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SOU students seek tuition freeze Legislators urged to add child care, need grants By PETER WONG SALEM -- Southern Oregon University students joined others from state universities this week to reinforce support for a tuition freeze and urge legislators to add money for child care and need grants. The freeze, which would apply to undergraduate tuition for Oregon residents, appears assured. Democratic Gov. John Kitzhaber and Senate President Brady Adams, a Republican from Grants Pass, include money in their budgets to continue it for another two years. But Rep. Ryan Deckert of Beaverton, a University of Oregon graduate and the House's youngest Democrat, said it's up to the students to push the politicians to keep their promises. "Through the incredible efforts students have put forth in the past five years, you are changing the nature of state government and the way we fund higher education in this state," he said. SOU's resident undergraduate tuition rose from $608 per term in 1990-91 to $1,015 per term in 1996-97, the last year before the 1997 Legislature froze tuition levels. An academic year for most students consists of three terms. Tuition rose rapidly in the early 1990s to offset universities' losses in direct state aid from the tax-supported general fund. Those increases also had the effect of reducing enrollments and driving up student debt. "We need to make sure our education stays economically feasible," said Colby Marshall, student body president at Eastern Oregon University in La Grande. "We do not want to spend the next 10, 15 or 20 years paying off our student loans. We want to get out there and contribute to the economy of Oregon." The other items listed as priorities by the Oregon Student Association are not budgeted. "We hesitate to say that one thing is more important than the next," said Sophia McDonald, a junior who is SOU's student body president. "But we hope that the Legislature will continue to make an investment in higher education. It's been disinvesting for many years, and 1997 was the first year it began investing again." The student association wants $3.9 million in the state budget to supplement federal grants the state now receives for child care for students who also are parents. The block grants serve 250 families, but 900 more are on the waiting list. The added money would cut the waiting list by half. The association also wants at least $13.1 million, and up to $47.7 million, for need grants that cover tuition, books and other educational costs. Though the dollar amounts of grants have risen since they were established in 1971, they also cover proportionally less of educational costs. The $13.1 million increase would allow coverage of 15 percent of costs, up from 11 percent. Rep. Jason Atkinson of Jacksonville, a 1992 SOU graduate and the House's youngest Republican, said he supports the tuition freeze and child-care block grants. He said students should make their case, even if, as in the case of a tuition freeze, the goal seems assured. "Oregon higher education is only as good as we say we are," he said. "As you go around these halls, brag." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA