The ASUO Senate sat before a packed house to address the ongoing issue of the EMU Renovation, its referendum and ASUO President Ben Eckstein’s decision to postpone it.
The first item on the agenda was a “public forum,” which was dominated by audience members — many from other branches of the ASUO — giving their opinion on Eckstein’s announcement last week that the EMU Referendum would be delayed until spring.
Department Finance Committee member Matthew Miyamoto@@http://tinyurl.com/829p6kq@@ spoke in favor of postponement, saying that residents of Walton Complex, where he lives, are by and large uninformed about the issue.
Ben Ordonez, who recently filed a petition with the ASUO Constitution Court to reinstate the referendum and remove Eckstein from office, criticized Eckstein’s decision, saying it set a “dangerous precedent.”@@http://tinyurl.com/7q2us3x@@
“I see this more as being a question of process,” Ordonez said. “I have no desire for a yes vote or a no vote — I just want to vote.”
University student Eric Valentine@@probably this hipster: http://www.facebook.com/#!/profile.php?id=585515957@@ disagreed, saying he was “very much relieved to hear there is an effort made to postpone the decision.”
“It sets a dangerous precedent to move into an election where students are going to be putting forward a lot of money without the option of really being informed,” Valentine said.
EMU Board House Committee Chair Jo Niehaus@@http://www.outdoorprogram.uoregon.edu/index.php?p=board@@ said the demands some students have with regards to student space in the new building are unfeasible, primarily because the design process is not far enough along.
“We’re not there yet,” she said. “We’re not talking about what’s going to be in the new EMU, it’s ‘are we going to move forward with this?’” Niehaus, a senior, commented on her limited time left at the University. “I’d like that time to be spent working with the architects, working with every student group I can.”
EMU Board Co-Chair Dylan Scandalios@@same link@@ addressed the issue of student groups’ input into the design process.
“We are dedicated to student groups,” he said. “The ASUO Executive has not spoken to me about which student groups need to come to the EMU Board.”
Scandalios spoke next to the audience, saying “What do you want guaranteed? I want to know. The EMU Board wants to know.”
ASUO University Affairs Coordinator Manny Garcia@@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/executive.php?a=12#toc1107@@ said the matter of space isn’t just a question of square footage, asking, “Is LGBTQA going to have a glass room where anyone going in is going to be outed?”@@what?@@
Once the audience had taken its allotted 30 minutes, the senators themselves gave their views, which ranged from disappointment to frustration to anger.
ASUO Sen. Ben Rudin@@saaaame link@@ was unhappy with Eckstein’s decision to postpone the election.
“It should not have been done by administrative fiat,” Rudin said of the postponement.
EMU Board Member Sen. Jeremy Hedlund@@same link@@ said that the process did not sufficiently address the concerns of student unions and other groups like the Survival Center.@@http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~survival/@@
“Let’s not just force a vote,” Hedlund said. “If the vote was next week, I wouldn’t feel comfortable voting yes for a new EMU.”
Sen. Jena Langham@@same@@ was upset with Eckstein’s efforts to engage student groups, saying they were tailored to Eckstein’s base of political support.
“I feel the people you talked to are incredibly hand-picked,” Langham said. “You couldn’t even just reach out to people you didn’t think have your back already. The only people you advocate are the ones you always advocate.”
Langham spoke positively of Vice President for Student Affairs Robin Holmes, saying she had been supportive of students during the process. This comment produced widespread laughter from postponement supporters in the room, which made Langham visibly angry.@@giggle@@
“I’m incredibly embarrassed that that just happened in this room,” she said.
ASUO Vice President Katie Taylor was unhappy with EMU Board members, saying the Board did not exercise final control over the outcome of the project.
“It’s not ultimately your decision,” Taylor said. “It’s administration’s power, and they haven’t chosen to give it to us.”
Eckstein said that the consultation process could have been better.
“We prioritized groups who haven’t been heard,” he said.

Eckstein also discussed a conversation he had Tuesday night with Sen. Kaitlyn Lange regarding student input into the design process and student spaces in a new EMU, which he described positively. He also said that he spoke to Holmes at 11 a.m. Wednesday, who said that further negotiations were moot and that the administration and Executive were still at an impasse.

Attempts by the Emerald to contact Holmes for comment regarding her conversation with Eckstein were unsuccessful.