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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 2, 1993)
EDITORIAL EMU board needs freedom from IFC The Incidental Fee Committee and the F.MU Board of Directors have dashed repeatedly during the past two years. At issue is the method the IFC uses to allocate stu dent funds to the EMU. Right now. the IFC leadership is trying to exercise increased control over the operations of the EMI' board. Rather than simply distribute money based on the EMU budget committee’s recommendations, which is what tin; University administration originally intended sever al years ago. some IFC committee momlxirs want to have veto power over individual items within the budget. In other words, if the IFC doesn’t believe Oregon Club Sports or the FIMI) Craft Center is using student money effectively, il would restrict the program’s use of student money without asking the EMU board. In essence, the IFC would use Its budget authority to control EMU pro grams. The EMU board would be unnecessary. Lost week. University President Myles Brand'pro posed restructuring the relationship between the IFC and the EMIL Essentially. Ho wants to bypass the IFC’s role in the EMU budget. Instead of submitting a budget for IFC Chairman Stove Masat and friends to review, the EMU board would send its budget directly to the ASI JO Executive, which would then send it to Brand. The solution is a good one — it puts the IFC back in its proper place and keeps EMU authority intact. The IFC was never meant to be the sole governing body of student government, which is what Masat seems to be pushing for. He argues that the IFC best represents student interests, and the EMU board allows adminis trators to unjustly influence control of student money. His argument would have merit if the EMU board entirely comprised faculty or staff. However, the board contains only four faculty fnembers, none of whom will bo allowed to vote on budget items. The remaining 11 members of the board are students — including 1FC members Manat and Lydia Lerma. As Vice Provost Ger ard Moseley said. "This is a transfer of authority of stu dent fees from one student group to another.” By trying to control the EMU's use of student money, the IFC leadership is guilty of petty political posturing and power-grabbing. The EMy board is more familiar with EMU operations than the IFC, and thus is more qualified to distribute money among EMU programs. The IFC. simply because it has the authority to allocate student funds, does not have the right to micro manage groups, including the EMU board, the athletic depart ment or campus publications. This was made explicit in Brand's memo. He said the IFC may not exercise control over the affairs of the EMU board, and "it should not seek to do so under any form of subterfuge or by intimidation Quito simply, that would give too much power to one group on campus. Certainly students should have power over the use of student fees, but allowing one group to have all of the power is excessive. Brand's plan would send a message to future IFC lead ers that the group must work within the student gov ernment system, not rise above it. Oregon Daily Emerald I J .lC.O The Oregon D«r Em«#a >• pubkahad JeUy Mxxla, tniough Friday du/mg me *choo< ,es> and Tuaaday and Thursday during Ihe summer By me Oegon Daily Emerald Pubkshmg Co Inc at me llnrv«ri.?> o' Oegon. Eugene. Oegon The Emwau operates independently o< me University w«m o"oe» « Su«e 300 o' me Elb Memorial Lm*on and >» a member ol mo Associated Pie** The Eme*aid «* pnvale property The unlawful remove 01 u*e ol papa's e prosecutable By la* Hew* Editor Editorial Editor Qraptilc* Editor Entertainment Editor Editor P*t Matacn J*e Berg Freelance Editor Hope Meel*on Martin F oner Editorial Editor Rarer* Jansaen Jeff Pasiay Sports Editor Dove Charbonneau Freys Horn Supplement* Edrtor Calley Anderson Night Editor Chestei Alan Associate Editors; Tammy Batey Student Oovernment Actrvte*. Oaraiyn Trapp*. Commwnrfy. Co»**n Pohkg. t*gtier EdBcenorvAdmm*tr*non News StsW: Scon Andrs. CBeeler A**n. Malt Bender ju**n Brown, Sara* Clark. Dylan CouNer. fctog DadcSpn. Amy Davenport. Amanda Farme. Ta>aaa Muntsmger. Lisa Knee**. I its Mauri Demiwi McLean. Rebecca Merritt. Steve M.m» T.ttm. Muadar Tnsta Noel, Msmew Sc truster. E*WI Shaw Mchaal StwvSer. Enck Sluderwfca. Moron Sudor. Men** TBompaon-Aguiar, Amy Van Tuyl. Todd Wdfcams Qanaral Manager Judy R-odl Production Manager: Menem Roi* Advertising Tom Leocn. Sharon Vaj. Sale* Manager* Shawn Server- 0*c* Manager Jw*a kola. Tar*M Isabeae Prwp John*on II. Cn,* Kanoll. Jeremy Mason Van V CTByran II. G*an Oh, Rachael Tru*. Ange Wmcmeen Brian Wrvmevn Classified: Peggy McGinn. Manager Barry Logan Sharon Sauve Distribution: Rebecca Brook*. Kraft Van Gorder. Anthony Wynn Business: Kalhy Carbone Supervisor JixJy Connolly Production: Ingrrd While ProOurtKn CoonSnakv Knstme Grange* Dee McCobb. Slacy Mrtchen Jennifer Roland. Jenniler Sm.m, Ann# Stephenson Nuwaroom___jaS-SStl Display Advertising-MS-3T12 Business Office__3TS-MII Ctasafhed Advertising >*S-«»43 WfttCN First* CONGRESS WNTW6 K60M % «#*-#* W V*v. A >*H*n COMMENTARY Make your voice heard in Salem By Ryan P Decker t I just arrived hack in Kugene. 1 spent my time away speaking with members of the Oregon Legislature about funding for the University. 