Castillo, Barnhart conduct town hall meeting
■The state legislators
addressed everything from
Oregon’s budget to comments
from constituents
By Aaron K. Breniman
Oregon Daily Emerald
Sen. Susan Castillo, D-Eugene,
and Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene,
hosted a town hall meeting Thurs
day evening at South Eugene High
School to update concerned citizens
on current legislative issues and pro
vide an overview of the Governor’s
budget recommendations.
“The goal here is to lay out a con
text for the budget, and where we
are for this legislative session,”
State Budget Director Theresa
McHugh said as she walked
through the 2001-2003 Governor’s
Recommended Budget.
Addressing the shortfall in this
year’s state budget, Castillo
weighed in on the severity of Ore
gon’s financial condition.
“This is a really tough budget,”
she said. “People will see, no part
of our budget looks good — every
body is getting cuts, big-time cuts.”
While discussing everything
from budget forecasts to tax kickers,
the forum boiled down Oregon’s
budget woes to one problem: not
enough money.
With the constant talk of a federal
surplus and the Bush administra
tion’s proposed tax cut, one could
easily miss the financial crisis Ore
gon faces.
Castillo expressed concern over
the public’s confusion between state
government and federal government,
citing a recent survey that found
nearly 40 percent of Oregonians sur
veyed believed the state was looking
at a projected budget surplus.
“I would love to see television do a
better job — all media do a better job
— of covering state government,”
Castillo said. “I think people are get
ting state government confused with
the federal government.”
Both Castillo and Barnhart said
more should be done to facilitate
communication with elected offi
cials. Town hall meetings are one
attempt at that communication, but
both urged citizens to write their
elected officials more often so they
can understand the issues of the
people they represent.
“We get very few comments from
constituents about what people
Enrollment
continued from page 1
dents in the journalism program in
more than a year. He said this may re
quire the school to move classes that
are traditionally taught in Allen Hall
elsewhere. Incoming freshmen will
also have an impact on the faculty,
creating an overload for the coun
selors as well as the amount of grad
ing required in each class.
Despite some predictions of a
classroom crunch, James Buch, asso
ciate vice president for enrollment
services, remains confident the in
creased number of freshmen will not
have a dramatic effect on scheduling.
Buch said his office is working
with University departments to
slightly alter the schedule next year,
which is primarily due to the
Gilbert Hall renovation.
He said the change would entail a
redistribution of classes on campus,
as well as a slight adjustment in the
time slots when classes are offered.
Buch said he expects only 200
more freshmen to attend the Uni
versity, despite the record number
of applications. In the fall of 1999,
2,422 freshmen attended the Uni
versity, and in 2000, more than
2,780 were on campus.
Michael Eyster, director of Uni
versity Housing, said the applica
tions could mean a high level of oc
cupancy at the residence halls next
year.
“We’re hoping that it means we
are fully occupied next fall,” he
said. “Usually our occupancy is
tied into the amount of freshmen on
campus.”
This year, he said, the residence
halls have a larger number of resi
dents than last year. Currently,, he
said, there are 2,902 residents liv
ing on campus. In spring last year,
there were 2,638 people living in
on-campus housing.
Eyster said that despite the
amount of applications to the Uni
versity, he is worried the freshmen
will not apply to live in the residence
halls because of the quality of the
halls compared to other schools, as
well as other living arrangements.
“I’ve been concerned for quite
awhile at the fact that our residence
halls are not competitive,” he said.
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want,” Barnhart said, mentioning
that much contact comes in the
form of complaints.
Barnhart stressed that this type of
contact with legislators can direct
ly affect their everyday work.
He recalled a legislative vote he
had participated in earlier that day,
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in which he wasn’t quite sure how
to vote on the issue. But the public
comment he had received made the
decision for him.
“An e-mail I received from a
constituent earlier today ultimate
ly determined how I voted,” he
said.
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