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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 19, 2001)
OSU students fret, protest ‘unfair’ tuition hike ■The demonstrators say Oregon University System budget cuts put other state issues before the students By Andrew Adams Oregon Daily Emerald CORVALLIS — While the State Board of Higher Education hashed out its decision on the Bend branch campus, a group of about 20 Oregon State University stu dents stood quietly nearby, hold ing placards in protest of what they believe is an unfair tuition hike. Faced with a possible $96 mil lion cut in higher education fund ing, the Oregon University System has essentially made it clear that the tuition freeze of the last few years has thawed out. As a result, students could receive more than an 8 percent increase in tuition next year. But what irks students more is that their tuition dollars may be used to fill holes in other areas of the state’s budget. As the board began to discuss budget issues, the students began shaking their signs reading “Tu ition must stay in the system,” “Don’t be puppets” and “Increased tuition: mo’ money, mo’ problems” to draw board members’ attention to their cause. Justin Roach, OSU student body president, helped lead the demon stration. He said the tuition issue has many students upset in Cor vallis because they believe the state board is kowtowing to the governor’s budget cuts and not standing up for students. “We need the board to join with us,” he said. Roach also said he is frustrated with how the current state budget has students shouldering the fi nancial burden of other state pro grams. If we compromise while this is in progress, we compromise ourselves out. Don VanLuvanee President, state board of higher education OUS lobbyist Grattan Kerans told the board that while there has been a $22.3 million “backfill” into the general fund from higher education revenue proposed, funding Oregon’s universities is a top priority for lawmakers on both sides of the aisle. He noted that student groups have been highly effective in mak ing the state congressmen “sensi tized” to the fact they don’t want tuition funds going toward other state programs. Joe Cox, chancellor of the OUS, said the university system is work ing on three main priorities in the budget process, including regain ing funding for the entire system and ensuring money for the sys tem’s initiatives, which include improvements to the state’s engi neering schools and the establish ment of the Bend branch campus. Although the situation seems bad for the OUS, Cox said the funding picture will not be com pletely clear until the state’s rev enue projections are in and law makers determine where to direct money from Oregon’s tobacco set tlement. “We’ll wait until mid-May to find where the dollars are,” he said. Don VanLuvanee, State Board of Higher Education president, said OUS should devote its energy to first ensuring funding at the serv ice level rather than working on several different budget issues fac ing the system. He also said the OUS should not make deals during the budget process before adequate funding for the system is ensured because it would run the risk of not meet ing all the system needs. “If we compromise while this is in progress, we compromise our selves out,” he said. Bend branch continued from page 1 tory, Frohnmayer said he was thankful that the University would not be “shut out of that growing part of the state.” Tim Young, board member and University student, was the lone dissenting vote in the decision. He 4 said he thought the University’s proposal offered more “bang for the buck” because of what he said was its breadth in curriculum. The board’s decision is the end of what has been called a civil war be tween the University and OSU for the chance to expand into the quickly developing region of Cen tral Oregon. Expected to be ready for the start of the academic year in September, the branch campus will now offer a full degree from OSU in a variety of fields. More than $7 million has been earmarked for the proposed institu tion that will be located on the Cen tral Oregon Community College campus in Bend. While there is a slim chance that the funding will fall through during the current leg islative session, strong support from Central Oregon legislators on key committees makes most con cerned parties believe the state funds are secure. As part of the collaborative na ture called for by the board, the University will remain a presence in Central Oregon, but how much of presence still needs to be decid ed. OSU President Paul Risser was pleased with the decision and said collaboration between OSU and the UO has always been an element of OSU’s plans for the branch campus. Tim White, OSU provost and vice president, also said working with the UO has been included in OSU’s plans “from the get-go” and said mandating that the two work together was almost redundant. He said developing a working re lationship between the two institu tions is one of the first steps in OSU’s implementation plans and added he will be meeting with John Moseley, University of Oregon provost and vice president for aca demic affairs. “John and I are going to visit Tuesday morning at 8 to discuss that relationship,” White said. Mosely, who did much of the work developing the University’s proposal, was disheartened after the board’s decision. “It’s disappointing in a sense be cause we feel that we had the best proposal,” he said. He said the University should still be able to offer some of the best elements of its plan in Central Oregon through its joint-effort with OSU and said he is optimistic about this relationship. “Hopefully it will be good for both universities,” Mosely said. 15% OFF TABLE ACCESSORIES • Pencil Trays • Spin-O-Trays • Optima Side Trays • Ultima Storage Fans • Spiroll Drawing Protectors February 19th through March 4th 15% MORE OFF OUR SALE PRICES! • Art Furniture • Drafting Furniture • Desk & Drafting Chairs • 5 Drawer Flat Files • Gagne Light Boxes • Taborets • Artograph Opaque Projectors & Light Boxes OUR BEST PRICES OF THE YEAR! UNIVERSITY OF OREGON BOOKSTORE GOT A STORY IDEA? (i IV E IJ S A € A L L! 3 4 6-551 1
