SOU held its State of the University Address on Tuesday, February 18th, reflecting on the 2024-2025 academic year and discussing plans for the future. The address was a slideshow presented by ASSOU President Tiana Gilliland, with Vice President Christopher Geryak and University President Rick Bailey present.
Gilliland noted how, prior to 2024-2025, students were charged differently based on whether their classes were online or not, something that is no longer the case. All credits are worth the same amount of money. Students used to be double charged if they took a combination of both. The changes have made the recreation center and the student health and wellness center more available to online students. Extra fees, furthermore, cap out at eight credits.
While the University regrets it, the budget allocated from the state was much lower than the $1.275 billion they requested. Tiana encouraged students to get in touch and write letters to legislators. The school has designated March 4th as SOU’s “Lobby Day” with students invited to go to the Capitol and make their voices heard, with May 7th a similar date for all of Oregon’s public Universities.
The school has several ambitious building plans, which Rick Bailey is hopeful will be done by the end of 2027. The currently unused Cascade dorms will be demolished and replaced with a senior living facility, which will be integrated with OLLI. Across from Market of Choice, SOU wants to build a “business district” with additional housing for staff and students. The hope is to bring in more businesses to SOU and Ashland, perhaps including student businesses. Underground parking on the site has also been floated. Over the next few years, the University also wants dramatic solar panel expansion, with the goal of being the first public University in America to be 100% powered by daytime solar energy. All of these plans are to be carried out by partners in the private sector, with the goal of reducing SOU’s reliance on high tuition costs and state money.
ASSOU has created three task forces, which meet bimonthly, and are covering issues facing students right now. The first is on the campus facilities, such as working with maintenance to fix the laundry machines faster when they’re out of commission. There have also been discussions on creating communal dining spaces in the dorms, but so far no concrete plans. The second is on campus safety. ASSOU hopes to expand lighting across campus to enable more nightlife and evening classes. Currently, bike theft accounts for a majority of campus crimes reported to public safety. The hope is to get the University to invest in “U-Locks”, which can then be rented out to students for cheap.
SOU student pantry, courtesy of SOU
The third task force is increasing food access. The University is now partnering with the Farm to stock the food pantry, which is located on the third floor of the Stevenson Union and is available to all students, no matter their socioeconomic status. ASSOU is also working with the Hawk to increase the quality of food. The Hawk will be holding, on a monthly basis, feedback sessions open to all students.
Perhaps the most dramatic successes of the year have been the expansions of hours for the recreation center. Weekdays now have a full additional hour, each, versus the 2023-2024 year. Saturdays are no longer closed, and on Sundays is open for an extra two hours.
Tiana stressed that ASSOU offices, from the executive to the legislative to the judicial branch, are all up for re-election this spring. Applications open on April 4th, and students are encouraged to get involved– the ASSOU stresses its insistence on getting every perspective in the room.
