Resolved, that the University Senate hereby supports the student incidental fee system currently in effect at the University of Oregon, and hereby opposes any initiatives to remove the current incidental fee system from student management, or to bar access to incidental fee revenues by any student organization that is eligible for funding from incidental fees under current procedures.
Explanation: The incidental student fee process for Oregon universities was created by the Oregon State Legislature and is managed at the University of Oregon by the Associated Students of the University of Oregon (ASUO), under the oversight of the President of the University of Oregon and the State Board of Higher Education (SBHE). In order to be eligible for funding from student incidental fees, student organizations must demonstrate satisfactorily to the ASUO, the University President, and the SBHE that they are "advantageous to the cultural or physical development of students" (ORS 351.070(3)(d)). Currently eligible student organizations at the University of Oregon cover a broad spectrum of political and philosophical views. Several legal and state legislative initiatives have been taken, however, in Oregon and elsewhere, to bar access by some student organizations to incidental fee revenues on the basis of their political or philosophical views. Such restrictions would have a detrimental impact on the free and democratic interchange of ideas that is an essential part of the University, both in the classroom and extracurricularly. Moreover, such restrictions would infringe on the University's right to determine the programmatic content of extracurricular programs, and on the rights of students and their elected representatives to found and responsibly fund student programs and organizations, and to engage in advocacy, lobbying, and debate.
Universities improve the quality of our society and strengthen future leaders through the discovery of new knowledge and the development of critical thinking. These goals are best achieved in a thriving marketplace of ideas whose participants are actively encouraged to seek out and exchange new ideas while exploring a diverse array of opinions.
This mission extends beyond the classroom to extracurricular opportunities created by students to enhance their higher education experience. Students translate academic lessons into hands-on experience through internship programs, leadership positions, and volunteer opportunities within groups they create and support with student fees. The entire campus community benefits from the cultural events, guest speakers, and public policy debates in which students participate.
Legal and legislative initiatives to stifle the voices of student organizations by restricting access to student fees and campus resources have a detrimental impact on the quality of the university experience. The university provides an important platform for expression of myriad opinions and is no place for attacks on freedom of speech.
In Oregon the incidental fee process was created by the Oregon Legislature and is managed with the oversight of the Oregon University System (OUS). It provides a democratic process on each campus for students to determine which organizations and activities to fund. The incidental fee funding process is one of the most rigorous, fiscally accountable and democratic systems found anywhere. In order to qualify for funding, groups must first demonstrate to the campus, administration and OUS that they provide for the cultural or physical development of the students, ORS 351.070 (d).
We firmly oppose any attempt to infringe on the rights of students and their elected representatives to found and responsibly fund their own programs or engage in advocacy, lobbying, or debate. We support student efforts to organize and engage in public policy debates that are critical to the health of our democracy. Furthermore, no legislative body should take any action that would interfere with a University's right to determine programmatic content of extra curricular programs.