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editorials, letters, commentary and perspective
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All thumbs
To the scheduling
of the panel
presentation:
The program’s
three days of
events were well
organized and
executed but at least
one was poorly
scheduled.
Wednesday’s panel
presentation on
“Realizing the
Dream” took place
in the EMU
Ballroom at 10 a.m.
and, not
surprisingly, was
sparsely attended.
At that time,
students (and
faculty) are either
asleep or in class
(or both), and the
EMU Ballroom is
not exactly the most
visible location on
campus. In
contrast, attendance
for the candlelight
vigil in the busy
EMU Courtyard on
Tuesday afternoon
was high for an
event of its
magnitude —and
for good reason.
To the Skinner
Butte cross:
Now that the 9th
U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals has deter
mined the cross
won’t reside on
public land, many
residents are calling
for its destruction.
But at least five
churches or reli
gious institutions
have expressed in
terest in placing the
cross on their prop
erty. If there is a
home for it on pri
vate land, it de
serves to be there.
The cross is too im
portant to too many
people.
To Dave
Frohnmayer:
Our beloved Uni
versity president is
teaching a freshman
seminar entitled
“Theories of Leader
ship” twice a week
in Gilbert Hall. Be
sides the scary fact
that he actually has
time to do this, the
idea of our presi
dent interacting with
undergraduates is a
good one. While
Frohnmayer may
never teach again,
the effort put forth
to do so this term is
worthy of recogni
tion.
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Residency rules need clarity
■ OUR OPINION:
Current policy for
out-of-state students
is inconsistent, vague
and unfair
Who is a resident
of the state of
Oregon? The
question might i
seem simple, but it’s not. Ac- A
cording to the state, a resident is «
anyone who is living and paying
taxes in Oregon. According to the
Oregon State System of Higher
Education (OSSHE), it’s a little bit
more complicated.
OSSHE declaring a student as a
resident means much more than be
ing able to vote in Oregon and get an
Oregon driver’s license — it means
that student doesn’t have to pay out-of
state tuition. Currently, the state subsi
dizes about 75 percent of the cost of high
er education for residents. Those who
come to the University from another state
do not get this government subsidy be
cause the state says they haven’t paid into
the system through taxes and therefore,
should not be able to cash in on the bene
fits.
This means out-of-state students pay a
considerably higher price for a University
education than residents do. Many peo
ple who want to attend the University
from another state have a great interest in
establishing residency so they can reap
the rewards of a subsidized education.
That’s where OSSHE comes in. If be
coming a resident of Oregon were as easy
as getting an apartment, registering your
car and paying taxes in Oregon, a consid
erable number of people would find it in
their interest to become residents — and
state colleges would stand to lose a lot of
money. For this reason, OSSHE has set up
a separate standard for becoming a resi
dent that is considerably harder than the
state’s requirements. Under OSSHE’s re
quirements, for out-of-state students to
become residents they must be financial
ly independent, live in Oregon for one
year, be primarily engaged in activities
other than those of being a student and
prove that they came to Oregon for rea
CHRIS HUTCHINSON/Emerald
sons other than to receive an education.
It is those last two requirements that
are responsible for almost all the prob
lems people have with becoming a resi
dent. What activities qualify as being a
student? How does one prove what his or
her intent was when he or she came to
Oregon? Questions like these are, in
many ways, matters of opinion. Who is
supposed to decide what someone’s in
tent is when they came to Oregon? OS
SHE can almost arbitrarily decide who
can get residency and who can't based on
their interpretation of these two require
ments. The whole situation just lends it
self to controversy.
Students who attempt to become resi
dents but are rejected based on OSSHE’s
opinion on their intent face two prob
lems. Not only must they pay out-of-state
tuition in Oregon, but having given up
their previous residency, they must pay
out-of-state tuition back home as well.
They are, in essence, residents of
nowhere, stuck uncomfortably between
the cracks of the system.
The vagueness of these rules is no acci
dent. Oregon colleges are in a tricky situa
tion with residency issues. On the one
hand, they don’t want to lose money
when people from other states establish
residency. On the other hand, they don’t
want to lose money when people from
out of state — unable to pay out-of-state
tuition and unwilling to go through the
residency process — are forced to leave
for another school. What’s left is a murky
set of requirements purposely filled with
loopholes so OSSHE can monitor who be
comes a resident and who doesn’t.
As long as residency requirements are
unclear, there will be problems with de
termining who is and isn’t a resident of
the state of Oregon. Instead of relying on
OSSHE’s judgment on what someone’s
intent is, a clear set of requirements
should be drawn up. If people meet the
requirements, they become residents; if
not, they don’t. Period.
If OSSHE is worried too many people
will establish residency once the rules are
clear, make the requirements harder. In
stead of asking potential residents to live
in the state one year, why not make it
two? The fact is it doesn’t matter what the
requirements are as long as they are con
sistently applied. That way, no one will
be confused as to 'why his or her bid for
residency was rejected. Only when the re
quirements to become a resident are
clearly defined will the residency prob
lem be resolved.
This editorial represents the majority
opinion of the Emerald editorial board.