Dear University of Oregon students,
The Associated Students of the University of Oregon has been working diligently and enthusiastically over the past months finalizing the largest student initiative package under the current administration. This student initiative package includes a majority of the ASUO Executive’s promised programs that were identified at the beginning of the school year: free menstrual products, textbook subsidies, introducing a basic needs coordinator and food security coordinator, a 20-percent increase in Incidental Fee-funded student-employee pay, and emergency housing subsidies, amounting to an increase of more than $1,000,000 in student assistance.
Need for assistance in the college community has skyrocketed like no other time in university history because of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic downturn, alarming increase of college tuition, and national racial justice movement, all coinciding with each other. Because of this dire strain specifically targeting college students, ASUO crafted a mandate for itself: introduce these initiatives as quickly as possible, and without raising college costs on a single student. The student initiative package, which we are unveiling via this email, will fall in line with this mandate. In conjunction with the Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee (ACFC), ASUO Senate, and input from a wide variety of students, the ASUO Executive has identified a proposal to ensure a seamless transition of funding that would allow for immediate implementation of the previously listed initiatives. The source of funding would be the ASUO’s contract with the UO Athletics Department, which currently amounts to $1,729,255.
With such an impactful and large initiative at hand we want to be frank with the student body, as transparency has been at the heart of this ASUO administration. Cutting this contract with athletics to create new basic needs programs would require our campus to change how students receive tickets to games. To start, this will mean student game day tickets will no longer be “free” to acquire. But to be clear, these tickets are not free, nor have they ever been free. Each student at the UO who pays the I-Fee is currently paying $25.50 per term for game day tickets but is not guaranteed a single ticket for football or men’s basketball games. In fact, UO students pay some of the highest ticket prices in the country for their student tickets. The high provided by the thrill of attending any Ducks game is real and stunning, but it should not prevent efforts to help each other when we are in need.
The ASUO will increase our investment in the UO community through:
- Offering $325,000 in textbook subsidies, helping students facing financial hardships with purchasing course materials, and planting the seed which will perpetually grow an ASUO book bank for generations to come.
- Granting highly trafficked bathrooms a supply of thousands of menstrual products, providing instant support for students with this basic need regardless of gender identity.
- Hiring two full-time professional basic needs and food security coordinators, providing any student who needs support applying for financial support programs, developing plans for managing personal finances, understanding cost of living standards in the Eugene area, and other obstacles students face when securing basic needs.
- Providing $150,000 in student emergency housing subsidies, allowing for crucial housing security for any student who qualifies for a single financial assistance program.
- Increasing all I-Fee funded student-employee wages by 20 percent, resulting in $15.30 per hour as the base starting wage. This is a much more adequate reflection of the cost of living in Eugene, and a long overdue raise for the tireless and oftentimes thankless work of student employees.
At ASUO we have heard the amplified calls for aid during these dire times. Because of this, we see no better opportunity than the present to shift this encompassing student body assistance from an idea to actual reality. As always, ASUO will be here to answer as many questions as possible about this change in student game day ticket procedure, I-Fees, and the many new student assistant initiatives.
Additionally, we would like to extend an invitation for students to join us this coming Friday, January 29, from 5:00–6:00 p.m. for a student forum on Zoom. This forum will provide an opportunity for students to voice their thoughts on the proposed changes in the Incidental Fee and ask questions for further clarification on what these changes mean for the coming academic year. ASUO will go over the processes used to implement these changes, a brief overview of the I-Fee, and a presentation on these programs in detail. Attend the forum via uoregon.zoom.us/j/99475077670.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact us at asuo@uoregon.edu or by sending us a DM to the @asuogov account on Instagram.
Sincerely,
Isaiah Boyd - ASUO President
Semeredin Kundin - ASUO Vice President
Claire O’Connor - ASUO Senate President
Natalie Fisher - ASUO Senate Vice President
Annika Mayne - ACFC Chair, ASUO Senate Seat 7
Heather Barclay - ACFC Vice Chair, At Large 3
Jonathan Laus - ACFC At Large 1
Josue Mendoza - ACFC At Large 2
