ASUO President Beatriz Gutierrez said she will not be filling the external vice president position vacated by Patrick Kindred after his removal from the University of Oregon campus in February.
Kindred has been absent from his position since Feb. 9, when he was banned from university property for online threats and arrested for criminal trespass and criminal mischief at 7-Eleven on 13th and Alder. Prior to his removal from campus, Kindred had been involved in projects that included rallies regarding police brutality and was responsible for vice presidential duties with Student Planning and Construction Committee.
In Kindred’s absence, interior vice president Tran Dinh remains. Gutierrez ran on the Ducks Like You slate with both Dinh and Kindred in last year’s election. The choice whether to have one or two vice presidents is up to the presidential candidate’s discretion, either is acceptable per the Green Tape Notebook (GTN), which is the document that outlines the rules of operation for the ASUO.
Section five of the GTN deals with the duties of the President and Vice President. The language allows for an administration that has either one or two vice presidents. Section 5.3 states only that “if the President decides to have two Vice-Presidents, the President must designate which appointee shall fulfill which Constitutional duties of the position of Vice-President, and which shall be first in the line of succession.”
Chief Justice of the Constitution Court Allison Apana said that by her interpretation, the allowances for two vice presidents takes precedence over section 14 of the GTN, which deals with replacement, recall and impeachment. For example, section 14.3 states that non fulfillment of duties for three weeks may be considered a vacancy of any office elected or appointed under the ASUO Constitution.
Gutierrez said that Kindred’s stipend has been suspended. He is now living in Portland and will return to Lane County for his next court date, set for April 6.
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