Behind the constant hustle and bustle of campus, the resources and events that make student life livable and the money that makes it all happen lies at the Associated Students of the University of Oregon. While ASUO has been serving students as the university’s official student government since 1912 according to archives, many students have little idea about what the organization really does.
This year’s ASUO president, Chloé Webster, said that ASUO’s goals continue to change over time, but it always comes back to student engagement, support and elevation. “ASUO is here to listen. But, beyond listen we’re here to act, and we want to do what’s best for students,” Webster said. “We commit to engaging with students and taking the necessary steps to actively improve our campus experience and make it the best it can be.”
What does this mean, and how does ASUO bring those goals to life? As the university’s student government, ASUO’s power lies in “the amount of funds we have and the ability to fund resources on campus,” Webster said. Specifically, much of their power lies in handling the Incidental Fee. If ASUO is a beehive, then the I-Fee is its honey.
The I-Fee is a required fee that’s part of students’ annual tuition. ASUO manages the I-Fee, which totals at about $9 million, by controlling and deciding how it will be allocated to different programs, departments and contracts that impact the student experience.
Much of the allocation goes towards the 200+ ASUO-recognized student organizations. However, ASUO also funds many other resources beyond those organizations such as PeaceHealth rides, the Oregon Marching Band, the Oregon Student Association and the Bi-Annual Street Fair to name a few.
Apart from the I-Fee, ASUO has other foundational duties. “We’re able to communicate with the administration and communicate with the university to really push on certain issues,” Webster said. “A lot of my job is going to meetings with, whether it be President Scholz, whether it be vice presidents within the university, and telling them ‘this is what I’m hearing from students.’”
But how does such a big portion of money get handled properly, and who exactly is doing the work to help students? Much like any state government, ASUO works through three branches.
The Executive Branch
The executive branch is made up of the student body president, vice president and cabinet, which is made up of six directors whose jobs focus on human resources, advocacy and communications. As a branch, the president, vice president and cabinet work together to initiate campaigns and collaborate directly with faculty, staff and any other stakeholders of the student experience.
“Something really big right now is the Thermal Task Force,” Webster said regarding what the executive branch is currently doing. “We have students who are in our advocacy department sitting on that task force in helping try to push for the university to choose the option that reduces carbon emissions the most.”
The Legislative Branch
The legislative branch is made up of 24 student senators and three financial committees. The student senate manages financial and policy decisions for student organizations, debating these decisions publicly every Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the EMU’s Dusty Miller Room, EMU 107.
Every senate hearing provides a designated public forum time to welcome any students, faculty or staff to ask questions. The agendas for these meetings are provided online to keep a record of policy decisions, requests and so on.
The finance committees include the programs, departments and contracts committees. Each committee has a distinct focus on allocating funds for either student organizations, university departments or programs and contractual units that are funded outside of the university.
“There’s a lot of different units that we fund internally within the university that I think a lot of students don’t realize,” Webster said.
The Judicial Branch
The judicial branch is the constitutional court for ASUO. Made up of five members, they decide what ASUO’s governing rules, documents and formal processes look like. Any broken rules, grievances or violations regarding ASUO members or actions are handled by this branch.
Much like with any government body, it can be difficult to grasp the fact that there are faces behind these processes. “I think people have a perception that ASUO ‘plays politics,’ or is just kind of in our office and works on different projects that may not impact students,” Webster said. “The reality is that we’re working with programs, departments and contracts that impact students every single day.”
To offer a new perspective on the officers that make up ASUO, some of the staff shared what it’s like to be in the office on a day-to-day basis.
“It’s really nice to be in an environment where everyone is a student, and you’re all doing important work, and working on important issues, but there’s a lot more, like, empathy, because we all have this kind of shared experience in life,” Alexander Aghdaei, ASUO’s chief of staff, said regarding working on a staff made up of the student body.
“We’re all students here,” ASUO’s executive director of finance Finn O’Donnell said. “We all understand the problems that everybody goes through, we just happen to get to make decisions.” As a team, ASUO emphasized its effort to become more approachable in the eyes of the student body.
The current vice president, Finn Jacobson, stressed that ASUO is not only a financial controller working behind the scenes, but an organization committed to bettering the student experience. As the leaders of ASUO this year, Jacobson and Webster want to make sure students are aware of this.
“If you come in, and everyone’s you know, working on their laptops, there can be this level of intimidation,” Webster said about the ASUO office. “I would encourage students to hold us accountable and ask us, ‘Hey, this is something I’m running into, what can you do to help me?’. If students come in, that’s great, because we’re actually hearing firsthand the issues that need to be fixed. And we want to fix them.
To reach ASUO, visit their office at room 004 in the EMU, or find a time to meet with an ASUO member during their office hours. To find more general information about ASUO and what they do, their website is available here.
Chloe Webster, the ASUO President, and Finn Jacobson, the ASUO Vice President, talk at a table with other ASUO office holders. ASUO is the Associated Students of the University of Oregon; the group provides different types of development for its members to fulfill interests within the University of Oregon. (Molly McPherson/Emerald)
