Programs Financing
The ASUO Programs Finance Committee has committed $239,667 so far for next year’s program budget. That represents a
11 percent increase over last year’s funding — slightly more than the PFC’s 3 percent benchmark.
% CHANGE $ CHANGE
ORGANIZATION 2001-02 2000-01 FROM THIS YEAR FROM THIS YEAR
Asian Pacific American Law Student Assoc. $535
Oregon Law Students' Public Interest Fund $2,143
$805
50%
$270
Minority Law Student Association
Athletic Department Finance Committee"
Students of the Indian Subcontinent
$2,143
0%
$1,018
$0
$1,616
59%
$598
$2,457
n/a
$2,457
International Law Students Association
$4,759
n/a
Pre-Veterinary Club
$1,340
$4,759
$1,230
n/a
$300
-$110
Chinese Students and Scholars Association $2,522
Legal Services $119,375
$0
n/a
-$300
n/a
n/a
n/a
Office of Student Advocacy
Total
$132,950
11%
$90,450
$13,575
$93,707
4%
$217,683
$3,257
$239,667
11%
$24,506
PFC approves budgetary increases
By Lisa Toth
Oregon Daily Emerald
The ASUO Programs Finance
Committee completed the second
night of its annual budget process
Tuesday, approving budgets for
eight groups, denying one group
any money for next year and
tabling another group’s budget
hearing indefinitely.
The seven-member committee al
locates student incidental fee mon
ey to more than 100 ASUO Pro
grams, which include international
student groups, student govern
ment and other groups like the Ore
gon Marching Band.
Although the PFC has only con
cluded two nights of budget hear
ings they have allotted an average of
11 percent more.
The biggest budget increase of
$132,950 was allocated to ASUO
Legal Services. Director of ASUO
Legal Services Ilona Koleszar said
this additional money will be uti
lized to attract and retain law clerks
with market-rate pay.
ASLJO Student Senate President
Peter Watts supported the PFC’s de
cision to increase the budget for the
Asian Pacific American Law Stu
dent Association by $270.
“I think this group has been far
more visible on campus this year,”
Watts said.
Students of the Indian Subconti
nent, a group newly recognized on
campus by the ASUO, was allocat
ed an increase of $4,759 in funding
from the PFC to meet their budget
requests. Members of SIS said they
intend to increase fundraising for
programming expenses. SIS Presi
dent Shruti Shah said the group
wants to increase cultural diversity
on campus with the money they
have been allocated.
“Since we are a new organiza
tion, I didn’t expect that [the PFC]
would be so fair and understand
ing,” Shah said. “I was pleased with
the way things turned out.”
In contrast to those groups who
presented budget requests, the Pre
Veterinary Club failed to appear for
the budget hearing. As a result, the
PFC voted not to fund the group for
next year.
The PFC tabled the budget hear
ing for the Chinese Students and
Scholars Association until more in
formation is gathered about CSSA’s
account transactions.
Groups have five business days
to appeal the budgets approved for
them by the PFC. That process will
commence after the initial PFC
hearings have been completed.
Commons
continued from page 1
new furnishings, convenient facili
ties and an option to have high
speed Internet, the Commons was a
big hit and had a high student de
mand in its opening months.
But for some tenants, sour im
pressions began even before they
moved in. Because of conflicts
within the contracting company
hired to build the apartments, many
of the buildings were not finished
on time. An unlucky group of stu
dents were forced to choose be
tween staying at the Red Lion Inn or
finding other living arrangements,
paid for by the Commons, for al
most a month until all of the apart
ments were completed.
Jennifer Monin, a junior bio
chemistry major, chose to stay in
the hotel. She said this surprise
caused many inconveniences, in
cluding commuting problems.
Monin has since moved out.
“We got a letter only days before
we were supposed to move in to tell
us the apartments weren’t ready,”
she said. “It got my year off to a real
ly bad start.”
But even after an extra month’s
time to finish the establishment, the
tenements’ condition still didn’t
match the extravagant vision adver
tisements had presented in earlier
months, according to some tenants.
Some complained that the apart
ments were put together in a rush
and others were disappointed to
learn that the high-speed Internet
option was unavailable.
Another prior resident, junior ed
ucation major Allie Blakely, expe
rienced problems from the first day
she moved in.
