In a close election last week’s ASUO Student Referendum, student voters rejected new student fees that would fund expansions to the EMU and Student Recreation Center.
In the special election, available on Duckweb from Monday through Friday of last week, 57 percent of voters were opposed to the EMU renovation and its associated $65 per student per term fee, while 52 percent disapproved of the proposed $35 per student per term fee to complete the planned expansion of the SRC.
More than 4,600 students voted in the special election, which was previously scheduled for two weeks prior but was postponed by ASUO President Ben Eckstein over concerns about guarantees of student space in a potential new EMU and student involvement in the design process of such a building.
The referendum was rescheduled for last week after the Senate and Executive agreed to terms on a new memorandum of understanding between the Division of Student Affairs and the ASUO, which covered details of the project. University Vice President for Student Affairs Robin Holmes signed the memo, putting the election back on track.
“I am incredibly proud of the amazing students of this University,” ASUO Elections Coordinator Cedar Cosner@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Cedar+Cosner@@ said. “The turnout in this election clearly demonstrates that students want and need to have a voice. I am honored to have facilitated a process by which students are heard.”
“I was really disappointed,” Sen. Laura Hinman@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Laura+Hinman@@ said. Hinman was one of the leaders of the discussion during the Nov. 9 Senate meeting that led to the new memorandum between student affairs and the ASUO.
“Had there been less questions and different phrasing,” she said, “the result might have been different.”
“Less questions” refers to the 10 additional questions placed on the referendum by the Executive. In addition to voting down the referendum, students opposed eliminating the Office of Multicultural Academic Success and allowing the athletic department to use tuition dollars to fund projects or pay NCAA violations.
Students did vote to support giving the ASUO Senate and Executive sole authority to set student government stipends as well as changes to the current structure of both the EMU and SRC Boards, making a majority of members of both boards directly elected by students.
Voters approved all of these positions by wide margins.
“I think the result of this election speaks for itself,” Eckstein said. “Students had a chance to weigh in, and we will stand by the decision.”
He spoke of the struggles the ASUO had with getting a chance for students to vote on the proposed EMU project, dating back to June.
“It took a long time to get to the point where we got to have this election,” he said. “It was a fight.”
In a June meeting, the State Board of Higher Education said they they would not impose a fee for the expansion project without a student vote. With students seemingly opposed to such a fee, it would appear that the expansion of the EMU will be on hold for the foreseeable future.