Ezra Mannix, a junior journalism major, is running for ASUO president. Lucas Willett, a senior environmental studies major is running for vice president.
Q: There are, at last count, 10 tickets running for ASUO Executive this year. What do you think will set yourselves apart from the other candidates?
A: I’d wager that Ezra can drink more “Ezra Brooks Kentucky bourbon” than any of the other candidates, myself excluded, and we’d be willing to challenge them in an official contest.
Q: What is your platform?
A: We’re tired of the degradation on campus. There are a lot of buildings that have slight problems worse than the high schools we’ve gone to — especially Klamath Hall and Pacific Hall. We want new desks, new chairs, better lighting, more things for students and better technological improvements in lecture halls
We support a 24-hour building with 25 public computer terminals and coffee served at all hours.
There’s no reason why a public university with 17,000 students doesn’t have a 24-hour computer lab.

Q: What will you advocate for on the state level for students, and how will you carry out your plans?
A: We’d like to bring the Portland Trail Blazers to play an exhibition game in McArthur Court before their season begins in November. We’d also mandate that the Oregon University System prevent public safety officers — that is DPS — from carrying guns or any sort of firearms.
Q: What specific campus-oriented initiatives will you champion?
A: We support free airport shuttles from campus during finals week, the dorm meal card being accepted at EMU food vendors, we want to change the UO Housing leasing options so it’s term by term, we want creative writing to be an eligible major and we want the varsity baseball team to come back.
Q: How would you define diversity? And how would you plan to bring together the diverse voices on campus?

A: Only 12.7 percent of the University classify themselves as non-white. I feel that number is very low. About nine out of 10 students are white or classify themselves as such. Our priority needs to be bringing diversity to the University. The issues of diversity currently facing the University are trivial when put into perspective. Unless we recruit more different ethnic groups to come here, diversity will be for the most part a non-factor.
Q: If two student groups were at odds with each other, how would you resolve the conflict?
A: Well, I can specify the Athletic Department and the University as being a prime example. The student body wants the department to be self-sufficient. I believe it is necessary for groups to mediate their conflict but also realize how much we’re all the same and realize that certain things are important in the long run — such as the Athletic Department being self-sufficient — whereas other conflicts are not so significant in the long run.
In the light of current world events, we don’t see conflicts between student groups being as important as some people make them out to be. That doesn’t mean we don’t take them seriously.
Q: If there was one thing you could change about the University instantly, what would it be?
A: We would like to get a clock on the tower of the EMU that faces the north and west directions respectively and that is visible from the (EMU) fishbowl and 13th (Avenue).
Q: How would you do things differently than the current executive?
A: It’s time for a change. We want later library hours. We want easier sports ticketing. We want new covered bike racks in strategic locations. We want lower campus kilowatt usage. We want fully sufficient athletics. We want higher faculty pay. We want change, and we want your vote.