ASUO officers explain workings of student government
■ SUPPORT: Scotten and
Banfield encourage students
to get involved and make a
difference at the University
By Tom Potter
Student Activities Reporter
Out with the old and in with
the new — the new Associated
Students of the University of Ore
gon, that is.
This year, ASUO President
Matthew Scotten and ASUO Vice
President Glen Banfield say they
are trying to make the ASUO
more user-friendly.
For those who are new to the
University, here is everything you
wanted to know about the ASUO
president and vice-president:
The ASUO is modeled after the
federal government. The Execu
tive Branch consists of the presi
dent and vice-president. The Judi
cial Branch consists of the
Constitution Court and the Leg
islative Branch consists of the
Student Senate.
Banneld is the chairman or the
Senate, but he stresses he is not a
voting member unless a tie-break
er is needed, Banfield’s main job
is to approve Senate appointees.
The Senate has a hand in the
delegation of some student fees
throughout the academic year.
“What we try to do in the Sen
ate is represent program needs,”
he said.
Scotten said in addition to han
dling student fees, the ASUO also
encourages student involvement.
“At the University, we are real
ly lucky in how many opportuni
ties there are,” he said.
Students can get involved with
any of the groups on campus and
are encouraged to do so, consider
ing that $135 per term of their
money goes to incidental fees,
Scotten said.
Incidental fees help fund vari
ous ASUO student programs.
“As their elected official on
campus, I can be really helpful to
them,” Scotten said. “I’m some
one who really
cares about stu
dents.
“I think first
and foremost
my job is to be
an advocate for
students. [I’m]
being a repre
sentative, trying
as best as possi
SCOTTEN
Die to address student needs and
concerns.”
This year the ASUO has some
small internal changes as well.
The staff consists of 22 members
and some new positions have
been added.
A safety advocate has been
added as a way to link the Office
of Public Safety to students. The
vote is meant to create better com
munication and address some of
the students’ concerns about OPS,
Scotten said.
An environmental advocate has
also been added and there will be
teams that will work together on
larger projects, Scotten said.
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BANFIELD
Part of thfe
vice president’s
job is specifical
ly to sit down
and talk with
students about
their concerns,
I Banfield said.
■ There are also a
number of staff
members that can
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"A lot of my goals pertain to a
social level,” Banfield said.
Scotten and Banfield also said
they have a lot of projects they are
working on. For example, Scotten
said they are going to bring local
campaigns to campus.
This year is especially impor
tant to students because it is a leg
islative year. There are a lot of is
sues that will affect students on
the ballot, Scotten said.
The grievance process is also
being changed to make it more ac
cessible for students. Through
the current process, students have
to go through five steps before
their complaint can be heard.
The problem with the current
system is it discourages students
and they just give up rather then
addressing their problem, Scotten
said.
“[We want to] take out some of
the barriers to student rights,”
Scotten said.
Another project that is being
worked on includes trying to get a
tuition freeze, he said.
“Glen and I can work our butts
off all year, but it doesn’t mean
anything if we don’t have student
support,” Scotten said.
But the job isn’t all work, Scot
ten said.
“It’s also really fun. Glen and I
really enjoy what we do,” Scotten
said. “You get to meet some really
cool people.”
They also say they encourage
students to come in and talk to
them.
“We work for you, so come in
and say ‘hi,’ or yell at us,” Scotten
said.
Pets have a Detective,
now they have a lawyer
By Bettijane Levine
Los Angeles Times
LOS ANGELES — If the defen
dant has wings, fins, fur, tails,
scales, paws or claws, there’s a
good chance its attorney is
Michael Rotsten of Encino.
Perhaps the only lawyer in
Southern California with an al
most exclusively animal clientele,
Rotsten says he deals with ele
phant-sized problems as well as
little barks and bites.
And then there are the various
oddball occurrences you would
never think of until they happen
to your animals or to you. Like the
woman wearing a clown suit who
was hit by a cow. And the pet
shop owner charged with illegal
possession of freshwater
stingrays.
Soon, Rotsten will go to court
in Orange County to conclude
what has turned out to be a more
serious case. It involves an in
jured 8-year-old Yorba Linda boy
and a 4-year-old bull mastiff
named Boo.
No one disputes that Boo
caused Zachary Anderson Jr., a
neighbor, to require multiple
stitches after the child entered
Boo’s dog yard and was “pinned”
by the 140-pound pooch.
“But the evidence doesn’t sub
stantiate the allegation that the
child was bitten,” Rotsten says.
“It indicates the child sustained
injuries from the claws on the
dog’s paws, and that it was the
dog’s weight and size that caused
him to do damage.
“Expert witnesses testified that
a dog of that size and power was
not trying to kill the child. If he’d
wanted to, boom, the child would
be dead. The dog pinned the boy,
who came into his territory at
night, and he did what a bull mas
tiff is bom to do. It was totally ex
plainable.”
The judge apparently agreed. It
was decided that Boo will not be
put to death and that the Orange
County Animal Control decision
to kill the dog was “not based on
the evidence and was clearly an
abuse of discretion.”
On the other hand, it also deter
mined that Boo was “vicious un
der law,” because he had caused
substantial damage to the child.
Boo’s owner, Stephen
Williams, a CPA who hired Rot
sten and has so far spent $10,000
on the case, says his next goal is to
get his family pet out of the cage
in which he has languished for
nine months.
This month, a judge will deter
mine under what conditions the
animal can be set free.
The case has brought Rotsten
international attention. Calls and
e-mail from Europe and around
the United States request his ad
vice on animal matters or simply
congratulate him for choosing
nonhuman clients.
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