Ready to be fully educated

Johnnie Ozimkowski said he thinks his experience being raised by a single, blind mother has uniquely prepared him for the job of Student Fee Committee Chair.

Since he was about 10 years old growing up in Ashland, Ore., Ozimkowski helped his mother do the bills twice a month. After making sure the credit card bills were paid and there was enough money for groceries and utilities, the family would always try to set aside enough money to help the less fortunate.

“My mom is completely blind and she runs a nonprofit for folks in southern Oregon,” Ozimkowski said. “One thing we always did was figuring out if we could put a little extra money aside to get some of her disabled friends involved … take them out to a dinner they wouldn’t normally be able to get.”

The power of $100 extra dollars to do good in a community impacted Ozimkowski, and he said it helped him realize “there are some things you can really do to make people’s lives better.” Ozimkowski, an economics and political science major, is in favor of not raising the student fee next year and said that students should not be the ones to “price someone out of education.”

“We have to maintain a very strong sense of being fiscally conservative, especially with all the other budget problems this university is facing,” he said. “Absolutely no [fee] increases.”

Ozimkowski, just three math classes away from graduation, said he would have more than enough time to fully dedicate himself to the job if elected. He said one idea he will push for is the creation of a sustainable textbook exchange. He is already formulating a plan based on what has worked at four other universities.

“It will give me an opportunity to take a really proactive approach,” Ozimkowski said.

Ozimkowski, 22, has been involved with student government for three years and was just a sophomore when he ran for ASPSU vice president with Patrick Biesell in 2007. He was coming off a year as federal affairs director under Courtney Morse’s administration.

“I feel like I’ve evolved a lot [since then],” Ozimkowski said. “I’ve learned a lot since then. I was able to work in Sen. [Ron] Wyden’s office and that was a blessing, because I figured out I didn’t want to be a legislative aid and wanted to come back and get my economics degree.”

This year, he has decided not to align himself with any particular slate, even though he said more than one slate has approached him.

“I feel that all too often when SFC members and chairs run with presidents and vice presidents, often times there are favors to pay back,” he said. “If you really want to be viewpoint neutral, I think that you shouldn’t run [with a slate]. I want to take a proactive approach and work with ASPSU and the president, but not as the same unit.”