Sitting deep within the EMU is a small office with a big responsibility: representing the student body. The occupants of this office — most of them elected students — work year-round to set policy and handle millions of dollars in student fees.
Love them, hate them or ignore them, these students mastermind the complex machine that is the ASUO.
ASUO — or Associated Students of the University of Oregon — is the student-run government that serves as a representative for the student body.
To balance the power and the amount of work that must be done to run a student government, the ASUO is divided into seven separate branches: the ASUO Executive, the Student Senate, the Programs Finance Committee, the Constitution Court, the Athletic Department Finance Committee, the EMU Board and the Associated Students Presidential Advisory Council.
The executive serves as the recognized voice of University students. Each spring, students elect a president and vice president to preside over the executive and administer many ASUO programs.
Many separate offices — such as elections, finance, greek affairs and controllers — are also under the jurisdiction of the executive. Traditionally, the executive oversees secondary projects, such as the annual ASUO Street Faire, voter registration drives and communication with student lobbies.
The senate, another major voice for students, is composed of 18 elected students and has two primary responsibilities.
First, the senate must disburse incidental fees to three main groups: ASUO programs, the EMU and the Athletic Department.
To decide which programs will be funded and how much they will get, three finance senators are assigned to each of three finance committees within the senate: PFC, which works with ASUO programs; ADFC, which works with the Athletic Department; and the EMU Board, which works with the EMU.
After budgets are approved, the incidental fee is used to fund programs and services.
The senate’s second responsibility is to represent students in the University Assembly and the faculty-student University Senate: Two University governing bodies that set various policies. The senators who sit in these committees — called “academic senators” — represent different majors. Academic senators also approve executive appointments and administrate the information and grievance table in the EMU.
Student Senators either have one-year or two-year terms, depending on the seat.
As in any governing body, a judicial branch is needed to balance power.
The Constitution Court serves as a “court of appeals” for the ASUO and can check the power of both the executive and the senate. The five-member court, which is appointed by the ASUO president and confirmed by the senate, has the authority to hear and rule on any grievance under the ASUO Constitution.
Constitution Court justices review actions by ASUO branches and programs, and they can also deal with election disputes.
The last branch of the ASUO is ASPAC, a 16-member committee that advises University President Dave Frohnmayer on events and issues concerning the student population. The committee has members from several campus groups, including the ASUO and major student newspapers.