In an online-only video interview with the Daily Emerald’s local news anchor-in-training Michael Calcagno, ASUO President Axelrod expressed optimism that the Incidental Fee can remain flat, and that such an outcome would be preferable to him. This unexpected optimism from an Executive which has been less than entirely committed to the goal of holding the I-fee at its current level is a heartening shift in the debate on fiscal responsibility in the ASUO. Axelrod points specifically to fee funding of the Student Recreation Center, which has been hemmorhaging money for the last several years, and the Career Center, which he describes as providing a basic service to students, as major factors in the current situation. Although he came up short of saying exactly how he would reduce these budgets’ impacts on the Incidental Fee, he certainly seems to be looking in the right places. At this point, the mere aknowledgement that it is possible and desireable to keep the I-Fee flat represents real leadership on the part of Axelrod, for which he should be commended. Hopefully the Axelrod Administration will be able to further elaborate on its goals and initiatives in this respect at the upcoming “Fiscal Responsibility and the ASUO: An Open Discussion” hosted by the Oregon Commentator.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 22nd, 2007 at 14:40 by Niedermeyer and is filed under ASUO, Ol' Dirty Emerald. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.