a conference in New Orleans where they will network, engage in career-building exercises and tour the city with “like-minded college students who are focused on marketing.”
The conference will take place in the spring, but Mucha said that getting the money early would allow the group to purchase more tickets and send more students. Mucha said he attended the conference last year and “the schools that stood out were the ones with good representation.”
Mucha said he and one other student attended last year’s conference, and he purchased his ticket so late that it cost him $1,100.
Sen. Kate Jones asked him for “the very last date” his group could receive money from Senate and still attend the conference.
“Ideally, the very latest would be before the beginning of next term,” Mucha said.
The group expects to have $2,000 of its own for the trip. Most of it would come from a sponsorship the group does not yet have but has historically received, Mucha said. When Sen. Lauren Zavrel asked how much of the $500 of expected fundraising the group has completed, Mucha said “less than half.”
Sens. Neil Brown and Lee Warnecke questioned the expected price of the hotel stay at the Sheraton. Mucha said the hotel is where the conference is taking place, and last year when he stayed at a different hotel it was “not the same experience.”
Sen. Samantha Brodey asked if the group could make do with money for airfare but not for the hotel, because the Senate had set the precedent that surplus should be used as a last resort.
Mucha said he wanted to know how many people the group could send. Without that assurance, the group would send fewer people.
Senate Ombudsman Patrick Boye advocated giving the money needed to buy tickets early and send more students. He said the Senate would otherwise be telling groups, “Oh, you’re planning ahead but, oh, fuck you.”
Some senators also questioned the price of airfare listed in the group’s request, and even looked up competitive prices on the Internet via their laptops. But ASUO Vice President Chii-San SunOwen said the ASUO has a limited pool of four contracted air carriers, and booking flights requires a complicated process of reimbursement.
“Go with what they had projected,” SunOwen said. The Senate followed suit, with Sens. Warnecke and Kevin Parks abstaining from the vote.

Native American Law Students Association

The Native American Law Students Association asked for $3,635 to attend National Moot Court at Arizona State University. Group representatives said faculty at the law school, including the dean, were encouraging them to go, “yet there’s no money to do anything.”
The group received money from the dean to go to an earlier conference at which members made a bid to bring the moot court to the University. They lost the bid in part, they said, because none of their members had attended the competition before and didn’t have the experience.
Brown, on his last night as a senator, said even though the group had not fundraised for this trip, he viewed their request “holistically,” knowing they had done a good job of raising money in the past.
Group members said they petitioned three different tribes asking them to sponsor the trip, but warned senators, “We’ve tapped them for over $600,000” recently.
Brown said he would support the request without the per diem food allowance of $270. Sens. Parks and Diego Hernandez said they supported keeping the food money.
“Would you be able to fundraise $270?” Jones, a law student, asked.
NALSA members said they might be able to raise money by selling T-shirts, and said they weren’t allowed to sell food at the law school during the hours the cafe was open.
“So it would be very difficult for you to raise that money, correct?” Jones asked.
Boye offered to amend the amount to $4,435 because the money for food had been miscalculated, but Brown did not accept the amendment. Brown instead amended the amount back to its original $3,635.
The request passed with all voting senators but Warnecke voting for it.

Mac Court

“Well, it wouldn’t be a Senate meeting without Mac Court resolution, would it?” Sen. Samantha Brodey said.
The resolution, which she sponsored, has been discussed at every Senate meeting since the beginning of October. Amended several times, sent through rules committee twice, narrowly resurrected at the end of budget benchmark hearings and scorned by its original author, the resolution’s latest obstacle was being rejected by the Constitution Court.
The court objected to a provision that stated the Senate “requires” to know why the University administration would tear down the arena.
Brodey mentioned the court’s decision, eliciting a round of boos at the Senate table.
Brodey suggested removing the disputed provision and passing the resolution again. Brown suggested they amend the section to say “desires” instead of “requires.” Brodey accepted that, and the resolution passed 13-0. Senate President Athan Papailiou, who usually only votes in case of a tie, voted for the resolution.

Appointments

Brandon Culbertson, Executive appointee to the Programs Finance Committee: ASUO President Emily McLain started her round of appointments with Brandon Culbertson, former co-director of the Native American Student Union, who she said “offers a good balance of experience in the budgeting process.”
Culbertson introduced himself to senators by saying he was: “not interested in writing blank checks (to programs). I’ve got a lot of debt already, and if people can’t be responsible we can’t keep giving them money.”
Papailiou asked Culbertson if he thought the incidental fee was too high.
“Personally, I think it’s just about right. There’s room to move in either direction,” Culbertson said.
Brown asked how Culbertson will work to represent all students, not just those involved in programs. Culbertson said he can think critically and added, “If there’s too much money and not enough leadership… I’m not against scaling groups back.”
Culbertson was confirmed to the PFC.
Nick Meyers, appointee to Senate Seat 3: Brown was told he had to vacate his Senate seat before the vote on his replacement could take place.
“Nick is a good friend of mine, even though I don’t agree with him on a lot of things,” Brown said. “You’re getting a smarter senator, one who is more cooperative.”
With that, Brown left his seat and McLain introduced Meyers.
“I’ve had the opportunity to learn, debate, and compete with Nick in many settings over the last eight years,” she said. The two debated in high school.
Meyers sat at the table to talk to senators. He introduced himself as “pretty non-ideological. I’m not going to push for anything without hearing someone else’s opinion first.”
He said he tutors Chinese students and has arranged debates about Mideast politics with members of Hillel House and political science students.
Papailiou asked for Meyers’ opinion of the incidental fee.
“I think right now it’s about right. To say overall th
e fee is too high or too low really misses the point,” Meyers said. Rather, the litmus test should be the quality of life on campus, he said, and whether groups are doing their own fundraising.
Sen. Steven Wilsey, who sits on the PFC, said simply, “He’s overqualified.”
Meyers was confirmed to the Senate and remained seated at the table.
Alex McCafferty, Executive appointee to Athletic Department Finance Committee: McClain introduced McCafferty, a Senate intern and former Exec staff member, as a “good example of how involved you can get in a little time.”
McCafferty said he attends every football game at Autzen Stadium and has “experienced the good and the not-so-good of the ticketing process.” He said the process was easier at the last game.
Boye asked him for one goal he would have on the ADFC, and McCafferty said he’d like to communicate to students that negotiating for tickets is “not all the ASUO does.”
He said he “absolutely” supports Sunday ticket distribution for football games. Asked if regular Sunday ticketing is something student government should tackle, he said “Anything that affects students should be tackled by the ADFC.”
McCafferty was approved with 11 votes. Meyers, being brand new, abstained from the vote as did Sen. Noor Rajabzadeh. When asked by Senate Vice President Donnie Kim why she abstained, she said she had her reasons.
The Senate will not meet again until January.
the campus and federal politics reporter at [email protected]