ASPSU President’s letter

Every year, the student body President and all of the Associated Students of Portland State University march to the beat of the same drum–change! Yet every year it seems not much has changed. We have heard the mantra of “change” lately more than ever, and it is no longer only your student government that is singing this song. As a nation, a state and a university we have hit a wall. If we don’t change ourselves, as well as the system, the results will be disastrous.

Oregon is entering into an economic downturn. In our state the budget that historically gets cut first is higher education. This is because, unlike the corrections system, universities have two forms of revenue: state general funds and our tuition. Oregon ranks 46th in the nation in funding for higher education, and our university cannot afford to take steps back.

If we don’t fight for our education Portland State University will continue to operate under decreased funding and our tuition will rise as our university services suffer, class sizes grow and less professors are hired. Together we can work to change this tide.

In fact we have already begun to. On September 26 the legislative emergency board, after receiving a number of letters from PSU students, voted to re-invest in students by releasing $4 million desperately needed to fund Oregon’s only need-based aid program, the Oregon Opportunity Grant. If this money had not been released, as many as 2,000 students would have been denied need-based aid and priced out of college. Students made a difference in this decision.

Now is the time to work together–as individual students and established student organizations. We must build a coalition of students with our new university President, Wim Wiewel, and with the Oregon University System as a whole. We can start the process of change by not only voting for the next President of the United States, but also on the ballot measures that could directly affect us. After we vote, the next step is to lobby decision makers on the statewide, local and university level to make college more affordable and accessible, and to prioritize the issues students care about.

At ASPSU we are committed not only to keeping tuition low, but to helping individual students in any way we can. Whether it be advocating for a comprehensive diversity initiative or helping someone find a qualified math tutor, we are here for you. No battle is too small or too large for us to tackle. But the ASPSU cannot do any of this alone; we are only as strong as the passion of the students we serve. We will channel passion into change, if every one of us stands up and takes action. Join us.

Hannah FisherASPSU President