Clackamas Print
News 3
Wednesday, May 14, 2008
ISO APPEAL: Both sides seek legal counsel
iued from IZSO APPEAL, Page 1
am going to have to contest
(decision) due to Oregon
[ c Meeting Laws,” he said,
iecision can be made under
dause, and I actually have
for you how this
d open meeting as per my
ion. Would you like to see
! 3gal statutes in regards to
to an Oregon
ney General’s Office pam-
, “a ‘governing body’ is
•r more members of a pub-
dy who have the authority
Ike decisions for or recom-
ations to a public body on
* or administration.”
e flMcamas student gov
ern has an advisory posi-
>n the, board of education
iakes decisions regarding
1 policy.
other part of the pamphlet
¡hat governing bodies may
de the public, but not the
i, from discussion of cer-
■ubjects by calling for an
itive or closed-door ses-
However. these sessions
ily allowed in very limited
>ses, and no decisions may
ide durin them.
dlowing Izso’s offering of
tgal statues. Baker became
)f the disagreement, claim
hat the [meeting was not
lat plHose. She also said
I lawyer had been consult-
>out whether the meeting
be private.
ving in, Izso read a written
iient regarding his termi-
1, stating his rights to due
ss and free expression. At
nd of his statement, he
1 out ASG on the election
ss andasked for the elec-
o be considered unconsti
tutional and void.
“Just so you know, this is not
about the elections,” Knudsen
said. “This is just about you
being reinstated to student gov
ernment.”
Izso replied, “They are
directly related.”
Changing
the
subject,
Knudsen asked Izso if that was
all and then asked the people in
the room to leave so the com
mittee could make its decision.
Izso was also asked to remove
himself from the room.
When asked what the excep
tion the committee had to
Oregon Public Meeting Laws,
Baker said, “You can ... talk to
Bill Zuelke, who is our dean, if
you have any questions ...”
The small crowd gathered
became agitated, questioning
the constitutional basis the com
mittee was using to hide behind
closed doors and whether, if
needed, Zuelke could be called
to affirm it himself. Izso again
reiterated that there was a need
to state an exemption with con
stitutional backing.
Meeting cancellation
At 3:07 p.m., the committee
collected its things, stood up
and left the room.
Waiting for the committee
to return with Zuelke, the room
became loud with discussion of
what was going to happen next.
At 3:35 p.m., Mike Caudle of
Student Outreach returned to tell
Izso that the committee would
not be returning. The crowd
accumulated quickly, mov
ing from the room to the area
outside of the Fireside Lounge
while Izso and Ostergren set
out to find Zuelke for a written
notice as to why the meeting
was not continued and when it
would occur.
“He notified me that there
was no cancelled meeting and,
in fact, the meeting occurred
in the way it was supposed to,”
Izso said. “He said, ‘You made
your statement, and the meet
ing was concluded. We made
a decision in private session.
The decision will be sent in a
letter.’”
Zuelke said, “Stating legal
exemption is not required. Our
legal representation says we are
following the law. We have a
process that is fully appropriate.
No rules or regulations have
been broken. They met in pri
vate session due to the process.
We have to follow our process
with our best advice on the back
table.”
Timeline of Events
#
Future action
Izso is seeking legal counsel
and plans on following the mat
ter as far as the law will take
him.
“We pursue this issue with
all legal vigor,” he said. “I cur
rently have legal counsel, who
I will be meeting with. Right
now, the primary focus is to rep
resent the students still ... we
are really just trying to change
this student government we
have.”
Calls made to the ASG office
were not returned. ASG President
Tim Lussier did not respond to
messages left at his office or
on his cell phone. When asked
to speak with the department
chair of Student Leadership and
Outreach, Mindy Brown, The
Print was told that she was
unavailable.
Tuesday, April 29
First day of the “Meet and Greet”: Izso missed the
meeting due to work conflict. His student representa
tive, Ostergren, was barred from speaking to stu
dents by ASG Vice President Jessica Hendrickson.
Wednesday, April 30
1 p.m.
On the second day of the “Meet and Greet,” the
conversation between students, ASG members and
the candidates became heated.
Wednesday, April 30
3 p.m.
At the regular meeting of ASG, Izso and Ostergren
requested that Adviser Mindy Brown and Hendrick
son remove themselves from the election process.
During new business, Senator Mitch Knudsen
accused Izso of violating the ASG behavior code of
conduct and failing to complete duties of his assigned
position.
In a closed-door session, Izso was removed from
his position. leaving him ineligible to continue his
candidacy for the presidential elections.
i
.
Wednesday, April 30
Later that afternoon
Izso and Ostergren drafted a letter of appeal to
ASG, stating that the removal procedure was un
ethical and unconstitutional according to state law.
Thursday, May 1
Democrat Club President Catherine Pike spoke
to Javierh Montero, ASG clubs senator, to call an
emergency Interclub Council Meeting. The re
quest was denied by Montero.
John Shufelt Clackamas Print
n questions regarding state law continued to be asked, the committee, led
1 ten Knudsen, filed out of the room. The committee made its final decision
:so s appeal in an executive session.
ASG ELECTION RESULTS
The results of the election were an-
unced Friday, May 9.
The online ballot had one name for presi-
nt, plus a space for a write-in. The section
r vice president was the same.
Michael Vu was elected president, and
tisha Burley was elected vice president,
-dlls made to the student government
ice concerning the voting numbers were
t returned by press time.
Monday, May 5
3 p.m.
The appeals committee met in CC126. Izso
arrived to make a statement that he would not be
attending due to the lack of notification. The meet
ing was rescheduled.
ASG AND LAWS: senators under fire
Continued from ASG AND
LAWS, Page 1
According
to
Robert
Cox, adviser of Mt. Hood
Community College’s ASG,
Mt. Hood’s student govern
ment also abides by public
meeting laws, which are out
lined in its 38-page constitu
tion and bylaws.
Lane Community College’s
student government also con
tains a specific clause men
tioning its . adherence to the
meeting laws.
Clackamas’ constitution
does not mention anything in
regards to the particular state
laws to which ASG must hold
fast. Yet, according to its own
constitution, members of ASG
serve as a liaison between
students, the administration
and the Board of Education.
The president of ASG holds
an advisory position on the
board.
“According to our constitu
tion, he (Lussier) is a de-facto
member (to the board),” Izso
said. “He is an advisory posi
tion - he represents the stu
dents - but he does not really
have a vote. Under state law,
ASG is therefore accountable
as a public body.”
“The issue is,” said Matt
Ostergren, Izso’s student rep-
resentative, “is we are attempt
ing to appeal, through the nor
mal processes as outlined in
the handbook. To be honest,
we do not like the process they
are using because it is not out
lined in their constitution. It
is, essentially, being made up
on the spot. We don’t really
know what is happening.”
Phone calls made to ASG
Adviser
Michelle
Baker
regarding the attorney to
whom student government
spoke were redirected to
Zuelke once again. By press
time, Zuelke was unavailable
for comment, as he was out of
town on business.