UO won't hard sell students on EMU upgrade
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) — University of Oregon leaders have decided not to pursue a full campaign including free T-shirts to encourage students to raise their own fees to upgrade the student union.
The university paid a top political firm, Denver-based RBI Strategies and Research, $17,000 to craft a strategy to sell students on the proposal to raise fees by $351 a year to fund a $135 million renovation and expansion of the Erb Memorial Union, which was built in 1950 and lacks space for all the students and campus groups who want to use it.
RBI pitched a plan to control student messaging, criticize opponents and hand out swag in advance of an October student vote, The Oregonian newspaper reported. RBI advised the university to give students drawstring backpacks that included the campaign slogan and to avoid talk about how long students would have to make bond payments.
Some student leaders criticized the hard-sell approach, and UO Vice President Robin Holmes conceded their point in a letter emailed late Monday afternoon to the Oregon University System's chancellor and board members.
"Students and others were correct and appropriate in raising this as a concern," she wrote to Chancellor George Pernsteiner.
Holmes said the university has ended its contract with the firm and won't follow through with any part of the campaign.
She said UO leaders will find a way to scale back the scope of the construction project and the cost to students.
The renovation would add "green" features, 10,000 square feet and a large concert hall.
Students have twice voted against raising their fees to pay for such an upgrade.
University administrators said they believed they could win a third vote following the election of a student president who supports improving the center.
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Information from: The Oregonian, http://www.oregonlive.com
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press
Unka Phil, can you slide us a few more bucks for the students who attend your fooball and baseball teams games?
just look at the photo above this article, the brick is stained and falling apart. the inside is a disaster and a fire hazard. it also keeps student groups of color in the basement... literally. the students are paying more money to keep this building running inefficiently than the proposed $79 per term, and they don't get any usable space. what strikes me is everyone's laziness to think for themselves and fact-find. the people who oppose this do so only in spite and political gain. and media outlets like KVAL are the worst, adding fuel to the fire without dedicating an hour or less on fact-finding. can we please focus on the fact that that everyone looses with the current building, most importantly the students, and work together on finding a solution. we are better than washington politics...
 @bigmachine I disagree.  I am a student against it ,not for the reasons you generalized at all.  See below.
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 @Tess i read below, but fail to see any factual point. please enlighten me
It just goes to show you the length Progressives will go to, to achieve their desires. They are still not able to indoctrinate all the students, and that really upsets their apple cart, but they keep right on trying, and people keep right on putting up with it. By the way where is PK on all this. What fund did the 17K come from?
 @souptonuts It's not "progressives" that do this kind of thing.  I don't know who does.  I'm a student, who considers herself very progressive.  We have record enrollment.  The same class taught by one teacher to 180 students is now taught by the same one teacher to 335 students this next fall (example used is HPHY 331).  Inflation is 1.4%.  Tuition went up over 6 percent for fall term, with an additional increase over this summer term not included in that number.  That they feel some need to "campaign" to get students to vote for it clearly indicates it is not needed or wanted.  They've been trying to do the same thing with the Student Rec Center for the past couple years.  WHOSE agenda is it they keep trying to shove down our throats?!
@Tess @souptonuts Tess these are only my observations. Having raised two children and having been involved in the school system, and monitoring very closely my children and their education, I came to the conclusion that the school system was attempting to fix their beliefs in the minds of my children. I fought that with love and common sense, discipline and fairness, honor and truth. Today both my children are hardworking productive members of our society. I am not bragging, just stating facts. Their mother played a huge part in their success, probably more so than myself. We attempted to keep each of them as individuals, stressed that they be leaders and not followers, and to analyze and gather evidence on all that was being pushed at them. We taught them to study history and it's effects. We stressed more than anything else the necessity to be honest, true to their word, and thoughtful of others. I was told by several teachers that I was intimidating my children. They wanted to put one of my children on Ritalin because the child was very active. I did not allow drugs, we managed the active child with food and exercise. Almost every teacher I know is a Progressive Democrat, not Blue Dog Democrat. I have known very few teachers that were of a conservative bent. I studied the Dewey doctrine, and determined that frame of mind was used widely in our current educational system. The leaders at the U of O and most other universities these days have one thing in mind, and that is to perpetuate the existance that they have created. I am not saying that is bad, but I am saying that is bad when it comes at the expense of others. When I mean others I am speaking of students and taxpayers.  Most University Presidents and higher ups are millionares at your expense. They did not start a business, they did not produce anything, they merely taught their beliefs, and collected money from students and taxpayers. Oh sure they threw in some education, but mostly over the last thirty or forty years there has been more indoctrination than education. Lies, trickery, deception, collusion, all trademarks. Be careful and question, Good luck.
"University administrators said they believed they could win a third vote following the election of a student president who supports improving the center." - Best thing these kids will learn really is that their elected officials will sell them out at every and any chance they can. - Take out some of the green crap and watch the costs come tumbling down. It's not called "Green" cause it's good for the environment.....
Per the Register-Guard, " RBI Strategies & Research headed by Rick Ridder, who worked on presidential campaigns for Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean and Al Gore." With a losing track record like that, you would expect this result. Negative campaigning was their plan here, too.