The Associated Students of the University of Oregon: Past to Present

By Ryan Bonham

ASUO office in the EMU

The need for student involvement in the operation and management of various affairs on the UO campus is almost as old as the University itself, and as times and students' needs have changed over the years, so have the missions of the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO).

The ASUO student government group was conceived in 1900. June and July 1897 editions of UO Monthly report on the ongoing development of a student body organization to serve the University's students:

"One of the longest strides in advance taken by the University during the year is the organization of the student body... When the student body desires to take up any project such as a debating league, or the publication of a college paper, by-laws are adopted to govern their management... The interests of the students are unified and many worthy objects are promoted which would otherwise have been destroyed by the rivalry of various factions. College spirit is increased, loyalty to one's institution is generated and a lesson in self-government is learned."

Furthermore, part of the founding mission of the ASUO was "to provide a stable financial basis for student activities such as oratory and debate, publications and musical clubs," according to Educational Leadership graduate student, Nova Ronningen.

One of ASUO's first financial responsibilities was management of the athletic program. Before the ASUO was formed, an Athletic Association was created in fall 1893. With the organization of a student-run government, the University granted students the authority to hire coaches, line athletic fields, manage ticket sales and to take care of other bills and expenses. The athletic program remained in the hands of the ASUO until 1947, when the University regained control by hiring the first professional athletic director, according to Ronningen.

The student incidental fee was established in 1900. The purpose of the fee was to fund construction projects, student activities such as student government and intercollegiate athletics. In the first two years that the fee existed, it was $2.50 per student per term and payment was voluntary. It was raised to $5.00 in 1903, and twelve years later the fee became compulsory for students. According to University archival records, the legality of this imposed fee was later questioned by students and legal groups and in 1934 the fee returned to its former non-mandatory status. In 1945, the student body presidency became a salaried position, at $360 per year, as per the rate paid for the Editor-in-Chief of the Oregon Daily Emerald and the Oregana yearbookÕs editor, according to research by Ronningen.

Nilda Brooklyn, current 2001-2002 ASUO President.

Some of the facilities financed by ASUO-imposed incidental fees include MacArthur Court, built in 1925, where ASUO offices were housed until 1950, when the Erb Memorial Union was built. According to the University's 1975-6 General Catalog, the building was named after Donald Erb, the University's seventh president and also an early supporter of a student union on campus.

Over the years, the internal structure of the ASUO has changed dramatically. In the earliest stages of the student government organization, the chief positions were president, vice-president and secretary. By 1974 the student Senate was added as a legislative branch of the student government, according to an archival brochure. The Senate was made up of 18 seats: nine academic and nine finance. The Student Senate also allocates the student incidental fee and the Program Finance senators maintain budgets for over 90 student programs, according to its website.

Mission statements at the organization have changed with the times, depending on the needs of the student body. Here are a few excerpts of various ASUO mission statements, from past to present:

  • 1900-50: "... an organization for the settlement of certain matters of general student concern."

  • 1952-73: "... management of ASUO programs, the development of the ASUO budget and participation in the administration of the University."

  • 1980-90: "...representative organization of students at the University."

  • 2000-2001: "... to provide for the social, cultural, educational and physical development of its members, and for the advancement of their individual and collective interests both within and without the University."

Currently, the Associated Students of the University of Oregon remain focused on the issue of the student incidental fee and allocating the resulting funding to various campus programs, says President Nilda Brooklyn. According to Brooklyn, the fee "comes to about $10 million," and provides the financial backing for 119 programs. Of these, 12 are subsidized (such as student athletic tickets and LTD public transportation). The allocation of funds to various groups has occasionally raised concerns among students.

A recent controversy involving the use of student funds for such political activist groups as OSPIRG spurred a much-publicized 1996 Oregon District Court case, Rounds vs. Oregon State Board of Higher Education. According to an article by Kristina Rudinskas in the Feb. 25, 1999 edition of the Oregon Daily Emerald, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals warranted that OSPIRG's funding through the student incidental fee was legal , despite claims that the student funds were being used primarily off campus and statewide.

Brooklyn also noted that she would like to the ASUO become even more involved with decision-making at the University, commenting that changes over the years have resulted in more power being afforded by the organization in campus administration.

"I think a pressing issue... is shared government," Brooklyn said. "I think as we fund more and more of this University, we need to have not only the right but an obligation to be at the table in all the decisions... If you have the money to back it up, then you should be able to make the decisions yourself."

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