Student government leaders will hold a media event and an open forum today as part of a campaign to eliminate a new energy surcharge fee they say should have been approved by students.
At noon, State Rep. Phil Barnhart, D-Eugene, will speak in support of student leaders’ efforts, ASUO Public Relations Director Carmen Stuewe said. ASUO President Nilda Brooklyn, Stuewe and other students will also speak about the fee, which adds an estimated $30 per term to tuition.
The public media event will be held near the steps outside the EMU, across from the ASUO office. The ASUO will also have an information table about the fee in the EMU, she said.
She added that students can ask administrators questions about the fee in an open forum tonight from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the International Student Association Lounge.
Several University administrators will be at the forum, including Provost John Moseley, Vice President of Administration Dan Williams, Vice President for Resource Management Frances Dyke, and Director of Campus Operations George Hecht. Oregon Student Association Communications Director John Wykoff is also scheduled to attend.
The events are part of a statewide “Day of Action” coordinated by the Oregon Student Association, a group that works with students in the Oregon University System.
OSA Executive Director Joelle Lester said the group opposes the fee because it thinks the overall rising costs mean some students may not be able to afford to return to school this year..
“Every time we increase the cost, there are students who are no longer able to attend state universities,” she said.
This summer, the OUS board approved a 4 percent tuition increase at all OUS schools. The board also allowed schools to add several new fees, including an energy surcharge to cover rising energy costs.
Administrators at all but two OUS schools — Portland State University and Southern Oregon University — chose to add the fee. At the University, the fee is expected to be $30 per term, bringing in about $500,000 per term total.
The OSA is also against the process by which the fee was approved, Lester said. Administrators should have asked for student input and tried to find alternatives to the fee, such as energy conservation, she said.
Students at schools across the state are showing their opposition to the energy surcharge in various ways, OSA Communication Director Julie Suchanek-Ritchie said.
At PSU and SOU, where administrators decided against adding the fee, students are not holding events on campus, she said. But they are sending out press releases today to support eliminating the fee at other OUS schools.
At Eastern Oregon University, students plan to host a radio show about the fee, and Western Oregon University student government leaders are also holding a media event. Oregon State University will also bring a representative from a power company to speak about energy conservation.