The Student Fee Committee, the elected body of students responsible for allocating over $14 million in student fees, is filling positions for next year. Prospective candidates face off in their first debate Monday, April 20.
The first of two debates for SFC chair and members will take place in the Park Blocks from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Overseeing the event will be the Portland State debate team. Chris Richter, debate team coach, and Kelly Welch, debate team coordinator, will host and moderate the event.
The SFC is made up of six members and one chair. Currently, there are seven candidates for SFC member and two candidates for SFC chair. The list of candidates for SFC member include: Elizabeth Anderson, James Gent, Ron Lee, Zena Piccolo, Aly Rey, Danny Sobolov and Waddah Sofan. Applications are open through today.
The two SFC chair candidates are Jil Heimensen and Johnnie Ozimkowski.
“I am running for SFC chair instead of member because my prior work experience has uniquely prepared me for the position,” said Heimensen, an economics major.
During the debate, Heimensen “hope[s] to get people excited about becoming involved in student groups, ASPSU and encourage people to vote in this year’s student election.”
For Heimensen, transparency within the SFC is very important. Heimensen’s main goals include making SFC information more easily accessible and ensuring liaisons are “well informed, organized and utilized in an efficient manner.”
She plans to offer tutorials to minimize confusion surrounding the SFC budgeting process, as well as to prevent student groups from receiving zero funding due to “incomplete or incorrect budget requests.”
“I have a lot of other ideas to streamline the way SFC does business,” Heimensen said.
Heimensen’s additional goals include posting “everything related to SFC” on www.psusfc.com and using a calendar to schedule SFC meetings far in advance.
She also said that “there are a lot of pressing issues … and I hope that students will use the SFC site to express their thoughts on these issues in addition to issues relating to the SFC.”
Ozimkowski, an economics and political science major, said he is running because he feels he “can do more as chair.”
“I’m going to have all the time in the world,” Ozimkowski said. “I know the people … I can get a lot of feedback. I understand this process because I’ve been around for way too long.”
Ozimkowski also hopes to “make the process run a lot smoother” as well as “take a proactive approach” if elected to SFC chair.
“It’s a little weird that there isn’t an SFC chair debate. It’s interesting … usually the chairs debate each other,” Ozimkowski said.
His main points incorporate focusing on student fees. Specifically, “not raising them, and even finding ways to reduce [fees] in places,” Ozimkowski said.
“It’s a great idea to have a twitter or blog for people to comment about the SFC. … Feedback, feedback, feedback,” said Ozimkowski, who is also in favor of creating a sustainable textbook exchange. “You can’t just have an idea—you really need to know how to materialize it.”
Ozimkowski is looking forward to meeting everyone, including newly elected group officials, to foster “a comfortable situation, which is really important because this is people’s livelihoods.”
The candidates square off April 20. Visit aspsu.pdx.edu for more information on the elections and continue to follow the Vanguard’s election coverage here on our Web site.