Seat 3
continued from page 1
student incidental fees.
Law students are not exactly com
monplace in the trenches of student
government, but Andries hopes the
student voters will make an excep
tion in his case. He added that being
a law student isn’t a huge disconnect
from being an
undergraduate,
and having a
representative
who isn’t em
broiled in the
politics of stu
dent govern
ment will bene
fit the student
body.
“I can be the
outside eyes in
the situation
and can make the impartial deci
sions,” he said.
Getting involved again in a cam
pus community teeming with stu
dent events and activities lured An
dries into running for a position with
the ASUO. He said he relishes the
opportunity to interact with student
organizations on campus, especially
with regards to helping them with
budgetary
problems and
concerns.
Andries was
involved in sev
eral student or
ganizations as
an undergradu
ate, but he said
his proudest
achievement
was coaching
his younger
brother’s soccer
team and being able to watch the
kids grow and develop. He added
that even though he moved around
a lot as a kid, soccer always gave him
a sense of belonging and acceptance.
“It’s a recurring theme in my life
that wherever I go, I play soccer,”
he said.
Overgard, a small-town Oregon
native, said that even though she’s
only in her freshman year, students
shouldn’t hold the misconception
that she is inexperienced when it
comes to student leadership. During
her high school career, Overgard
said she attended leadership camps
and really fell in love with the idea of
politics when she did a government
job-shadow in the state capital.
Overgard said she grew up on a
farm, which she used to her advantage
during the primary campaign by
bringing two baby ducklings to Eu
gene with her to help get her noticed.
Sometimes voters want to know
not only if candidates for political of
fice are qualified to be leaders, but
also if they are compassionate peo
ple. Overgard said one of the kindest
things about herself is she donates
blood on a regular basis. She added
that it’s something she’s passionate
about because a person can save the
lives of others by donating blood for
only a few moments of pain.
Erasing biases within the commit
tees should be the priority of student
leaders, Overgard said, and will be
her main goal for improving stu
dent government, if she is elected.
Overgard
Contact the senior news reporter
atjenniferbear@dailyemerald.com.
Autonomy
continued from page 1
testify against the bill, joining represen
tatives from Western Oregon University
and Oregon State University in saying
accountability should remain with the
state legislature, not with OUS or indi
vidual universities within the system.
Currently, each university in OUS
works within the system. OUS an
swers to the state legislature on fund
ing and other issues, and the State
Board of Higher Education is appoint
ed by, and therefore ultimately con
trolled by, Gov. Ted Kulongoski.
Under this system, if students or
faculty members have a problem
with how the school is being run or
how money is being spent, they can
appeal to the Legislature for an in
tervention. If the Legislature fails to
act, the grievance could be taken all
the way to the governor.
If Senate Bill 437 passes without
amendment, however, OUS could
hand over many powers to the indi
vidual schools. Then, theoretically, a
grievance could only be taken to the
president of the school — in the Uni
versity’s case, President Dave Frohn
mayer—where it could either be ad
dressed or dismissed. That could be
the final appeal, although the wording
is murky, and an OUS fact sheet states
the system could still be responsible
to the state board.
According to a letter signed by
Frohnmayer and the other six univer
sity presidents in OUS, Oregon uni
versities — in order to maintain the
status quo — need: greater flexibility
to increase and use nonstate rev
enues, the ability to operate more effi
ciently and the ability to increase en
trepreneurial activity. These needs
form the basis of Senate Bill 437.
The letter said the current econom
ic problems surrounding higher edu
cation may cause the system to fail.
The presidents added that this failure
would inevitably lead to a loss of ac
cess and would be “measured in
course and program reductions, in
creased time to degree for students,
and to decreased enrollment.”
OUS spokeswoman Di Saunders
said only 17 percent of University
funding comes from the state and
now, more than ever, all OUS univer
sities “rely heavily on tuition rev
enues, grants and contracts, and pri
vate donors to support their
campuses.” The gap in state funding
is one of the primary motivators be
hind the bill and has left University
Senior Vice President and Provost
John Mosely eager for reform.
Mosely said the implementation
of Senate Bill 437 would provide
some additional revenue for the Uni
versity, mostly through interest
gained from student tuition. He said
this slight increase, coupled with a
more efficient system, would help
ensure students had access to higher
education, something that is threat
ened should the measure fail.
“The state ought to back off and
let the University handle their own
business,” Mosely said.
Contact the senior reporter
at aimeerudin@dailyemerald.com.
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