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
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