ASUO Senator Hao Tan does not speak as much during Senate meetings, but when he does, what he says has a powerful effect on its discussions.
At the February 18th senate meeting Tan did not refrain from expressing his disappointment in the substantially lower turnout of last Wednesday’s Senate meeting — one that involved continued debate concerning the since passed Fraternity and Sorority Life Resolution.
Although he has only been an ASUO senator for one term, Tan is not afraid to speak out on big issues.
“He is always very professional, he speaks when he knows if something that he says can change the conversation instead of reiterating what has already been said.” said Senate President Rhodes, “He may not speak as much as others, but when he does, what he says is always very profound and valuable.”
Tan started his work with the ASUO as the Freshman Representative fall term of 2014. Current ASUO Senate President, Rebecca Rhodes, and Senator Yelin Oh hired Tan.
“Hao had a balance between knowing how to deal with budgets, cultural competency, and in knowing how to deal with interpersonal challenges,” said Rhodes.
Coming from Sherwood, Oregon, Tan entered the UO with a strong record of leadership. During his high school career, Tan held a student body leadership position, was captain of the varsity swim team and was president of the debate team.
Hao attributes his leadership experience as playing a large part in receiving the prestigious Stamps Scholarship Award which completely covers his tuition, room and board over four years of his undergraduate studies as well as providing $12,000 in enrichment funds.
“Throughout high school, leadership was a tremendous and eye-opening experience for me,” Tan said. “It allowed me to engage with what I am passionate about, and gave me a platform to speak to what I believe in.”
To become a senator, Tan went through a panel interview before the ASUO Senate confirmed him. In his new position, Tan now has the voting privilege in ASUO motions, as well as external obligations to reach out to UO student groups engaged in biological and medicinal related work.
“As Freshman Representative, I observed the more experienced senators and watched them make their decisions. This really allowed me to gage that ‘this is Senate, this is what we have to do, these are the criteria which we use to decide if we are to grant funding or not to a certain student group’,” Tan said. “I got to see how Senate works as a whole, and that definitely contributes to my experience right now as a voting senator.”
Outside of his work in the ASUO, Tan is a freshman Biochemistry major. He is a member of Delta Tau Delta and a volunteer for Occupy Medical — a non-profit organization that provides medical care to those without insurance around the local Eugene community.
Nick Scrivens, a fellow pre-med student at the UO, is a friend of Hao Tan who volunteers with him for Occupy Medical, “He always has a good attitude and knows how to make people laugh, he’s really good at that. Also, he’s the kind of guy who would help you out with your homework if you need it.”