House passes several bills

Last night's meeting of the Associated Students of Oregon State University House of Representatives proved to be action-filled.

As anticipated, the committee tasked to investigate the relationship between ASOSU and the Oregon Students Association presented its findings.

The committee was formed on Oct. 13, after it was decided that ASOSU President M. Tonga Hopoi would be impeached for her decision to withdraw ASOSU participation from OSA without approval from the other government branches.

The committee, which was comprised of four representatives and two senators, spent the remainder of fall term gathering testimonials from individuals currently or formerly involved with OSA.

According to committee chair Rep. Andrew Struthers, the committee received approximately 15 written testimonies from various university alumni, all of whom were involved in OSA. In addition, representatives from OSA gave the committee a brief presentation on the benefits of staying with the organization.

"It was hard to find any glaring problems," said Rep. Michael Robb in a pre-meeting interview, when asked about the committee's findings.

Rep. Struthers added that many of the initially perceived problems regarding OSA were related to internal issues, such as the management of staff. The work that gets done by OSA, the committee said, is not the problem. The organization lobbies in Salem for legislation that directly benefits students, Robb said.

In a unanimous decision, the committee agreed to recommend that ASOSU stay with OSA, with the stipulation that a Memorandum of Understanding should be created. The memorandum would be a binding agreement that would define the relationship between ASOSU and OSA, negotiated and implemented by an executive negotiating team.

Committee member Jacob Vandever said he felt foolish for having ever considered leaving OSA, a sentiment echoed by fellow committee members.

Vandever quoted former ASOSU President Ryan Mann, who is credited as saying: "Even if OSA only keeps tuition down $5, that's well worth the $1.14 investment for each student we make each term."

Following the committee's presentation, several bills were discussed.

First, HR-03.03, the bill to reinstate membership funds to OSA, was brought back to the floor for discussion. During discussion, it was explained that though ASOSU must now pay membership fees for both fall term and the current term (a total of approximately $50,000), the OSA membership funds were allotted and set aside last year and have not since been used for any other purposes. After discussion, the bill was passed.

JB-71.01, the bill to eliminate suspensions during an impeachment trial, was brought to the floor for a second reading. The bill was created in response to the suspension of President Hopoi prior to her impeachment trial. Rep. Brad Alvarez, the bill's co-sponsor, spoke on the bill's behalf.

"Suspension should only happen after a conviction by the Senate," Alvarez said. He added that in circumstances of extreme conduct violation, the university administration will step in and suspend the individual, thereby removing them from office.

After a lengthy discussion, the bill was passed.

JB-71.02, a resolution requiring all representative and senators to attend three student-sponsored events per term, was discussed. The bill will go through a second reading and discussion at next week's meeting.

SB-71.03, a bill to hold ASOSU senators and representatives accountable for their office hours, was also read through for the first time. It will be reviewed again next week.

Finally, Paul Aljets, former Speaker of the House, was invited to speak to representatives regarding the original intent of the ASOSU constitution, which Aljets helped write. He addressed a number of issues; among those were the reasons behind converting ASOSU from a unicameral system (i.e. one legislative chamber) to a bicameral system (establishing a division between the Senate and the House).