The press conference held by the Oregon State Interest Research Group in the EMU Amphitheater on Thursday had a noble aim of decreasing the tremendous amount of debt many college students face after graduation. Debt is a dark cloud over many students’ college experiences and can deter some from entering college in the first place. For some college-bound students, the idea of future debt can prevent many from considering schools with high tuition.
No doubt, the goal of the press conference was a good one, but OSPIRG unfortunately chose to make its point by spending money on a giant blow-up ball and chain.
The enormous inflatable ball and chain that OSPIRG used to spread the word about student debt was flashy, but was also likely expensive.
OSPIRG had to obtain the money for the prop somehow, and unless it was given the prop for free, any amount of money that was spent on it could have been better used elsewhere – such as on scholarships for the students OSPIRG is trying help with its campaign.
What isn’t obvious to students is where the money for the campaign comes from. There are two OSPIRGs that work on campus, one of which is a statewide organization while the other is a student group, but both share the same acronym.
The state OSPIRG, Oregon State Public Research Group, is credited for the debt study, yet the student OSPIRG (Oregon Student Public Research Group), seems to be spearheading the anti-debt campaign because it lists the study as a “Top Priority” on its Web site, while the state OSPIRG does not.
It is unclear, though, which OSPIRG is actually working on the campaign because the two groups are seemingly entirely indistinguishable from one another to the casual observer. The only way to tell one from the other is a tag on each group’s Web site.
This makes it incredibly difficult for University students to track how the $120,074 of student fees allocated to the student group last year was spent, and how the student OSPIRG is actually helping us.
Because students deserve accountability from the groups receiving their incidental fees, the student OSPIRG should attempt to differentiate itself from the state group so it is clear to the students it represents that it is a separate entity.
The most obvious first step for the student group should take is to adopt an acronym different from that of the state group. Then, the group should take care to show students what it is spending its money on so students can finally connect the funding their incidental fees provide to the group’s work.