Originally published on May 25, 2021 4:56 pm
The Oregon Legislature passed a bill Tuesday focused on strengthening the autonomy and authority of public college and university student governments over their financial decisions.
House Bill 3012 affirms the power student governments have over student fee money that is used to fund various campus programs and services, by clarifying language in an existing state statute.
The bill was making its way through the state legislature when multiple student governments in Oregon, such as those at the University of Oregon and Western Oregon, were having conflicts with administrators over delays and disagreements regarding student incidental fees.
KLCC s Elizabeth Gabriel reports on food insecurity among college students.
Daniel Aguirre, who goes by Dray, is a second year student at Central Oregon Community College in Bend. The first-generation college student wants to become a nurse. But his lack of stable housing and food can make it difficult for him to concentrate on school.
“There s actually a lot of people who are homeless out here,” said Aguirre. “There s a lot of students that are struggling, [and] a lot of people don t really know that, which is frustrating.”
He usually stays in a trailer located on his friends property and goes to a gym in order to take a shower. Since the trailer was vandalized a few years ago, a lot of the equipment doesn t work. Aguirre often experiences food insecurity because the broken propane system prevents him from cooking.
KLCC s Elizabeth Gabriel reports on financial aid in Oregon.
Yoyo is a high school junior in Eugene. We’re not using her last name to protect her privacy. Although Yoyo still has another year of high school, she’s already concerned about how she’s going to afford college. The 17-year-old works at a local Subway shop and her mom has a full-time job. Still, it’s hard to make ends meet and she doesn’t have a college savings.
And Yoyo sometimes has to explain to her friends the challenges her family faces.
“They just think that, ‘Oh, like, my dad is where he is because he worked hard,’ bullcrap. Because my mom works her butt off all the time. So hard work has nothing to do with it,” she said. “And I think that s the biggest misconception that people think, oh, if you just work hard, you ll get there. No, that s not true at all. Because you see people working hard all the time, and still barely being able to provide for their families.”
Bonamici hears concerns of community colleges, students April 24 2021
Federal aid is coming, but lawmaker is told that colleges would like help to maximize benefits.
Community colleges and their students will benefit from an array of federal aid programs, but presidents and students told U.S. Rep. Suzanne Bonamici they would like help maximizing their benefits.
President Joe Biden s pandemic recovery plan, which Congress passed and Biden signed on March 11, contains $40 billion for higher education Oregon s share is estimated at $400 million plus $39 billion nationally for child care, and other sums for vaccinations, food and housing assistance. These are challenging systems to navigate. We ve been doing this for more than three years. We know we need benefit navigators to help students to do that, Mark Mitsui, president of Portland Community College, said during a conference call with Bonamici.
Photo courtesy of Student Sustainability Center
April 22nd marks the 51st Earth Day, and goodness do we have a lot in store for you next week during Earth Month at SOU!
Wednesday 4/21, 5:30-7:30pm
Please join the Southern Oregon University Student Sustainability Team and Erica Ledesma and Raul Tovar from De La Raiz Project for a free online story circle on Wednesday April 21st from 5:30pm-7:30pm (PTS). Most of us have experienced change this year in ways both large and small. Join us in community to share experiences of Our Place, Before and After. This virtual event is open to the public and folks both near and far are invited! Please register in advance at tinyurl.com/earthdaystory to receive the event link.