EDITORIAL
Increased rent result
of budget shortfall
On Sept. 1. University housing rents vvil! increase For
students who live in family housing, rents will go up S20
to $40 a month Students in the dorms can expect a $221
jump for multiple rooms. $244 for doubles.
So far, the plan has been received with varying amounts
of outrage. At issue is not so much the rent increase, but
how the University administration does its math.
University housing is expor ted to pay for the cost of its
operation, meaning rent is determined by what it costs to
provide the service. Since the program is self-supporting
and receives little in the way of general University ser
vices, if the cost of those services go up. rents will — obvi
ously — rise at oordingly,
O. 'g because increased maintenance c osts and the
liki are bumping up rents seems to have little value. A
sad. i old fact of inflations is that as time goes by, things
will iK> more expensive.
Thai's tin* way it goes.
Hut where University
housing residents have
a legitimate complaint is
the seemingly arbitrary
$300,000 assessment by
the University for
"administrative over
head" — tho cost of pro
viding the logistical and
administrative support.
The failure bv Uni
versity ofl'ic ials to stMs i(
ft’s not the
principle of higher
rents that's causing
the problem; it’s not
knowing
specifically what
you're paying for
that raises backs.
u .illv account tho costs ol those overhead serve os has
started tho complaining. Housing residents feel they’re
being charged for an ambiguous service It's not the prin
ciple of higher rents that's causing the problem; it's not
knowing specifically what you're paying for that raises
backs.
The obvious reaction to all the turmoil is: What did
everybody expect f
With tuition costs skyrocketing and Measure 5 wreak
ing havoc on the state budget, no one can expect to escape
the inevitable crunch. As long as the state remains ambiva
lent toward higher ed funding, the costs of attending
the University will go up. And up. And up.
No University service is immune to this inflation. Park
ing costs, health center costs, and yes. oven housing costs,
will all have to increase to make up budget shortfalls.
Live with it. folks. It isn't going to go away until the state
higher education budget stabilizes.
Complaining about rent increases attacks the periph
ery. not the problem. The choico facing students is to
either regard those fee increases with weary acceptance,
or try and fix the machine that spawned the fiscal short
falls:
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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OPINION
Tuition due? Form a student group
ho other das I woke up
with thi* need to feel
JL empowered (also woko up
brukc*
Kent’s coining duu. Visa is
doing nasty things to my < rodit
rating and my auto insurance
company has threatened to break
my knet« aps If all that doesn't
make you fool like a helpless
peon getting pushed around by
powerful, bloated entities, I don't
know what would.
So. given that. I've decided to
gain some healthful empower
ment and perhaps make a few
bucks on the side. The logical
solution, of course, is to create
my own student group
When the idea came to me, 1
was floored (literally I wasn't
stunned, I was actually lytng on
the floor at the time) "What a
simple, cost -effective way for me
to pay rent." I thought to myself,
as thinking to someone else usu
ally doesn’t work too well.
Fact is, everyone else is doing
it The University society is now
polarized, fractionalized, sin ed.
diced and divided into a myri
ad ol special interest, cultural and
ethnic groups These groups were
created because someone, some
where felt they weren't ade
cpiatelv represented by an exist
ing group
There just isn't a student group
on campus that I feel adequately
represents me: a column-writing,
beer-drinking, golf-playing, sin
gle WASP straight male baseball
fan. Science Fiction Reading
Croup? Nope. American Market
ing Association? Un-huh. Stu
dents for Creative Anachronism?
Forget ii
It’s not that I don't feel these
groups are worthy, they |ust
aren't for me The 1FC. doled out
S-t t> million last year (students
coughed up $!(#> (ier term) to var
ious groups around campus
Since I've been at the University
since furry lizards walked the
earth. 1 figure I've contributed
about SI 2 billion in student fees,
very little of which I've gotten
bai k in the form of ai tivitios or
activism
As in a lot of things, greed over
whelmed md. If everyone else is
gotvhhng pork, I might as well bel
ly tip to the slop trough, too.
I don't tiegrudge existing stu
dent groups their money In fact,
I encourage it Given their exis
tence, the ASUO and IFC will lie
hard pressed not to recognize my
group
Therefore, given my under-rep
resentation and the declining
state of my bank account. I here
by formally create the I Want to
Suck Up Student Funds Too
Fnipowerment Group and Social
Club, or IWSUSFTKGSC for
short.
Tah-dah
Why that name you ask?
Because it accurately describes
my group, sounds really cool, and
I want to see the Emerald write
the name out in a news lead
Creating a group and getting
money out of the IF'C is remark
ably easy It can be accom
plished in a few short steps
1. Write a lot of press releas
es. Follow ing the example of
other student groups. I plan to
unload on the Emerald enough
trivial press releases to wallpa
per the FIMU. ("The director
belched' Quick, somebody alert
the media!'')
2. Create group bylaws.
That's the easy part The All
Grand Master Poobah (me) has
complete control over the
group's finances, fundraising
and activities, and is appointed
for life or until he graduates
college, whichever comes first
IWSUSFTEGSC members have
ttosat in anything
3. l)o some ridiculous things
to draw attention to your
group. 1 plan to hold weekly
meetings at Rennie's during
happy hour And maybe I'll
picket something What. I don't
know, but it seems to work for
everyone else.
4. Apply lo the Iff for fund
ing. Simple, yet tru ky. During
your hearing, you have to pre
sent your case in a firm yet gen
tle way Examples of your
group’s activities are vitally
important. I foresee my IFC
hearing going something like
this:
IFC CHAIRMAN: So. Mr
Peters, your group's sole pur
pose for existence is to get stu
dent funds
ME; That’s correct.
CHAIR: And your members
have absolutely no say in group
activities7
ME: You got it.
CHAIR Mr. Peters, I don't
see how we can fund IWSUS
FTEGSC.
ME: Long live the glorious
worker's revolution.
CHAIR (handing me a brief
case full of cash) Take all you
need, pal
See how easy that is?
My first group meeting will
l>e at Rennie's today at 5 p in.
I’ll l»o the one on the sun duck
wearing the Angels hat Please
be prompt
I'm not doing this because
I'm greedy. Heck. I think every
one should gel in on the action.
I encourage everybody to trot
on down to the ASUO and form
their own student groups. Get
as much as you can while you
can.
Don Peters is a columnist for
the Emerald
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