A group of concerned University students, including ASUO and Oregon Student Association members, traveled to Salem, Ore., Thursday to voice concerns regarding the University’s Campus Policing Initiative, tuition equity legislation and privatization issues associated with the New Partnership proposal.
The group of five students, in addition to OSA legislative director and former ASUO President Emma Kallaway, spoke with state Rep. Nancy Nathanson and state Sen. Floyd Prozanski in two separate meetings in the Oregon Capitol to express their views and ask questions of legislators.
The meeting came in the wake of last Monday’s events, where state legislators and OSA members introduced State Bill 742, known as the tuition equity bill, which would allow for undocumented Oregon students to pay in-state tuition at Oregon universities if they meet certain criteria. In addition to SB 742, areas of interest centered around SB 116 and SB 405, bills that would allow for the creation of sworn police agencies on Oregon University System campuses.
SB 559 and Senate Joint Resolution 20, commonly lumped together as University President Richard Lariviere’s “New Partnership” plan, call for the creation of a localized University governing board autonomous of the State Board of Higher Education, in addition to asking for $1.6 billion public-private endowment composed of state-backed bonds and matching private donations. Under the plan, the state will front the University $800 million in bond money, which the UO Foundation will invest in the private financial market. This new endowment will also be supplemented with an additional $800 million in privately raised donations.
University student Manny Garcia, one of the attendees, said he was particularly concerned about the issues surrounding the new partnership legislation.
“It would be an enormous investment of private funds,” Garcia said. “There’s no way there wouldn’t be strings attached.”
Also in attendance, ASUO Legislative Affairs Coordinator Ben Bowman said the student group brought a different set of concerns and issues to each individual legislator.
“We wanted them to see the student viewpoint, and we were able to present our questions,” Bowman said.
Just prior to the meeting with Prozanski, University student Andrew Rogers said he attended the event to voice his concerns about having a police department on campus, and said he thought there were alternative solutions to make the campus safer without sworn officers.
“I’d like to see services to escort people home after dark, things like that,” Rogers said.
Prozanski stated Wednesday that although he hasn’t clearly endorsed either bill yet, he still says Oregon University System schools should have sworn and armed police agencies on its campuses, provided there are necessary controls and prerequisites.
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