VOL. CXVIII, No. 45
DailyBarometer.com
friday, NOVEMBER 13, 2015 Oregon State University
Not guilty
Jonathan Gonzales | THE DAILY BAROMETER
Associated Students of Oregon State University held an impeachment hearing at the Memorial Union Horizon room on Thursday night at 6 p.m. After deliberating for more than an hour and a half, the jury found ASOSU President Cassie Huber not guilty of all pending charges.
ASOSU President Cassie Huber found not guilty, will remain in office By Sean Bassinger Senior Beat Reporter
The Oregon State University student body president will not be removed from office. Cassie Huber, president of the Associated Students of Oregon State University, has been found not guilty of various charges brought forth against her, which include the misallocation of around $30,000 from the ASOSU budget to the SafeRide program, failing to prop-
erly appoint members of the Student and Incidental Fees Committee and abusing motor pool vehicle privileges for a shopping trip. The trial took place between 6 and 9 p.m. Thursday. The jury deliberation, which was conducted by the ASOSU Senate, ended around 10 p.m. when judicial council members announced the verdict. ASOSU Speaker of the House Mykael Moore presented the prosecution. Her
opening statements reflected disappointment in Huber and her current position. “We should not be here today,” Moore said. “(Huber) has lied to us and manipulated us. For those reasons, she is no longer fit to serve as president.” Denying a majority of the allegations and stating that many of the offenses should not be grounds for impeachment, Huber said she also inherited many problems that she cannot be blamed for. “I inherited challenges and opportuni-
Jonathan Gonzales | THE DAILY BAROMETER
Judicial Council members Evan Burford (left) and Jessie Hanson (right), and Judicial Council chair James Knudsen (center) debate an objection presented by the prosecution at the impeachment hearing on Thursday Nov. 12.
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ties,” Huber said. “I inherited committees that had no members.” The trial concluded around 8:30 p.m. when the ASOSU Senate, which acted as jury, deliberated until around 9:20 p.m. Allocation of funds One of the key issues discussed revolved around the misallocation of more than $30,000 worth of funds from the ASOSU budget into SafeRide. One of Huber’s first defenses was that she was aided in the decision with the help of ASOSU Student Advocate Drew Desilet and former ASOSU Director of Finance Joshua Kaufman. “This decision was not made by me entirely,” Huber said. “I was guided into this position.” Kaufman, who resigned from his position at the end of October, helped co-author the original articles of impeachment. In addition, Huber said the transfer of funds was to assist in SafeRide’s mission to become a more independent organization separated from ASOSU. “That money already existed for SafeRide,” she said. “We just moved it over to the SafeRide budget index.” Regardless, Moore said there was no excuse for what the prosecution believed to be an unauthorized transfer of student fee dollars. “The point stands,” Moore said. “She transferred upwards of up to $30,000.” Motor pool violations Moore stated that Huber rented a motor pool vehicle with the intention of driving to a hotel in Newport on Saturday, Aug. 22. Following the 52.3 miles, Huber proceeded to Lincoln City for what witnesses described as a “personal shopping trip.” “The vehicle had been driven a total of 161 miles,” Moore said. Rachel Grisham, director of operations, recalled the morning after a series of student leader conferences.
See Not guilty, Page 6
Grant funds solar technology, NEWS, PAGE 3 Game day, SPORTS, PAGE 4 Trial result no surprise, FORUM, PAGE 8