The ASUO special election begins today, but many students don’t seem to know — or care — about the issues on the ballot.
“I didn’t even know there was an election,” sophomore Matt Klahn said.
Low student interest in campus elections is nothing new. In last year’s ASUO spring election, only 9 percent of the student body voted.
Two measures on the ballot for the special election affect how student incidental fees are allocated. This year, more than $8 million — which works out to more than $170 per student, per term — go to fund programs such as student unions, football tickets and the Designated Driver Shuttle.
Students involved with the ASUO have tried to get the word out about the special election by posting bright yellow fliers around campus. The ASUO will also place a voter’s guide to the ballots in today’s Emerald.
But for many students, the election — and the incidental fee — seems to have little connection to their lives.
Sophomore Isaac Kuhlman said he reads about student government leaders working with University administrators on behalf of students. But he said he doesn’t see ASUO executives getting involved with students directly.
“I don’t really hear about things they do with students,” he said. “I just hear about things they do for students.”
And while most students say they care where their incidental fee money goes, many have a vague understanding of what the fee is or what the fee pays for.
Klahn said he cares about how the incidental fee he pays for is used, but doesn’t feel like he has very much control over the process.
He added that the fee would matter more to him if his parents didn’t pay his tuition bill.
Oregon Student Association Executive Director Joelle Lester said students may seem apathetic about the incidental fee because they don’t always make the connection between the fees they pay and the services their school provides.
But that doesn’t mean students don’t care, she said.
“Most students have an opinion about most things,” she said.
ASUO President Nilda Brooklyn said the low voter turnout in campus elections reflects a national problem.
“It’s frustrating to me that voting, in general, in this country is not stressed or seen as very important,” she said.
Brooklyn added that incidental fees should be important to students because they pay for so many services on campus.
“Students should care because there’s a lot at stake at the University,” she said. “They should have an investment in where their money goes.”
Kara Cogswell is a student activities reporter
for the Oregon Daily Emerald. She can be reached
at [email protected].