The term starts today, but that doesn’t mean it’s too soon to bring up the issues that will guide it — especially considering this term’s topics are already set up.
And they have been fermenting and fomenting for weeks, setting up for a series of battles in the next three months.
Presidential affairs
As we’re sure you know, we are currently being guided by an interim president, Robert Berdahl@@http://www.oregonlive.com/education/index.ssf/2011/12/robert_berdahl_appointed_inter.html@@, who was until recently an assistant to the University President Richard Lariviere. Before that, Berdahl was Chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley,@@http://cio.chance.berkeley.edu/chancellor/rmbio.html@@ and president of the Association of American Universities, an organization of research universities to which the University belongs.@@http://www.uoregon.edu/berdahl-named-interim-president@@
Although Berdahl was the preferred choice of the University Senate and community, there’s a good chance that Lariviere’s firing will result in a larger response this term than last.
For one, the Oregon legislative assembly begins in less than a month, and a number of senators and representatives have already pledged their support for something like the New Partnership proposal@@http://newpartnership.uoregon.edu/history/@@. On top of that, Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio@@http://www.defazio.house.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22&Itemid=5@@ sent in a statement to be read at the statutory faculty assembly at the end of last term that called out the chancellor’s office.
“For over two decades, I have argued the chancellor’s office should be abolished. Given the state’s current financial reality, the money spent on this office is of little or no use to our system of higher education,” DeFazio wrote.
The legislature and enough of the University community are angling against the University’s participation in the Oregon University System. If it’s not out of the OUS by the end of the term, it will come at the end of a brutal debate and vote.
EMU renovation continues
The EMU vote came up opposed to the current plan to expand the Student Union Building. But those in support of the project never said a negative vote would be the end of the project. In fact, University Vice President for Student Affairs Robin Holmes@@http://vpsa.uoregon.edu/biography@@ told the Emerald in October that although the vote was not binding, an overwhelming vote against the project would halt it.
The EMU renovation was opposed by 57 percent of students, while only 52 percent disapproved of the SRC improvements. Neither of these numbers seem enough to unilaterally cancel the projects, but the projects will take new information sessions and a new vote to move forward.
It’s clear that the buildings need some growth, but it is not yet clear how this will be accomplished — still, prepare to vote on the issue at least one more time this year.
Incidental politics
The perennial issue of the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group’s budget will rear its head again.
Given the fact that it currently holds a budget — a luxury it did not enjoy the last two years — and its supporters hold a majority of the Senate and its controlling finance committee, the traditional opposition is in a weaker position than before.
However, at its benchmark, the group requested a 97 percent increase that would launch the budget over $150,000@@http://www.ospirgstudents.org/ospirg-in-the-news/news/student-fee-set-to-skyrocket@@, a number that the group may have difficulty defending if it uses the same answers it has for years.
Otherwise, if the committees can work together to keep the total budget increases under the 7 percent increase it’s allowed, it should be a relatively quiet budget season.
The benchmarks (the numbers each committee presented that they’ll be gunning for) indicated they probably won’t have a problem.
Also, keep an eye out for issues with the Lane Transit District and athletics student tickets contracts.