Lobby sees higher ed funding as top priority
By PAUL TELLES
Of the Emerald
Because students are trapped between rising costs
and declining resources, the Oregon Student Lobby
and the ASUO will be lobbying for increased state
funding of higher education during the current session
of the Legislature.
Lobbying priorities include reversing recent
decreases in the higher education budget, minimizing
tuition increases and seeking increased funding for the
State Scholarship Commission.
The ASUO, in conjunction with the Oregon Student
Lobby and other higher education lobbies, will work
hard to "make sure that legislators have higher educa
tion on their minds,” says Rich Wilkins, ASUO vice
president for state and University affairs.
Higher education funding has been declining for
the past decade, says ASUO Pres. Dave Eaton. If it
declines much further, the University and other Oregon
schools will be in danger of losing other sources of
funding, he says.
In the 1967-69 biennium, higher education
received 28.1 percent of the state general fund, but in
the 1979-81 biennium, higher education received only
16.7 percent of the fund, according to Eaton.
To counter the trend, the ASUO is setting up a
legislative network to convince legislators that they
could suffer political repercussions if they continue to
decrease higher education funding.
However, Eaton and Wilkins expect opposition
from legislators who think continued property tax relief
legislative
issues
should be the state’s highest priority.
“We don’t want to take the money from (the
Department of) Human Resources,” Wilkins says. "We
don’t want to go up against welfare mothers who say
they need the money, because they do.”
Regarding tuition increases, John Moore, OSL
legislative assistant, says, "We’re going to put up a
fight, probably the biggest fight over tuition in the
history of the lobby."
Despite the promised battle, "It’s not unreasonable
to suppose the governor will get what he wants,” Moore
adds.
Gov. Vic Atiyeh has asked for a 32-percent tuition
increase during the 1981-83 biennium.
Consequently, the OSL won’t say what level of
tuition increase it's shooting for because that may
quickly be accepted as the minimal increase. The group
would prefer to avoid any tuition increase, Moore says.
“We re Kind of in the position or a person wno goes
into a used car lot and the salesman asks, ‘How much
do you want to spend?’ If you're smart, you ask, ‘How
much do your cars cost?’,” Moore says.
The lobby will be working for increases in the State
Scholarship Commission budget, especially for in
creased aid to students with dependent children, says
OSL Executive Director Bob Watrus.
"We’re trying to get enough bucks in the SSC
budget that the cost of education doesn’t preclude
anyone from studying,” Watrus says, pointing out that
financial-aid increases haven’t kept pace with inflation.
“Students are affected by inflation as much as, if
not more than, other people," he says
Student parents are especially needy because
current financial-aid packages don't take actual child
care costs into account, Watrus says.
An interim study conducted by the Children’s
Services Division showed that approximately 16 per
cent of student parents either drop out or don’t enroll in
school because of childcare costs, Watrus says.
Lobbyists were close-mouthed when asked abodt
their chances of success, saying it’s too early to tell how
legislators will react because they must necessarily
devote the first part of the session to self-education on
the issues before taking any stands.
However, considering the state's continuing fiscal
crisis, there is little cause for optimism.
“The dollars are very tight and you have to work
hard to get support behind the issues you’re working
on,” Watrus says.
Atiyen opens Legislature with plea to end bigotry
SALEM (AP) —Oregon’s 61st
Legislative Assembly convened
today with a plea from Gov. Vic
Atiyeh to put an end to bigotry
and make racial harassment a
felony crime.
“Nothing defiles humanity as
much as outrageous acts of
racism,” Atiyeh said. "I want
this Legislature to make the act
of racial harassment a crime in
Oregon — a felony punishable
by fine or imprisonment or
both."
The governor also repeated
his previous warnings that the
state is in the tightest money
crunch in many years and said
people need "to acknowledge
the reality of limits" in what
government can do.
The 1981 Legislature began
with separate meetings of the
House and Senate to elect pre
siding officers. Sen. Fred Heard,
D-Klamath Falls, was chosen
president of the Senate. Rep.
Hardy Myers, D-Portland, was
re-elected House speaker.
"The legislators feel that even
though it (the budget) is going
to be tight, it's going to be an
Come and enjoy sporting events
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3355 E. Amazon Dr., Eugene 342-3575
interesting session and one that
they’re up to," Heard said.
In his state of the state ad
dress prepared for delivery to a
joint House-Senate session,
Atiyeh said he will propose an
other prison bonding measure
to replace an $85 million propo
sal narrowly defeated by voters
last November.
The state is under federal
court order to reduce its prison
populations to ease crowding.
Atiyeh also asked the law
makers to approve task force
recommendations for revamp
ing the workers' compensation
law and changing the structure
of the state’s court system.
He made a special appeal for
passage of his energy program
which he hopes will make the
state more energy self-suf
ficient..
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