The Laurean Society of 1901, as seen in the 1902 yearbook, the Webfoot. The Laurean Society at the time was led by Clifton “Pat” McArthur, who would go on to be the first student body president (Proctor/Emerald)
Following the wave of democratization during the early 1900s, countless student councils formed across the United States. While the first student councils date back to the earliest American colleges, the University of Oregon was among the earliest schools in the United States to specifically form a student government.
Library records, obtained by the Daily Emerald, show that ASUO was officially formed on June 14, 1900. The creation of ASUO followed a petition led by a group of students to create a student fee which, the students felt, would help financially stabilize student-run clubs and groups.
Prior to ASUO, students primarily organized themselves into two debate societies — the girls’ Eutaxian society and the boys’ Laurean society, the latter of which was led by Clifton “Pat” McArthur in 1900.
The societies were like a cross between student government, Greek Life and a student newspaper. Through their publications, the societies printed their debates over contemporary issues at the time — in an 1891 issue, UO students detailed their reactions to the Civil War and Reconstruction.
But as students began forming their own clubs and teams, it became a question as to how these clubs could gain money other than through fundraising.
In 1899, a student fee to fund student services was introduced. The fee provided funding for football, track, student publications and the glee club. However, the fee was optional. The optional fee did not ensure that student groups would be financially stable; for example, UO’s football team had to receive supplemental funding from the university.
In 1900, a group of students led by McArthur petitioned the Board of Regents — the precursor to the Board of Trustees — to advocate for the student fee to become mandatory for all students.
“We believe that such student enterprises as the publishing of university papers [newspapers] and the support of inter-collegiate contests in foot-ball, track athletics, debate and oratory are essential to the life of the modern university, and that they assist in drawing students to an institution and in stimulating university life,” the petition said.
University President Prince Lucien Campbell approved of the creation of ASUO and a mandatory $2.50 student fee, stating: “The suggestion seems to me a good one and I therefore recommend it to your favorable consideration.”
The new mandatory fee required a body to control it. So, ASUO was officially created on June 14, 1900, though it would be named the “Associated Students Executive Committee.” McArthur was chosen as the first student body president.
In 1912, the Associated Students Executive Committee was renamed to the Associated Students of the University of Oregon.
The original ASUO constitution also established two publications as subsidiaries of the student government: the Oregon Monthly and the Oregon Weekly, which became the Daily Emerald. Today, the Emerald is now an independent non-profit and no longer part of ASUO.
The Knight Library’s records of ASUO from 1901 to 1996 are still unprocessed and unorganized, and thus are unavailable for viewing.
“Special Collections and University Archives has a large collection of over 100 boxes of ASUO records ranging from 1901-2005. Unfortunately, those boxes have yet to be processed, so they aren’t readily available for research purposes,” university archivist and historian Ben Murphy said.
Murphy said that UO libraries prioritized the collection and now are planning to hire a temporary, full-time archivist to process it in 2024. The work is expected to be completed in time for the UO Sesquicentennial in 2026.
“There are, however, other collections and published sources with details about the early history of ASUO available. For assistance researching ASUO or other UO history related topics, students can contact me directly, or fill out this Special Collections and University Archives research assistance form,” Murphy said.
The Laurean Society’s records in the Paulson Reading Room, located in the Knight Library. The Knight Library’s records of ASUO from 1901 to 1996 are still unprocessed and unorganized, and thus are unavailable for viewing. The records are set to be available for viewing in 2026. (Proctor/Emerald)
