Student groups combine forces
to mobilize influence of students
By Betsy Clayton
Of the Emerald
For the first time the ASUO
and OSPIRG have joined forces
to create a stronger student
lobby network that helps make
students aware of important
issues and involves them in the
1987 legislative procedure.
The Legislative Action
Alliance is a coalition of
students from the two organiza
tions working on issues of en
vironmental protection, affor
dable education and civil
rights. The goal of the alliance
is to build a better Oregon by
not only creating awareness of
these issues but by getting
students to act on them.
The main emphasis of action
is to have students write letters
to their legislators in Salem,
said Maureen Kirk, the Oregon
State Public Interest Research
Group state board chairwoman.
The alliance is doing this by
utilizing students' dual consti
tuency, she said.
“Probably 8,000 to 10.000
University students have homes
in other areas of Oregon. So we
can look at the way legislators
from specific areas are voting
and then contact those students
from that area." Kirk said.
Those students who are in
terested then would be asked to
write a letter to their legislator,
she said.
“Because they have homes
elsewhere, students are actually
constituents of two legislators,"
said Victoria Perkins, the state
affairs coordinator for the
ASUO. She explained that
students’ ideas and input are
important to their legislators
because they show an interest
from the University as well as
from the area the legislator
represents.
Since the end of February
OSPIRG and the ASUO have
been distributing a Legislative
Action Alliance brochure that
tells about current issues. Inside
each pamphlet there is a reply
card that lets the alliance know
the student’s home town and
local addresses.
Kirk said the alliance then
can organize students into
districts, educate them on rele
vent issues and tell them when
it would be timely to write
letters.
“The legislating process runs
from January through June or
July so we can call students and
tell them how to write letters,
‘The legislating
process runs from
January through
June or July so we
can call students
and tell them how to
write letters, who to
write to and when to
become involved.9
— Maureen Kirk
who to write to and when to
become involved.” Kirk said.
“I don’t think people realize
they can make a difference in
the decision-making process.”
Perkins said. She pointed out
that legislators get less mail
than people think and a few let
ters on a particular issue can
change a legislator's opinion.
ASUO [’resident Steve Nelson
is very supportive of the
Legislative Action Alliance.
“We (the ASUO and OSPIRG)
will put in the same amount of
hours, but we’ll have greater
success just because it will lx;
that much more visible.” he
said.
In the past OSPIRG has had
its own legislative programs
and the ASUO has had its own
letter-writing campaign.
Together the two will make the
work easier. Nelson said.
A top issue that the ASUO has
been concerned with is finan
cial aid cuts. The ASUO is
pushing for increases in the
Oregon State Scholarship Com
mission’s budget for expansion
in need-based financial aid
rather than merit-based aid.
"Reagan's proposed budget
has cutbacks of 45 percent.
That’s one issue 1 think it’s real
ly important for students to
write to legislators about,"
Perkins said.
Working on a state superfund
to clean up toxic waste is one of
the issues OSPIRG is emphasiz
ing, Kirk said. The state super
fund would establish a program
to monitor and clean up aban
doned hazardous toxic waste
sites, she said. There are well
over 100 of these types of sites
in Oregon, she added.
The Oregon Legislature meets
every other year to set up two
year budgets. "Some people
don't know that it is a
legislative year and that the
bills the legislators go through
each session might affect their
lives," Kirk said.
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