“We had no beds, no chairs and no
microwaves like they said we’d have,
and it took awhile to get them,” she
said. “The building was very poorly
made and very dirty. Even though I
was the first tenant, there were holes
in the wall that you could tell had
been patched over, and the paint on
the walls looked like primer. We also
had ants.”
Addressing the problems
But many of these issues were out
of the management’s hands, accord
ing to Gary Mosburg, regional man
ager of Capstone Properties, the na
tional company that owns the
University Commons.
“There were problems with the
construction company ...and a lot
of furniture was back ordered,” he
said. “But a lot of people were com
pensated one way or another.”
Commons manager Bryant added
that management has changed the
paint used for the walls this year.
“It wasn’t primer, but it was a
very flat, thin paint,” she said. “If
you just touch it the wrong way it
does make marks ... But we’re us
ing a different kind now.”
Although advertisements present
ed an option to pay an extra fee for
high-speed Internet, it wasn’t avail
able until the middle of spring term.
Chris Davidson, junior philoso
phy major, said that the manage
ment’s vague answers to these kinds
of issues were the biggest problem.
“We could never get a solid an
swer from them,” he said. “When I
asked about the Internet for exam
ple, they would say ‘just a little
longer.’ They could have just said
they didn’t really know what was
going on.’”
Many residents said that the
management didn’t respond to
problems because the majority of
tenants were students.
"There was an overwhelming
feeling that the management jerked
us around because we were stu
dents,” Monin said. “They didn’t
treat us like adults.”
Bryant, who became the manager
in June, said although last year’s
management may have neglected
duties, she responds to manners as
quickly as possible and has never
put in less effort because of the stu
dents’age group.
“If people file work orders, we try
to get them done within 24 hours,”
she said. “Most problems are ad
dressed right away. ”
But some students said that even
while Bryant was manager, manage
ment didn’t take care of some mainte
nance problems in a timely manner.
Christen Eustice, a junior general
science major who was a tenant in
summer, said management contin
uously ignored her complaints
“We had a broken window when
we moved in, in early July,” she said.
“It never got fixed ... We also had a
bathroom floor that was sinking. A
guy came and said the concrete need
ed to be re-done but then never came
back. And we wrote letters, but the
management nevergot back to us.”
But Bryant said she never heard
about these complaints.
Bitterfeelings
Another concern tenants had even
after the new management took over
involved bills from the Eugene Water
and Electric Board. EWEB sends gener
al power biUstotheCommonsandbills
for specific apartments to the tenants
themselves. But in this case, some ten
ants found bills addressed to the Com
mons taped to their doors with notes
from management telling them to pay.
Bryant said this happened be
cause after some students moved
out, their electric bills were added
to the bill Commons owed for the
vacant apartment time.
The issue became even more con
fusing when students who asked
EWEB about the unexplained bills
were told they didn’t have to pay them.
Cathy Hamilton, a representative
from EWEB, said they would never
“pass on” a bill from students to the
complex, and that the Commons
management doesn’t have the au
thority to tell students they owe
part of the bill.
“We only bill Commons for areas
like hallways or when the apartment
is vacant because they agreed to
that,” she said. “We bill the individ
ual units to the customer and if they
move we try to find their forwarded
address. We wouldn’t just give their
bill to the property owner.”
Despite work to improve by the
new management, some previous
tenants find it difficult to forget last
year’s harsh experiences. Monin said
it was a mistake to judge the apart
ments by its image, and is happy that
she doesn’t live there anymore.
“I’m just so bitter about the
whole thing,” she said.
010868
Experience Life
Wednesdays
8:30 pm
Education 176
http://gladstone.uoregon.edu/~asuoccc/
Call: 345-5799
Ministry of Campus Crusade for
Christ and Athletes in Action
Authentic Worship
Connections
Public Review
Comment Session
January 11, 2001
11:30-1:30 pm
Lobby of the Erb Memorial Union
The University Community is invited to
participate in an Open House and Comment Session
on future development of the campus along
University Street between the entrance to Lawrence
Hall and 18*1 Avenue.
Participants will review the results of a
previous planning workshop and images of possible
future improvements and may offer comments.
The consultants for the Study from the firm of Moore
Icofano Goltsman, along with members of the User
Group and University Planners will be available to
discuss the project.
Sponsored by the University Planning Office
If you have questions call 346-5562
y/e*/ ptopfe. y/eV fun* y/e*/ eyperfence.
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