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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 11, 2005)
Two members step down from Constitution Court Stefan Myers and Courtney Warner both cited upcoming graduation behind their resignations BY PARKER HOWELL SENIOR NEWS REPORTER Two members of the five-person ASUO Constitution Court slated to graduate this year resigned Mon day, another change to the court’s makeup* after Chief Justice Randy Derrick stepped down as head of the court May 2. Associate Justices Stefan Myers and Courtney Warner announced their resignations earlier this month, citing impending graduation from the University. Both justices urged ASUO President Adam Petkun to appoint a replacement to ease the transition for next year’s court. Petkun, who served on the court before being elected president, said he hopes the positions will be filled before the year ends. He added that President-elect Adam Walsh is being included in the hiring process. Justices are appointed by the ASUO president and serve for the length of their education at the University. The court has the authority to rule “on any question arising under the ASUO Constitu tion” and can “impose broad sanctions to compel compliance with its rulings,” according to the Green Tape Notebook. Petkun praised the court’s work. “I think this was probably the most effective Constitution Court I’ve seen in my four years here,” he said, adding that justices “didn’t shy away from making tough choic es that may have been unpopular/’ Myers said in an April 29 e-mail resignation letter to Petkun that it has been “a true honor to dedicate my time to serve stu dents and protect their rights and opportunities.” “The Court itself this year has done an amazing service to the student body through its careful consideration and fairness in all its dealings,” he said. In a similar e-mail sent May 2, Warner also said it has been a “priv ilege” to serve students. “This was an important year for the Court in term of the decisions that it made and precedents that were set,” she said. The court ruled on several major cases this year. In February it denied sophomore Silas Snider’s request to begin gath ering signatures to initiate a recall of the executive and the ASUO Student Senate. In March, the court removed Programs Finance Committee mem bers Eden Cortez, Dan Kieffer and Mason Quiroz from the com mittee after it found they “acted in willful defiance of viewpoint neutrality” during a controversial Feb. 1 budget hearing for the Oregon Commentator. When Cortez later appealed the decision, the court upheld its ruling that he defied viewpoint neutrality, ordering that he remain removed from the PFC and the Senate. The court delayed the results of the ASUO’s primary elections in April until it found that the ASUO Election Board didn’t show favor to ASUO Executive candidates Ashley Rees and Jael Anker-Lagos. But Derrick, who investigated the matter for the court, reprimand ed the board for a “serious lapse of judgment” when it allowed a representative of the ticket to blow up balloons and complete financial paperwork for the board. parkerhowell@dailyemerald.com ■ Pulse 'Evidence of Love' author doesn't connect dots of plot development Melissa McConnell's debut novel boasts strong description but lacks character explanation BY AMY LICHTY SENIOR PULSE REPORTER Romance, mystery, suspense and tragedy are all attempted compo nents of Melissa McConnell's debut novel, "Evidence of Love." Set in the politically charged backdrop of Washington, D.C., this tragic love story sets out to conquer both gov ernment politics and the politics of emotions as relationships fizzle, se cret affairs begin, tragedy strikes and love is found. McConnell has an incredible knack for description, something that comes through on every page. McConnell makes iteasyforthe readerto see exactly what she wants you to see, from the emotion on someone's face to the backyard of the main character's mother's home, but there's still something lacking in character development. McConnell never made me truly care about any of the characters, although at times I laughed with and felt empathy for some of them. But in general, it was difficult to feel a true connection. When the story begins, the pro tagonist, Catherine, has recently moved from lively and bustling Man hattan back to her hometown of Washington, D.C., where she quickly loses her individuality, her spunk for life and her romance with fiance Harry. Because this is the way the character is first introduced — she doesn't care much about herself, and subsequently neither do I — I found it difficult to ever really estab lish a relationship with Catherine. The same goesforthe background characters, many of who feel as if they were just thrown into give Catherine someone to play off of but don't ever develop into much of anything. Catherine works as a speech writerforthe vice president of the Untied States. Although she is tal ented and well-respected, she finds herself distracted and unmotivated, a situation that makes readers feel as "blah" as Catherine seems. In Harry, Catherine has found the man she thinks she wants to spend the rest of her life with. He has a top-se cret job as "special adviser" to the president, a job which Catherine and the readers know little about. All Catherine knows is that Harry's hours are often late and that he has become more distant since their move. Then — pretty much out of the blue for readers, but especially for Catherine — Harry disappears, only leaving a note that he will be gone on business for a few days and he won't be coming backto her when and if he returns. McConnell then does something thatthrew me for a loop: She abrupt ly changes characters and point of view. With Catherine, the story is told in first person, but atthe begin ning of the second chapter and spo radically throughout the rest of the book, McConnell changes to third person as she describes what's hap pening to Harry. Because the point of view is shifted to an outsider's perspective, it's even harder to re late to him. Although readers know where he's at and what he's doing, Harry is never developed as a per son, and by the end of the book read ers still don't fully understand who he ever was. "Evidence of Love" has the poten tial to mirror the wonderfully written "The Pilot's Wife" by Anita Shreve: A love story with a mysterious twist that makes the readers and charac ters question if they ever really know the person they're sharing their bed with. But McConnell fails to build any of that intrigue or explanation of her characters' actions and motiva tions. Although "Evidence of Love" is considerably well-penned and full of fantastic descriptions, the plot and characters should have been better developed. amylichty@dailyemerald.com It'd another beautiful da\) in parabide. I* -4 I Monday# • Free pizza with a pint 6pm • 12am F riday# • Free pool Everyday • Large PBR Pitcher $5 00 • Hot food • 25c pool IRISH PUB 2841 Willamette 484-1727 UO Bookstore Board of Directors Choose your candidate! Elections ♦ May 10 and 11 ♦ located in the EMU & UO Bookstore Where do YOU see DIVERSITY on campus? Enter a competition to win an iPodjShutfleU Submit your written expressions about diversity. Examples could include thoughts, ideas, vision, opinions, experience... Open to current UO Students Entries dye 27 May 2005 Pick up a cover sheet and further details at the Main Housing Office (Walton Complex, 1595 E. 15th Ave) or any Complex Area Desk. £ ^Sponsored by Diversity Quality Circle, UO Bookstore, Office of Multicultural Academic Support, Residence Hall Association, and UO Housing Complex Directors.
