Wrapping things nicely and putting a nifty a little bow on top: that’s not how ASUO does things. From the threat of the Oregon Marching Band having its funding cut to the three week expulsion of former President Laura Hinman, the ASUO’s controversies and triumphs will be a standout memory for the 2012-2013 school year.

Before school had really started, controversies surrounding the UO hiring a marketing firm to convince students to vote “yes” for the EMU renovation began to spread around campus. The firm, which was suggested by the EMU Task Force, would help reach the goal of receiving the appropriate amount of votes to support the renovation. The move was ultimately canned.

In November, the ASUO Senate made one of its most controversial moves by allocating $142,000 to the executive’s Mallard Madness project. While the executive has a fair chance to receive over-realized funds, many students, groups and organizations were concerned that Mallard Madness was not subjected to the same process. Ultimately, the project received funding, but after a few more funding and defunding conversations.

In late January, a grievance filed by Joanna Stewart toppled the We Are Oregon executive branch by ousting Hinman from the president’s seat. The grievance cited that Hinman had been in non-fulfillment for three weeks for not appointing an elections board. After a trial, the ASUO Constitution Court ruled to vacate Hinman’s position until ASUO Vice President Nick McCain was able to appoint an Elections Board — nearly a month later, Hinman was reinstated.

During the tail end of the Hinman debacle,  the Oregon Athletic Band was fighting for funding against a Department Finance Committee that wished to move its funding to sources that weren’t directly paid for by students. The band was originally defunded with the intention that the UO administration, Athletics and the School of Music and Dance would pick up the slack — a plan that wasn’t outlined to the band, or the sources. The move ultimate led to hundreds of band members attending a heated DFC meeting that lasted for hours. The band is currently still funded by the ASUO.

After years of relatively controversial ASUO elections, this year would be no different. The battle between Senator Lamar Wise and former ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz would prove to be relatively calm — until the first grievance started a wildfire. Claims of illegal phone banking, bribery and collecting voter information under false pretenses were the major issues that sprung out of the annual process, but the release of the results proved to be the strangest. The United Oregon campaign was allegedly bribing voters with T-shirts — an act made illegal by Oregon State Law — and the elections board and Con Court felt uncomfortable releasing the results, knowing that it could impact a fair re-election if it came down to it. After UO administration stepped in to clarify that ASUO elections do not follow all of Oregon’s laws, the results were released which produced Dotters-Katz as the next ASUO President.

In May, the Con Court had two court justices threatened with removal from office due to a non-fulfillment of duties. Although on top of the non-fulfillment, Justice Allison Apana was allegedly having a romantic relationship with Chief Justice Nick Schultz, and Caleb Huegel had been allegedly releasing confidential information to outside parties.

And then all in one day, the ASUO members who were calling Apana and Huegel out decided to withdraw their allegations towards them. After one of the most publicized weeks for the Con Court, everyone came out with not a scratch on them.

Just like everyone else who’s involved with a group on campus, the ASUO is made up of students — students who are learning, and who will continue to learn through their mistakes and successes. With a new administration comes new accomplishments and a whole new group of students ready to learn from their oversights.