After two years without University funding, the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group has been granted $86,268 by ASUO President Amelie Rousseau’s budget. However, concerned students and ASUO senators are still fighting for a budget that does not support OSPIRG because students will be unable to opt out of the service.
Meanwhile, the incidental fee is also projected to decrease next year. The ASUO’s Departments Finance Committee budget decreased this year, but the overall incidental fee decrease is most likely connected to recent increases in student enrollment.
“Based on the 2011-2012 enrollment and revenue projections provided to us by the Office of Institutional Research, we believe it is important to decrease the I-fee for next year,” Rousseau wrote in a cover letter to University President Richard Lariviere.
In her March 15 letter, Rousseau listed a recommendation for $175 per student per term, an approximately $8 decrease from the fee students paid each term this year.
There is little difference between ACFC’s final budget approved by the Senate March 29 — vetoed by Rousseau March 30 — and the one Rousseau eventually fashioned. Just three contracts differ between the two budgets in terms of dollar amount: OSPIRG, athletics and Sexual Assault Support Services.
Rousseau’s veto was not overturned by Senate last Wednesday because seven senators walked out of the meeting before a vote was held. The president’s first veto was voted on, but the two-thirds majority of Senators required to override the veto was not met.
This second veto was upheld by a Constitution Court ruling (31 C.C.) March 31, which gave the Senate two options to have a say in the final budget. Rousseau’s ability to write her own budget was decided in 32 C.C. April 1.
The Senate budget, compared with Rousseau’s, afforded no money to OSPIRG, $600 more to SASS and $43,030 more to athletics, bringing the department up to current service level for basketball tickets.
The changes in the budget are based on the $80,000 Rousseau and Sen. Ian Fielding were able to cut from the Lane Transit District contract that was paying for bus service for University students who don’t attend the Eugene campus.
Rousseau again argued that her budget does the best job of providing students with more services.
“Because the veto was upheld, we were able to save students $84,000 and put that toward more services for campus,” Rousseau said. “And anywhere we can get students more bang for their buck is a success.”
Former ASUO Sen. Demic Tipitino told the Emerald before the ACFC budget was released that OSPIRG opponents would continue to fight.
“On the OSPIRG issue, I am hopeful that the (University) administration will no longer tolerate this … and implement an opt-out fee or block it all together,” Tipitino said. “Barring this, I believe the Senate will present its budget directly to the Oregon Board of Higher Education … that passed by a majority no less than four times.”
Tipitino said that in the case of these two bodies not hearing from funding opponents, they have been in conversations with legal advisors but will not be seeking monetary compensation.
“Several of us (have been) in contact with legal advisors,” Tipitino said. “I don’t think anyone wants a monetary solution to this; it’s about principle and it’s about barring the use of student fees for political action.”
The legal action would argue, Tipitino said, that because students are compelled to pay the fee, if the money is going to advocacy, students would be forced to speak about issues they may not agree with — a violation of the First Amendment.
In any case, the issue of funding is out of the hands of the ASUO for now. Rousseau’s budget has been sent to the University administration and from there it will go on to the Oregon University System.
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