One-Shot

WWWD?

What Would Wylie Do?

Welcome back, U of O students! I hope you have all had an enjoyable and eventful summer filled with rest and relaxation. Your ASUO Vice President, Mitra, and I, along with a handful of amazing Executive staff members have been in Eugene these past few months preparing for the upcoming year. This summer, though arduous, has been immensely productive.

We had to undertake a lot of restructuring and dispatch with numerous obstacles thrown up during the course of the summer. Loose ends had to be tied, lots of lingering paperwork had to be handled, and solutions had to be posed to counterbalance the '98 Exec's brilliant decision to eliminate the invaluable position of Executive Coordinator. But, after a summer's worth of sleepless nights and fast food, we here in your new ASUO are finally squared away and ready to push on into the new year.

Our priorities for this year are-yes, at times politicians can be constant-the same ones we presented in our campaign: outreach, accountability, and diversity. We don't plan on holding any special elections (unless of course such a special election could get TacoTime back in the Fishbowl...Crispy Meat Burritos®...mmm.). We plan, instead, to establish a dialogue with you, the student body, in hopes of developing an honest and open rapport where you can feel as though the ASUO is acting in accordance with your wishes. Our hope is that through outreach the ASUO will be a viable outlet for your concerns and play an active part in accurately representing you, instead of appearing to function as an autonomous bunch of detached popinjays roosting at the bottom floor of the EMU. And if outreach won't do the trick, we have ways of making you talk....

Accountability is our second bulleted priority. By accountability we mean keeping the administration and ASUO accountable to students. Those in leadership positions sometimes get on the wrong page with their constituents; this is normal. But good leaders keep themselves and others accountable when they're not staying true to the agreed upon course, and making the appropriate changes. By accountability we also mean making sure that programs use their resources effectively. If the Oregon Commentator staff doesn't produce an issue for 4 months and we notice that the Editor-in-Chief and a couple of his buddies are all suddenly peacocking around campus in newly bought BMW's, we won't turn a blind eye. Silly examples aside, just making sure all organizations on campus are doing what they're supposed to be doing is the right thing to do.

Improving diversity on campus is our third, and perhaps most important priority. We don't only intend to work on the recruitment and retention of faculty of underrepresented groups, but also to create a safe, comfortable and respectful environment for all students and staff on and off campus grounds. And, despite the jocular tone of this One-shot, I can't bring myself to supply any sort of levity when addressing this topic; its gravity is too severe and its implications are too broadcast. Improving diversity is a social concern, not just a campus one, and we hope that by striving towards this end we can affect not just the atmosphere of this campus but that of the broader world. I grant, it's a bit idealistic, but even if, in prioritizing diversity as a goal of this ASUO, we can open just one person's heart, we'll have succeeded.

We're pretty confident we can achieve all our goals this year. I'm not saying it'll be easy, but you can already chalk up one success in that the restructuring of the ASUO has already been done. We think our opponents will be granting us even more "touchés" throughout the rest of the year. Though, there is one concern we feel might be a lost cause...

With Tamir and the rest of that stalwart Commentator staff having moved on, what will become of the Oregon Commentator now? Sure, lambasting student body politicians has been a mainstay of the Commentator in years past but, let's admit it folks, the Commentator was never at a loss of things to comment on, criticize or parody. This year, with a green staff lacking Tamir's improvisational wit, and a student government that will prove impervious to critique, what Comic Muse will the Commentator have recourse to? It's a tough call.

We here in the ASUO would hate to see such an upstanding publication as the Oregon Commentator suffer at our hands. So, throughout the course of this year we may throw them a bone here and there, if just to spice up the frequently referenced "Spew" section with an embarrassing slip-up or two. Perhaps, if we're feeling generous, we may even provide them with enough material to do a satirical article. We'll see how it goes.

Wylie Chen, a senior majoring in Planning, Public Policy, & Management and President of the Associate Students of the University of Oregon, promised the Oregon Commentator a longer article.