Seat 13
continued from page 5
Q: How will you interact with stu
dent groups?
Stefani: Getting to know the
groups, so I can have an understand
ing of where they’re coming from and
be empathetic. My presence on ASUO
would he important because there’s a
litde animosity between some groups
and the greek system.
Q: What are the most important
issues facing the students you rep
resent?
Stcfani: Fi
nances. With
the increase of
tuition and inci
dental fees next
year, I think that
finances are go
ing to be a large
issue.
Stefan Myers
is a transfer stu
dent from
Clackamas
Community College, where he gained
an associate degree and was student
Stefani
body president.
He is now a pre
journalism ma
jor and has
served in the
ASUO in a vari
ety of positions.
He did know
Section 5 and
said the most
important duty
was appointing MyGfS
academic seats
and having student voices in the pro
grams and classes.
Q: How will you figure out how to
spend the surplus?
Myers: The surplus is going to be in
strumental. With the fee constantly
being attacked and scrutinized, it’s
important to spend it on the growth of
good programs.
Q: How will you interact with stu
dent groups?
Myers: Understanding the differ
ences. Personally interacting with
different groups, going to meetings
and meeting with individuals and
leaders in those positions.
Q: What are the most important
issues facing the students you rep
resent?
Myers: Important issues coming
up are going to be the defense of
the student fee and legitimizing
how important that is; interaction
and communication with our de
partments and with our leadership
positions at the school to make
sure the student voice is being
heard and we have a say in every
thing that’s going on.
Contact the Pulse reporter
at aaronshakra@dailyemerald.com.
Seat 15
continued from page 5
make my decision based upon
what they’re actually doing with
the money, and how they’re help
ing the University. I believe I have
the drive to go out and communi
cate with different student groups
and fight for their views and con
cerns in the senate.
Q: What are the most important
issues facing the students you’ll be
representing?
Curtin: Just making sure their
voice is heard, making sure stu
dents have an avenue to state their
beliefs and opinions and concerns.
I would actively seek out my con
stituents and communicate with
them, find out what their views and
concerns are.
Jordan Marx, a junior political
science major, is a resident as
sistant in H.P. Barnhart. While
he didn’t know that Section 5
contained senate duties, he said
distributing the surplus is a pri
mary duty.
Q: How will you figure out how
to spend the surplus?
Marx: One of the primary difficul
ties of politicians and bureaucrats is
limited resources with infinite wants
and needs. The best way to distrib
ute fairly the surplus is from a very
fiscally moderate position. I under
stand that student groups have peo
pie behind them who find fulfill
ment in the groups. However, we do
have a limited budget, so we have to
be a bit more fiscally conservative.
Q: How will you interact with
student groups?
Marx: I know that you’re re
quired to have office hours as a stu
dent senator. I
would definite
ly make myself
available to dis
cussion and
compromise.
Q: What are
the most im
portant issues
facing the stu
dents you’ll be
representing?
Marx: I think
both intellectu
al and cultural diversity are very
important. Again, coming from a
moderate perspective, I think
there’s a place for every viewpoint
on campus. I would also like to
work on some issues with disabled
students. I have a learning disabili
ty myself, and I’ve had a supportive
community around me. I’d love to
work with Disability Services to see
if ASUO can benefit disabled stu
dents on campus.
Dan Occhipinti, a sophomore
majoring in political science and
philosophy, is the vice president of
Beta Theta Pi. While he didn’t
know that Section 5 contained sen
ate duties, he said distributing $8
million in surplus funds is the pri
mary senate duty.
Q: How will you figure out how
to spend the surplus?
Occhipinti: Well, it’s going to be a
combination of the impartial ap
proach to various student groups
and organiza
tions, com
bined with the
critical think
ing of who
needs it, who
wants it, why
— cost-benefit
analysis there
— and then an
overall just
proactive agen
da to make the
campus a bet
ter and safer place.
Q: How will you interact with
student groups?
Occhipinti: Well, I’d like to make
available my e-mail address, and
definitely set up appointments any
time somebody would like to come
in and discuss anything. And also,
I’m sure I’m going to have ques
tions for them, too. So I’ll be con
tacting the groups, asking them
what they’re looking for from the
ASUO senate.
Q: What are the most important
issues facing the students you’ll be
representing?
Occhipinti: Well, one is definitely
Marx
the safety of campus, particularly
women on campus in light of last
year’s events. No. 2,1 think, is the
increased surcharges. It’s a balance
between coming up with money,
right, but also, we can’t just expect
people to keep paying more.
Gabriela Serrano did not re
spond to re
peated at
tempts by the
Emerald to
schedule an in
terview.
