The ASUO Senate will vote at its Feb. 10 meeting on a new resolution aimed at opposing the Pacifica Forum.
The resolution, discussed Wednesday night, was sent to a vote by a margin of 17 for, one against, one abstaining.
It doesn’t call for the Forum to leave campus, which some senators said they would not support because they felt doing so would imply a restriction on the controversial organization’s First Amendment rights. Instead, the resolution supports the University administration’s decision to remove the Forum from the EMU and pledges support to the students who have rallied against the group.
The Senate voted down a resolution asking the group to leave campus entirely at its Jan. 27 meeting. However, senators spent the ensuing week hammering out a resolution that would garner enough votes for passage. Many also said the urgency surrounding the issue increased when a swastika was spray-painted onto the floor of the campus LGBTQA sometime between Friday and Monday morning.
The Senate’s rules do not allow it to pass a resolution in the meeting where it is first proposed. Instead, the Senate must send the resolution for review to its rules committee before approving it. That means the resolution is not yet sure to pass: At its Jan. 20 meeting, the Senate voted unanimously to send the last Pacifica Forum resolution to its rules committee, only to vote the same document down the next week.
However, Senators said the likelihood of the resolution’s passage on Feb. 10 is much higher because of the deliberation it has undergone. The resolution’s sponsors also took pains to encourage senators to vote against the resolution on Wednesday night if they opposed it.
“If you can’t support it now, let’s vote it down now and send it back to the drawing board,” Sen. Nick Schultz, one of the resolution’s authors, said.
The Senate’s discussion on the new resolution was calmer than it had been at the Jan. 27 meeting. At that meeting, audience members jeered many senators who questioned the resolution.
The resolution’s sponsors, however, said the Pacifica Forum’s student opponents had since agreed not to interrupt senators.
Many of the Jan. 27 resolution’s supporters of said they would have rather voted for a stronger resolution, but said compromise was necessary if the Senate was to approve any resolution against the group.
“I have a feeling neither side will be perfectly happy,” Sen. Chris Bocchicchio said.
The only senator who voted against passing the resolution on to the Senate’s rules committee was Tyler Griffin, who had previously said he would oppose any resolution that mentioned the Forum by name.
Griffin, along with Sen. Max Barkley, pushed for the inclusion of language from the Supreme Court’s Brandenburg v. Ohioruling, which created a legal definition for speech that is not protected by the First Amendment. Resolution supporters rejected the change, saying they did not want free speech to be the main point of debate.
Students have criticized the Pacifica Forum for inviting speakers who hold white supremacist beliefs and deny that the Holocaust happened. Critics say the Forum’s presence on campus creates an atmosphere in which non-white students fear violence and discrimination. University administrators and student leaders called the Pacifica Forum’s rhetoric partly responsible for the incident in the LGBTQA.
Others have defended the group, saying removing it from campus would implicitly violate its First Amendment rights. University officials have said that, for that reason, removing the group could leave the University open to a lawsuit.
The group is allowed to meet on campus because its founder, Orval Etter, is a former University professor, and University policy allows former professors to meet on campus free of charge.
The Jan. 27 resolution’s defeat was unpopular and many Forum opponents criticized the ASUO for it, especially in the wake of Sunday’s incident in the LGBTQA office.
Schultz said over an e-mail to the Senate that he intends to resign in the wake of a dispute with Senate President Nick Gower over the meeting’s speakers’ list.
ASUO opposes Forum
Senate set to vote on new resolution condemning actions of Pacifica Forum; Schultz poised to resign
Published: Thursday, February 4, 2010
Updated: Thursday, February 4, 2010
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"ASUO Student Senate, January 28, 2010
Student Senate Bill SS.R.? (2009/2010)
Authored by: Senate Vice President Nick Schultz, Senator Demic Tipitino and ASUO Executive
Sponsored by: Senator Mercedes Whitecalf, Senator Castenada, Senator Zach Stark-MacMillan, Senator Chris Bochichio, and Senate Ombudsman McCaffertySUMMARY
Condems the actions of Pacifica Forum members and supports the University Administrations decision to remove them from the EMUSection I. 1.1 Whereas, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO) is composed of an Executive and Legislative branch, both advocating for issues and concerns shared by students of the University of Oregon. 1.2 Whereas, the ASUO acknowledges the right of all individuals and organizations to engage in unrestricted speech. 1.3 Whereas , the ASUO supports the Affirmation of Community Standards of the University of Oregon, policy number 1.000, which seeks to “ Reject bigotry, discrimination, violence, or intimidation of any kind.” 1.4 Whereas , recent comments and actions by members of the Pacifica Forum have degraded many students on this campus. 1.5 Whereas, students have expressed that they feel unsafe due to the situation surrounding the Pacifica Forum, b oth for the actions of members of the Pacifica Forum and to the negative climate they foster . 1.6 Whereas, the EMU is the center of student life, the home of a diverse student population, and paid for with the intention of enhancing the cultural and physical development of the students of the University of Oregon. 1.7 Whereas , students partially control the functioning of the Erb Memorial Union, and desire that it remains a safe space for all students.
Section II.
2.1 Be it resolved that , the ASUO unequivocally condemns the recent comments and actions by members of the Pacifica Forum. 2.2 B e it further resolved that , the ASUO supports the Administration’s recent decision to move the Pacifica Forum to a campus location outside of the EMU and recommends this decision become permanent. 2.3 Be it further resolved that , the ASUO encourages students to stand in solidarity against the views and actions of members of the Pacifica Forum, and encourages the administration to maintain the safety of all parties involved. 2.4 Be it further resolved that, the ASUO (especially the executive and the legislative branch) will pursue ways to build skills, to speak out, and be allies in order to lead the way to a more tolerant and inclusive campus community. 2.5 Be it further resolved that, messages of hate are not welcome on our campus. "