Associated Students of the University of Oregon

The Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) is the student government at the University of Oregon (UO). It is a non-profit organization funded by the university. Its purpose is to promote the social, cultural, educational and physical development of its members, and to advance both individual and collective interests within and without the university. Membership consists of all students at the UO.
The ASUO is composed of three branches: the legislative, executive, and judicial.
Executive branch
According to the ASUO website, the ASUO President is the chief executive officer of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon. The President is responsible for the administration of ASUO programs, appoints members to executive, administrative and ASUO student committees,. Upon the consultation with ASUO University Affairs Coordinator, the ASUO president recommends members for the student-faculty committees to the President of the University and acts as the official spokesperson for the students as a whole within the University and in the larger community.
The position of ASUO Vice President is currently held by Greg Mills (external) and Azia Calderhead (internal). Azia Calderhead serves as an ex-officio member of the ASUO Student Senate, and Greg Mills serves as President when President Dotters-Katz is absent.
To a certain extent, the ASUO President can create any position he or she may deem appropriate for the Executive Staff. The following are positions of the 2013-2014 Executive Staff:
*ASUO Staff Director - Nicole Echeto
*ASUO External Affairs Director - Christina Hardesty
*ASUO Internal Affairs Director - Kelsey Peddie
*ASUO Deputy Staff Director - Megan Williams
*ASUO Academic Affairs Director - Marshall Kosloff
*ASUO Accessibility Advocate - Haley Nelson
*ASUO Alumni and Development Relations Diector - Michael Parappilly
*ASUO Athletic Director - Daniel Nettles
*ASUO Communications Director - Samantha Harmon
*ASUO Community Affairs Commissioner - Mackenzie Smith
*ASUO Deputy Programs Administrator - Lauren Maloney
*ASUO External Tuition and Affordability Director - Rachel Gowland
*ASUO First-Year Recruitment and Outreach Director - Emma Silvers-Harnly
*ASUO Federal Affairs Coordinator - Talia Davis
*ASUO Finance Coordinator - Andy Coyle
*ASUO Fraternity and Sorority Liaison - Ryan Donlon
*ASUO International Student Advocate - Xueyang (Kevin) Ma
*ASUO LGBT & Gender Diversity Advocate - Conor Gagner
*ASUO Media Coordinator - Brett Leiter
*ASUO Multicultural Advocate - Tolulope Oyetunde
*ASUO Nontraditional Student Advocate - Candace Johnson
*ASUO Professional Director - Amanda Williams
*ASUO Programs Administrator - Beau Acoba
*ASUO Special Events Director - Candice Harbour
*ASUO State Affairs Coordinator - Grace Stengle
*ASUO Student Health Commissioner - Candace Joyner
*ASUO Sustainability Director - Samantha Neal
*ASUO Treasurer - Ethan Carr
*ASUO University Affairs Coordinator - Joey Burgess
*ASUO Volunteer Director - Allison Sweeney
The Executive Branch is located in the Erb Memorial Union, Suite 4, but is set to move to MacArthur Court due to EMU Renovations.
Legislative branch
Senate
The ASUO Student Senate is a 21-member body, ten of which are elected Finance Senators, ten of which are elected Academic Senators, and one of which is an appointed Freshman Representative. The Senate is responsible for the allocation of the Student Incidental Fee, a mandatory fee that every student must pay. This fee is assessed through a year long budget process and must be approved by the Senate, the ASUO Executive and the University President.
The Senate leadership is composed of the Senate President, Senate Vice President, Senate Ombudsperson, Senate Treasurer, and Senate Academic Chair. The Senate President is Matthew Miyamoto.
All senators hold posts that represent different ASUO finance committees or University of Oregon academic departments. ASUO finance committees represented on the Senate include the Programs Finance Committee (PFC), EMU Board of Directors, Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee (ACFC) and Departments Finance Committee (DFC). All University of Oregon academic majors are represented by a Senator.
The following is a list of all 2013-2014 ASUO Senate seats:
*Seat 1, PFC -
*Seat 2, PFC - Taylor Allison
*Seat 3, PFC - Marita Maffit
*Seat 4, EMU Board -
*Seat 5, EMU Board - Quinn MacLean
*Seat 6, EMU Board - Miles Sisk
*Seat 7, ACFC - Matthew Miyamoto
*Seat 8, ACFC - Josh Losner
*Seat 9, DFC - Ryan Fritsen
*Seat 10, DFC - Rebecca Rhodes
*Seat 11, Academic Business and Economics -
*Seat 12, Academic Undeclared Undergraduates^ and Language Studies - Helena Schlegel
*Seat 13, Academic Literature, Family, and Educational Studies - Alivia Feliciano
*Seat 14, Academic Pre-Business and Allied Arts - Brent Rovianek
*Seat 15, Academic Psychology and Cultural Studies - Liz Avalos
*Seat 16, Academic Life Sciences - Amy Jones
*Seat 17, Academic Law and Social Sciences - Josh Seligsohn
*Seat 18, Academic Math, Physics, Architecture, and Environmental Studies - Nick Hughes
*Seat 19, Academic History and Journalism -
*Seat 20, Academic Undeclared Undergraduates and Music Arts -
^Although Undeclared Undergraduates are represented by two seats, they are required to pick only one of those seats to vote in
Seats 1 and 4 are one-year seats. Seats 2, 5, 7, 9, 12, 14, 16, 18, and 20 are elected in even-numbered years. Seats 3, 6, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, and 19 are elected in odd-numbered years. If a vacancy occurs in the first year of any two-year seats, an election takes place the following Spring to fill the remainder of the two-year term.
The ASUO Senate is located in the Erb Memorial Union, Suite 4. Senate convenes every Wednesday at 7 pm in the EMU.
Constitution Court
The Constitution Court, appointed by the ASUO President and confirmed by the Student Senate, serves as the Supreme Court for the ASUO. All rules, regulations and policies established by the ASUO Executive, the EMU Board and the Student Senate must be reviewed and approved by the Court as complying with the ASUO Constitution. The Chief Justice is Allison Apana. The Associate Justices are Thomas Bush, Pat Chaney, Aubrey Hoffman, and Caleb Huegel.
The five-member Court has the authority to rule on any question arising under the ASUO Constitution or any rule promulgated under it. This review power covers almost any action by ASUO government bodies, programs, and in special cases such as elections and actions by individual students within programs. The Court has broad powers to impose sanctions in order to compel compliance with its rulings. Court appointees serve as long as they remain students at the University of Oregon.
According to the EMU marketing directors, being a member of the EMU Board of Directors provides students with the opportunity to work intimately with UO faculty and staff on a diverse set of issues, such as policy-making, budgeting and program development.<ref name="EMUBoardinfo" />
The EMU Board leadership is composed of the Board Chair, Board Vice Chair, EMU Budget Committee Chair and EMU House Committee Chair.
Funding Source
Student Incidental Fees are paid by all students attending the University of Oregon. The fee is currently $624 per year per student which ties the highest level in ASUO history. Incidental fees are used to pay for student organizations, various departments, services, and contracts.

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