Given that you have a few more exciting things to do right now, I thank you for reading this. You have likely been told that college will be the best four, five or six years of life: a time of exploration and growth… and, well, a lot of fun. In many ways the archetypal college campus, I have found that all of these things can be true at the University of Oregon.
This week before classes begin can be especially entertaining, as you begin to enjoy student life without having to attend class. As such, it is vitally important that you become aware of the services available for your personal safety as you navigate your first weekend. One noteworthy service is the family of shuttles, funded by your student incidental fees, that can be reached at 346-RIDE when you need a safe way to return to your home. When cognizant of such services, one can begin to construct a safe space in which to enjoy new surroundings.
It is important to note that despite the opportunities here, there is certainly improvement to be made. You enter this institution in the midst of unbearable tuition increases linked inexorably to eroding state funding. You come to a town without housing standards — leaving student renters with inadequate protection from shoddy housing off campus. You are living in a community where many people still fight to feel as welcome here as I hope you do.
You are also part of the solution.
The Associated Students of the University of Oregon — the
ASUO — is not the student government you became acquainted
with during high school. We do not spend our time planning prom
here. The ASUO is responsible for allocating $9.8 million of your student incidental fees (you are paying $180.75 this term) to the EMU, the Athletic Department Finance Committee and over 120 student groups, such as the Designated Driver Shuttle and the Multicultural Center. The ASUO Executive office represents and organizes students so we can exact change on this campus and in the community.
The ASUO, like everything else you will encounter here, can be as effective as you are willing to make it. This term, among other things, we will endeavor to mend the problems listed above. Only with the energy of you and your fellow students will we succeed. As students, we are on a tight budget, with little room for expenses beyond caffeine. We cannot throw $2,000 checks at our problems. However, we do have power in our numbers.
The election this November is important not only because we will choose our president, but because it also yields an opportunity we must not let pass. This November we will have the opportunity to employ our power by voting. Only if we vote will we be able to challenge the Oregon State Legislature to invest in making higher education affordable. This same effect extends to city
government, where we will fight for housing standards this fall.
It is imperative that all students (excluding those from Alaska)
register to vote at their current address by October 12, and equally important that they educate themselves and vote. The ASUO has joined the Student Vote Coalition and set a goal of registering 7,500 students to vote on this campus and 30,000 statewide. Many students have already volunteered to join what has become the most extensive non-partisan voter registration drive conducted on this campus.
In order for us to exceed our goal, we need more students to come by our office and volunteer their time to better this university — and wear a lovely, green T-shirt. The best way
to become involved is to swing by our office in the breezeway of the EMU and sign up to intern for course credit. In addition to supporting the voter registration campaign, opportunities exist to aid our office in work on other campus and community issues such as housing
standards and multi-cultural advocacy. Furthermore, there are over 100 open student seats on committees governing any imaginable aspect of campus life.
Good luck with the start of this new period of your life, and I hope to see you join in improving this campus.

Adam Petkun, a senior majoring in economics and political science, is president of the ASUO.