Adam Tur
cott, a fresh
man political
science major,
is the Resi
dence Hall As
sociation fi
nance
chairman. While he didn’t know
Section 5 contained senate duties,
he said bringing the opinions of
students he represents to the floor
of the senate is the most important
duty.
Q: How will you figure out how
to spend the surplus?
Turcott: We need to keep college
costs affordable for students, while
maintaining the programs that we
already have and possibly adding
some more diverse programs to the
University. Groups would have to
offer a diverse forum for the stu
dents, and it would have to, I be
lieve, affect the most students pos
sible for the money that the senate
gives them.
Q: How will you interact with
student groups?
Turcott: Student groups? Well, of
course the senators hold office
hours, and they can come to me. I
was thinking
of having some
kind of a
newsletter to
go out once a
month to keep
people in
formed.
There’s really
not that many
student
groups, so
keeping them Tlirrott
informed and
involved, I
think, would be a simple task.
Q: What are the most important
issues facing the students you’ll be
representing?
Turcott: I think the University
needs to attract more speakers,
more diverse big-name speakers
to come, and encourage the stu
dents and maybe let the students
open their ears and hear what
they have to say, from all different
parts of the political spectrum, as
well as literary speakers.
Contact the news editor
atjanmontry@dailyemerald.com.
Debate
continued from page 1
accomplish this annual goal.
John Drake and Joe Boyd said the
ASUO needs to actively seek out stu
dent groups, not just be more “ap
proachable,” in order to be a champi
on for student interests. They added
that they would use e-mail to commu
nicate to the student body the accom
plishments of the ASUO.
Aspiring emperor Jeremy L. Jones
stated that listening to students’ con
cerns and ideas was not important,
Students!
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Tuesday, April 8, 6-8 p.m.
Knight Library Browsing Room
Featuring a free-for-all discussion of issues surrounding student academic integrity.
Learn about UO resources for knowing when and how to use someone else's work.
Refreshments will be served. Honest.
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and students would not be acknowl
edged under his regime.
“I know what’s the best for stu
dents. I am the leader of destiny, hope
for mankind,” Jones said, adding that
he hoped to soon recapture Oregon
State University to unite his kingdom.
Maddy Melton and Eddy Morales
said that in order to understand the
varied concerns of a diverse student
population, focus groups would be a
useful tool in determining how to
meet students’ needs and demands.
The two also mentioned that some
student populations do not receive
enough recognition or assistance,
such as law students and internation
al students. They said they would
remedy the situation by creating an
executive position as an advocate for
those students.
Christa Shively and Greg Bae advo
cated for the start of an ASUO bi
weekly column to focus University
members’ attention on student gov
ernment efforts on behalf of students.
Shively drew on her experience
with the EMU Board to advocate the
“crucial checks and balances” of stu
dent government. She said the execu
tive should carefully monitor the
growth of fees and use the position as a
way of monitoring the way the fee is
spent by the legislative branch of stu
dent government.
Pierre Spence and Jack Mantel said
ASUO can be more helpful to students
by going to student group meetings,
talking with people and gathering
feedback from everyone they talk to.
Spence added that diversity is of the
utmost importance on a college cam
pus, and he seemed to be the least
nervous candidate despite the stress
of the stage. He even used a Jolly
Rancher analogy to explain the value
of diversity.
Jarrett White and Greg McNeill
strayed from the conventional
election promises of increasing di
versity or establishing community,
and instead argued for the creation
of a Student Bill of Rights, which
the duo said would greatly empow
er student voices. McNeill agreed
that focus groups would be a help
ful way to measure student feelings
on various campus issues, and then
bring those issues to the attention
of University administrators.
“Administrators don’t know stu
dents’ concerns until they’re sitting
and protesting on the steps of John
son Hall,” McNeill said.
Audience members were per
mitted to ask questions of the can
didates, and many addressed spe
cific concerns.
One audience member chal
lenged the legislative expertise of the
11 students running for executive of
fice by asking them to name two
state issues and one national issue
that are facing students.
Melton and Morales and Shively and
Bae were the only executive tickets
that offered specific examples, such as
Oregon Senate Bill 10, which would
increase access to higher education by
allowing students whose parents are
not U.S. citizens but have lived here
for three years and have high school
diplomas to pay resident tuition.
Students can cast a vote for their
favorite candidate in the ASUO pri
mary election Wednesday morning
when the polls open online on Duck
Web. Voting continues throughout
the week, and results will be tabulat
ed shortly after polls close at 5 p.m.
on Friday.
Contact the senior news reporter
atjenniferbear@dailyemerald.com.