1 concluded from my conversations that for higher education to In* onui a valued investment in Ore denied the chance ui furthering their educations. Oregon is making a grave public policy decision to mortgage its future, and for what? What do we gain by denying our voung the chance of n better future? Students from other states might be able to take up some of the slack, but at what cost to Ore gon7 gon s intrastrui lure, som* atti iu<li», on? going to have to change Higher education is being looked ot as a luxury that the stale can do without. Our state leaders, our neighbors, parents, teachers and friends need to sup port higher education for the liest possible future Higher education is vitally important to the econo my's development. Oregon is going through an eccmotnii transition. Between 1 oho and the sear 2001), more than 150.000 new jobs that require college-level skills are being created in Oregon. A col lege graduate has a much greater earning power than even a com munity college graduate This strengthens the economy, sup ports a stronger tax base and reduces our need for state ser vices. Through direct infusions ol community and research dollars, higher education brings millions to Oregon's economy Higher education provides direct assis tance to businesses and commu nities throughout Oregon. In the coming years, Oregoni ans will need even mom access to higher education. Nearly 40 per cent more students will graduate from Oregon's high schools by the year 2000 than graduated last year, which means there will lie a dramatic increase in the number of students seeking a college edu cation Kven at the current levels of enrollment, Oregon will need HO.000 students enrolled in the higher education system by the year 2000. Oregon will not meet that need. We now have the abil ity to serve about 56.000 stu dents. and that ability is shrink ing. Our decisions today have grave implications for the future. Oregon is losing its ability to retrain its older-lhan-average col lege students. Unless thoughtful decisions are made. Oregon soon will not have room for the tradi tional-age student. But suppose we had the room. It is still unlike ly the numbers of Oregonians able to pay the soaring tuition costs of the state system would be able to keep up with economic demands. Thus it is the poor and middle class students who are being To faculty Wednesday, March 3, •he ASUQ, in collabora tion with the Oregon Stu dent Lobby, will be spon soring a lobby day in Salem with the goal of informing legislators of the need for tax reform and enlightening them to the value of higher educa tion. Students will be meet ing with individual legis lators. observing commit tee hearings and attending a rally. For many students, this will lie their first experience directly participating in our representational gov ernment. Some of the students who ere interested in attending may face the difficult choice between this opportunity to direct ly participate in the leg islative process and miss ing an important class. Under the serious budget crisis we are all living with, we urge you to pro vide some flexibility for these students in the assignments or class activities scheduled for Wednesday. We fully appreciate the importance of our class room experience in our education. If we didn't value this, we wouldn't be fighting so hard in Salem. We urge you to take all of this into consideration in planning your class room activities Wednes day so those students par ticipating in the Lobby Day will not face the dilemma of jeopardizing their academic status in your class as a result of working to preserve the University as a whole. Thank you for your support. Bobby Lee ASUO President support Oregon's higher educa tion system. Seventy-one percent of Oregonians polled by the LL Stewart Foundation this past November opposed reducing state funding support for colleges and universities. Seventy-five percent of business responding to the Oregon business poll rated graduates of Oregon's higher education systems as either "above average" or "very high quality." However, 43.5 percent of busi nesses said they had to recruit out of state for graduate-level positions last year because there are not enough Oregon graduates available. I urge .ill students lo lake own- * ership of this problem. Students can make a difference. We are 58.000 strong, and now we are . allied with students of Oregon's community colleges, who make us more than 458,000 strong That kind of electoral power will not he ignored if we speak out. Your options are clear. Write a letter to your elected representa tives. Addresses can lie found in your local newspaper, library or the ASUO office. Call your law makers: loll them your personal story about how the cuts In high er education have affected you and your friends Schedule a personal visit with our state leaders. Go in a small group and ask them directly what they plan to do for Oregon's future, join ASUO and help orga nize other students; help them lo find their voice. The Oregon Student Lobby and the student governments of the state's community colleges are organizing a statewide stu dent lobby day Wednesday. Mar. 3. I would like to see you there Gov. Barbara Roberts, statewide student leaders and legislators will participate in this unprece dented event. We will provide transportation to the capitol. leaving campus at 10:30 a m. You provide a voice for Oregon's future. Ryan P Deckert is a political science major who works for ASUO state affairs and is a member of the Oregon Student Lobby Board of Directors