No one would think taking precautions to safeguard your purse or wallet against theft is unimportant, but a majority of University students are indifferent about protecting their incidental fee dollars from abuse by voting for student government leaders for the 2003-04 school year.

Financially savvy students, however, can take the time to ensure the money they put into their education is invested wisely, by voting in the ASUO general election, which begins on Monday at 8 a.m. and ends on Wednesday at 5 p.m.
Joe Jenkins, a second-year law student focusing on environmental and natural resource law, and Mena Ravassipour, a sophomore general science major, are running for ASUO
Student Senate Seat 2, which includes the responsibility of serving on the ASUO Programs Finance Committee. PFC is a governmental body that has more than $5 million in student incidental fees to distribute.
Jenkins said he’s running for Seat 2 because he was very involved in student leadership as an undergraduate and wants to get back in the swing of things now that he’s a law student. However, Jenkins said he wasn’t born a Duck, but instead migrated to the University from West Virginia.
Going to college at the University offered Jenkins a completely different way of life. Before he came to Eugene, Jenkins said he had never been west of the Mississippi River, except for one brief visit to Kansas City.
He added that pursuing his law degree at the University has helped him realign his priorities.
Ravassipour currently holds Senate Seat 11, an academic seat for undeclared majors. She is involved in several committees, including the Faculty Personnel committee and the University Executive committee. She was appointed to Seat 11 by ASUO President Rachel Pilliod, and Ravassipour said she has enjoyed serving on Senate, which is one reason she decided to run for a finance senator seat.
Ravassipour hopes to go to medical school and become a doctor. However, she said she doesn’t know yet what she wants to specialize in.
Ravassipour said University life has helped her discover who she is and what her beliefs are. As a part of her personal growth, Ravassipour has learned to play the piano and has also indulged in her love of travel while she has been at the University. She speaks German, spent time as an exchange student in Germany and goes back every summer to visit her host family.
Ravassipour said she’s eager to work on behalf of student interests to protect the incidental fee.
“I hope when people meet me, they understand that I’m a dedicated person,” Ravassipour said.