Seven of the eight students who were appointed by the ASUO Executive branch for roles in the Constitution Court, Program Finance Committee, Department Finance Committee and the EMU Board were confirmed by senate with ease during the body’s Wednesday night meeting. MacGregor Ehlen’s confirmation for Elections Coordinator however wasn’t as simple, and after over an hour of debate between Ehlen and the senate, Ehlen eventually withdrew his application and left the meeting.
The hold up on Ehlen’s confirmation was because he was the only individual who applied, he was not interviewed for the position. The executive branch looked over his application and were pleased enough with his credentials to appoint him, but senate wasn’t comfortable proceeding without a proper interview.
While interviews are traditionally held for students applying for ASUO positions such as the Elections Coordinator, the ASUO Constitution, better known as the Green Tape Notebook, fails to require an interview process.
“If you guys want to ask me the questions that the interview would have I’d be more than happy to answer them,” Ehlen said to the senate after sitting with the body for over an hour.
The senate was also concerned that the executive appointed him because Ehlen is a friend of ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz. According to Ehlen though, that had nothing to do with his appointment.
“[Dotters-Katz] is a friend of mine, but I don’t think that would have much bearing over my decisions,” Ehlen said. “I can definitely assure you I will not give anyone advantages because they’re my friend.”
Dotters-Katz, who did not attend the meeting, said that he and Ehlen being friends had nothing to do with the appointment.
“He is well qualified for the position and we stand behind our appointee,” Dotters-Katz said.
After spending nearly two hours discussing their next steps, Sen. Miles Sisk wanted to postpone the confirmation until the next meeting, with the condition being that Ehlen had a proper interview within the week. The motion failed, so Ehlen decided to withdraw his application.
“How about I just do this. I’m going to formally withdraw my application,” Ehlen said. I don’t want to do this the wrong way. I’ll just withdraw my application, and you guys can tell me when to come back.”
The deadline to find an Elections Coordinator has passed, but senate has decided to extend the deadline in the hopes of finding more applicants for the position. Ehlen does plan on reapplying for the job.
Aubrey Hoffman and Thomas Bush were both confirmed by the senate to be members of the ASUO Constitution Court, and Linnea Havener, Corry Higgins and Seela Sankey were confirmed to be members of the EMU Board.