Last week I attended the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group’s ASUO Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee budget hearing as a member of OSPIRG’s panel of presenters. I came away from the experience extremely disappointed in the system the ASUO maintains.
I consider myself an average student. I focus most of my time on class work; I work a part-time job; and in fall term of this year I felt like joining a student group. I was frustrated that many student groups don’t do any outreach, so I found it difficult to get involved. Then I started hearing about OSPIRG. I saw the chalk around campus about their kickoff meeting, heard their announcements in my classes, and spoke to OSPIRG Board Treasurer Katie Taylor at the corner of East 13th Avenue and University Street.
After attending the kickoff meeting and several campaign meetings, I already had coordinating responsibilities and was preparing to sit on a panel about alternative energy. I was also asked to be both a media intern and a speaker, along with Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and State Rep. Phil Barnhart, at a press conference focused on high-speed rail.
I then attended OSPIRG’s fall retreat, where I was amazed at the power students have over the organization. We got reports from all of our advocates on what they have been working on, guidance on how to run effective campaigns and had a board meeting where we decided which campaign our advocates would spend most of their time on.
This past term I have been working as a campaign coordinator for our 21st Century Transportation campaign, and also on getting OSPIRG’s funding reinstated. I have spent countless hours going over OSPIRG’s accomplishments and the ways in which it benefits students.
Going into the hearing, I was expecting a thorough debate and a decision based on all arguments presented. I was severely disappointed when the discussion was cut short. The only concerns presented by actual ACFC members were that too many students contacted them in support of funding and one student had a bad experience with us and wrote about it in the Oregon Daily Emerald, a news source which often misrepresents our organization.
In the coming weeks we will be appealing the decision made by the ACFC. I hope that both the Emerald and the ASUO give us the respect that we, as fellow students, deserve.
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