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.
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