This time each year, the ASUO Senate is close to allocating all of its surplus budget to various groups both on- and off-campus. This pool of money consists entirely of the incidental fee, which students contribute to every year, every term.
Each term, students pay about $178@@http://asuo.uoregon.edu/studentinfo.php@@ for things like football tickets and the Oregon Student Public Research Interest Group; however, many do not know just how far-reaching their student fee contribution is. These fees add up to approximately $13 million a year, and 20 elected officials on Senate are in charge of allocating those funds.
So far this year, Senate allocated money to several cultural campus groups for them to have an international night and educate students about different countries.
The body allocated $30,000 last week to the Child Care Subsidy@@http://pages.uoregon.edu/ccsub/@@ that goes to help students with children. This allocation will allows them to place their children in safe childcare facilities.
ASUO Sen. Lamar Wise@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=lamar+wise@@ stressed the importance of understanding what Senate does for students.
“Senate is essentially giving away student money, and they should know what it is going toward,” he said.
One of Wise’s favorite allocations went toward setting up flag poles surrounding the EMU, which represent the various Native American tribes in Oregon.
“I think it was one of those requests that Senators felt like they were doing the right thing,” he said. “I like supporting any student group that comes in. That’s one of the reasons why I like my job.”
Something Senate often discusses is whether or not it should fund conferences or spring break trips. According to ASUO Sen. Vice President Andrew Lubash,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=andrew+lubash@@ the conflict is that these requests are usually for a lot of money and only seem to benefit a few students.
ASUO Sen. Ben Bowman@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Ben+Bowman@@ said another important role of Senate is to pass resolutions that speak for the entire student body. Lubash agreed, saying Senate acts as the voice for all 24,000 students.
“I believe Senate is more representative of the student body than the Executive,” he said. “Senate acts as a separation of powers and prevents corruption of the Executive.”
Another thing Senate funds is free legal services for students.
“This is something all students could utilize,” Bowman said. “Free legal help with conflict violations on campus as well as help outside of campus is important.”
He explained Senate often works as the face for ASUO when dealing with programs and other student groups and believes students should be involved in their student government.
“I hold civic engagement as a value that is important to me,” he said. “It is good practice for when we get to the real world and deal with taxes.”