Monday’s Emerald article was one of the most frustrating I have ever had to write. Partially, that was because the news broke on a Sunday, which is when people have better things to do than answer phone calls from reporters who want to know about the ASUO. The truth was elusive. Nobody I was able to reach understood what use for the carbon money was illegal and why.
The one person I was told knew definitively, Consuela Perez-Jefferis, was understandably impossible to reach with and, the next day, understandably upset that I had called her on her home and cellular phones. And she said she had absolutely no idea. I stayed at my desk past deadline, just waiting for someone to call with tangible information, but the call never came.
The only comfort I can take is that nobody seems to know anything more than I do about just what can be done with the Oregon Business Energy Tax Credit. Half the people I talk to say they have no idea what can be done with the money. Half the people I talk to are certain that putting the money in the Senate surplus is illegal, but none of them know why. The only person I can think of who might know–ASUO Accountant Kathie Stanley–is in meetings all day every day except at 8a.m., when I happen to have a class I cannot miss.
Amidst all of this confusion, I wanted to discuss Sam Dotters-Katz’s fairly ingenious plan for using the money. I stayed at my desk waiting for the memo he promised outlining the proposal, but it never came. In the end, the only concrete fact I had was that nobody really knew what was going on. Needless to say, those are frustrating stories to write.
So here is what Dotters-Katz told me he was proposing: soliciting proposals from students for ways to use the money for environmentally sound initiatives. He said that he would advertise the initiative in the Emerald and Environmental Studies classes in an attempt to involve students from outside the inner sanctum of the ASUO. He said he wanted to cap the ammount of money that could be spent on each initiative. And he said that he wanted to prevent the money from being used to send students to off-campus conferences to prevent the kind of scandal precipitated by former ASUO Sen. Nate Gulley when he used incidental fee funds to attend a conference in Hawai’i.
Additional confusion: A new appointment has been made to Senate Seat 9, the one vacated by Kate Jones and sought by Athan Papailiou. I don’t know who it is, but the second I do, I’ll let you know. Here’s the e-mail announcing this week’s Senate agenda, which was the first indication to me that a decision had been made:
The EMU Board room is located on the 3rd floor of the EMU. Please contact me with any questions.
1. Call to order
2. Approval of the agenda
3. Special Requests
a. Forensics
b. Muslim Student Association (3)
c. KSA (4)
d. Permias (2)
e. Land Air Water
f. SIS (2)
g. ASA
4. Approval of the Minutes 1/21/2009
5. Committee Updates
a. ACFC
b. DFC
c. PFC
d. EMU
6. Officer Updates
a. Senate President
b. Senate VP
c. Treasurer
d. Executive
8. Old Business
a. Oregon Energy Business Tax Credit
9. New Business
a. Officer Elections: Academic Chair
b. Appointment: Seat 9 DFC
10. Announcements
11. AdjournThank you,
Alex McCafferty