EDITORIAL
Student opinion
sought for fees
A basic course in economics teaches that there is an
unlimited demand for scant and finite resources. In the
micro marketplace of the University, student groups
compete for limited program funds from the holder of
the purse strings — the Student Senate.
Student unions, associations, committees and councils
funded by student incidental foes must go before the
Senate on an annual basis to justify their slice of the bud
getary pie. In past years, groups seeking funds pled their
case to the Incidental Foe Committee, which was abol
ished by a vote of the students in the spring of 1994.
The Senate must weigh the competing demands of
additional or continued funding of these groups against
the increasing and burdensome incidental fees charger!
students each term.
rot tne academic year 1994-95, each student will pay
$119 per term for an annual total of S357. This is a $7 50
Increase from last year, stemming mainly from a handful
of ASUG ballot measures passed by students in the
spring election.
The total budget, including ballot measure funding,
exceeds S5 million. The Senate controls about $4.5 mil
lion of this budget, doting money for those groups meet- i
ing specific criteria.
On Nov. 17, the Senate held a forum to solicit student
opinion on the allocation of student funds for student
groups My seeking input from the "taxpayers" of this
University, the Senate hoped to test the political waters
before increasing or decreasing student fees
We applaud the Senate's ac tion to encourage partici
patory government on this campus.
Unfortunately, the meeting was a i ha nee for many of
the spot ial interest groups re< eiving student funds to fur
ther embellish upon their respective tausrs, to once
again show the Senate the value of their programs Only
a few nun-affiliated (not memlxjrs of a funded group) stu
dents showed up. These students voiced opposition
against groups ranging from OSPlRCi to the USSA and
the SI l million student-supported payment to tile Ath
letii Department.
These people claimed to be speaking for the silent
majority of students who don’t speak out against student
funds being used to lobby or to provide entertainment.
1'he anti-fee sentiment during the forum was refreshing
in that it gave senators a taste of what non-involved stu
dents think about the funding of student groups — espe
cially those who engage in political activity.
But students should remember that groups OSP1KG
and Saforide received their funding via the ballot mea
sure. that is, students voted to fund these programs in a
fair and square election.
If there is in fact a silent majority of students who
want incidental foes decreased, these people need to
get off their collective butts and lot the Senate know. It
will hold one more forum, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the
EMU Walnut Room on Monday.
It's a chance to speak up or continue to pay up.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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■ COMMENTARY
debate key to success
Thai's ill This is ridicu
lous' After many year* on
this campus I should b«>
ins mime In po! il it al[\ i nrrie !
blethering run amok, bul ihis
lours it
First lei me |m» i lear about my
purpose '['his is not primarily a
letter about any one issue, jier so.
but about rational thought and
argumentation Specifically, I
deplore the fai t that rational
analysis has l>een supplanted by
emotionally charged accusations
that people who are pro-Propo
sition 187 are rotten desjarts. and
a llead-in-the sand attitude that
avoids aiTnowlodging problems
or proposing realist si solutions
In their letter (ODE Nov, IS)
opposing Proposition 187, lowry
and Bookslem pull out all of the
stops, painting the legislation ami
all supporters as racist, referring
to a white supremacist agenda,
and Big Brother-stylo informants
Now I happen to support their
conclusion (i n.. Proposition 187
is a t»ad move), but deplore their
masoning Why do you have to
start screaming racism and
preaching moral indignation
about "inherent rights” and the
mjustu es of the colonial period?
Get real! This is 1994 and no mat
ter what happened before, we
have to deal with REAL social
problems with REAL solutions
rather than wounded homilies
about rights and injustice.
Though currently very popu
lar (used by conservatives and
liberals alike), these "life, liber
ty and the American way” ser
mons are hopelessly' self-right
ecus rtmi servo only to obscure
the true issues Let’s talk about
facts Then let's talk about solu
tions. Proposition 1H7 is not
inherently about race; it is about
money and one idea of a solu
tion Yes, true, since we are talk
ing about California, it will
affect Hispanic* more than oth
ers Hut then 11 an think of a lot
of tax laws that affect some peo
ple more than others. I can even
think of some that are not |ust
Why insist on imagining a sin
ister ni< is!'agenda behind this
law rather than attm king it in an
Whv do you have to
start screaming
rui ism ami preaching
moral indignation
about "inherrrent
rights " and the in jus
to r.v of the colonial
period.'
orderly rational wav' Lay out
the problem the law seeks to
address, c haracterize how the
law proposes to address the
problem, and then sav why you
disagree Sure it makes a rotten
sound bite, but it s much more
productive
For example, rational discus
sion of Proposition 187 must
focus on an exceedingly simple
equation There is a high
demand for government social
services in California. and the
tax base < an not support this
demand If we start with the
assumption that w« want to
maintain (or increase) the cur
rent level of services there are
only two solutions Either you
somehow decrease demand, or
you increase the tax base (i.e .
raise taxes). In advocating an
open border policy and claiming
that the problem is a "lack of
services," Lowry and Bookstein
implicitly advocate the latter;
Proposition 187 takes the former
approach Either way, you have
to show that your approach can
come up with enough dollars to
cover proposed services because
this is the REAL world.
So, no matter which of the
two above approaches you pre
fer, let's stiil to the real issue —
money. Hither come out and say.
"I am for sharing what wealth
we, as a mm iety. have with all
comers" or state, "I feel that we
should prioritize the distribu
tion of this soi iety's resources
and I also believe that citizen
ship is good criteria for this "
Don’t start screaming about
racism and Nazis, don’t start
i ailing people white supremn
cisl, don't start planting si arc
ta< tii s about Hig Brotherism
Ad dross the facts, state your
position, and suggest a solution.
Not everything has to be painted
in the day glow dramatics of
grave injustice
Let me give you an example,
so we can have profitable dis
cussion rather than politically
i orrect or conservative invective
in the future
I do not believe that Proposi
tion 187 is a solution to the
financial crisis in California.
Legally or otherwise, people
immigrate for economic gain,
not just for social services. Giv
en that people will come regard
less. we are much better off w ith
a populace that is educated and
generally healthy. The reasoning
here is basic ally that if people
have a shot at opportunity, they
will be less likely to turn toward
crime and are more likely to
raise non-poor, non-social-ser
vice-using kids.
Furthermore, illegal immi
grants have contributed substan
tially, both in taxes and profits
arising from cheap labor, to this
country since its inception
Since every single state in this
union has directly or indirectly
benefited from this economic
boon, 1 txdieve it is the job of the
federal government to help out
hard-hit states like California.
Texas, and Florida Yes, this
might mean a tax increase, and
yes. I would be willing to put
my money where my mouth is
by paying more taxes or selling
the presidential yacht or doing
without a similarly “essential"
government outlay.
Now look how easy that was'
No si reams of inequality, no
( hnracter assassination, no
implying people who disagree
are Oregon Citizens Alliance
members or Hitler, nothing! Of
course, it's way too boringly
rational to get on the evening
news....
Fi k Doerry is it graduate student
in computer and information
science