2001-02 Elections Coverage
Eric Bailey & Jeff Oliver
The Oregon Commentator interviewed Eric Bailey on 02/20/01.OC: In ten words or less, how would you describe your campaign?
We have the experience and we know the issues.
OC: Diversity is always a big issue on campus. What is your position on diversity and how would your administration handle the issue?
Diversity is not only based on ethnic , cultural and gender background, it is also political background. Both my running mate and I believe that the current ASUO office does not represent the student body in terms of political views. Even though I may not agree with everyone, I would want to make an office that shares the student voice - all the student voice, not just one representation of the student voice. Also, I think that people just say a lot about diversity on campus - "Oh, we have X amount of blacks on campus, X percentage of whatever." -it's more important not just to get those people here, we need to actually let them be heard. Jay Breslow has supported many student groups on campus and that's what he says, that's his way of going around. I'd like to take a more active approach toward fostering diversity. It's kind of hard to get the numbers as well because we have such a homogeneous state. Oregon's white; that's the bottom line. Back to my general definition, I think it has to include political views as well as ethnicity, culture and gender.
OC:What is your position with regard to the funding of OSPIRG?
Well, I think that ASUO president you don't really have direct control over the funding of OSPIRG. That's the student vote every two years that has control over that. My running mate and I have both taken a neutral stance on OSPIRG and said that we want to inform the student s on where the money would be going, how it is applied and how much they would be paying out of pocket. If the majority of the student body still wants OSPIRG, then that's the way it should be. OSPIRG should be funded.
OC:Every year, candidates for ASUO office contend that student government can and will serve the majority of students on campus. Every year, this never actually happens. Is this possible, or is it just an empty promise that everyone makes?
That refers to what I already said in regard to diversity. I believe that the ASUO office definitely can and I think-I know-I work better when I get opinions from all sides not just a bunch of people agreeing with what I say. I know that Jeff and I will definitely create an office that does represent the student body and its views. I think sometimes it is said as an empty campaign promise. Some people just say "student voice" because it's a buzz word. I think it can definitely be more that, and creating an office that represent s all views across the political spectrum is one step in that direction.
OC: What efforts would you make to control the costs of attending the university associated with tuition and incidental fees?
I've always felt that it is an oxymoron to raise the incidental fee, while those same people are advocating for lower tuition. Jeff and I want to, not decrease the incidental fee, we do want to make sure it is being spent wisely. We want to inform students about the incidental fee. Right now, we think there are a lot of people who a) don't know they're paying the incidental fee, or b) don't know where it is going. We want to change that ; it's one of our top priorities. You're going to see it on the back of T-shirts, it's going to say "fee awareness." That is our stance on that, we want to inform students on the incidental fee and where it is going. Another take, as far as tuition goes, it's kind of hard to keep that lowered-especially with the big budget shortfall that is expected. Of course, we'll fight; we'll write state legislature . But it is also going to be hard next year, the ASUO president and vice president to keep that lowered for a few more reasons. One of the main being that the state legislature only does its budget every two years. They're making the decisions not only for this year-but the year after that too. When Jeff and I would be in office we really wouldn't have that much power-we could say stuff, we could write the legislature-but they're not really going to be in control of the office to lower that tuition.
OC: We're through with our questions, so this is your forum to tell us what you're going to do with your administration next year.
If elected, a couple things that we would do would be to look into creating a greek advocate in the office. Right now there is a housing advocate, but there is no greek advocate. We also want to create town hall meetings, bi-weekly, to make it so students could come and tell us their opinions. Because currently it is kind of intimidating coming into that office and just saying what you want to say. We'd fight for these issues-renters rights, a housing code in Eugene, most major cities have a housing code; Eugene does not, that is a big issue -we think there are already steps being taken toward implementing that, but we want to make sure it is does get accomplished in the next year. Safety, not just campus safety, that's another one of those buzz words, but we need to create a safer environment around campus. I know a big issue over by Autzen Stadium-it's pretty dark there if you're walking from Duck's Village to the UO campus. So we need to make sure that's more lit. Campus relations, that's a big one. We're trying to mend relations with the UO administration-I've already met with Dave Frohnmayer and he doesn't see why we can't do this. We're trying to build bridges, not burn them. And, that's basically it.