It has come to our attention that ASUO's Athletics and Contracts Finance Committee has recently voted to no longer provide funding for students to attend athletic events free of charge. This decision was made by a small group of students on behalf of the entire University of Oregon student body. These funds are a part of mandatory student registration fees, so we believe it is unreasonable that the majority of students have not had a say in this issue. The ASUO claimed that they recommended reallocating the funding because they did not feel the athletic ticket fund equitably benefitted all students. However, some of the new programs that the funds are planned to attribute to will in turn only benefit select students. With this new change, UO students will have to pay out of pocket in order to attend University of Oregon athletic events. We feel that this is detrimental to the well known student fan base and school spirit that the university has garnered over decades. Approximately 65% of UO students currently utilize this funding to attend athletic events, this attendance will likely significantly decrease due to the reallocation of funds. Attendance of smaller sports will especially suffer because of this proposed shift in funding. The perk of free student tickets allows these sporting events to be easier to promote to the student body and are overall far more accessible this way. 

While this is a university and not a sports team, you cannot underestimate the impact and appeal that Oregon athletics have created on applications and enrollment over the years. Ducks athletics have significantly affected nationwide exposure and enthusiasm for the university. In 2011 alone, UO received a 10% increase in applications thanks to their success in football and other athletics. These additional applications have led to an increase in the quality of admitted students along with further diversity. We believe that deviating funding and attention from athletic events could be significant to potential applicants' interest in the future. 

This is an especially poor response to tuitions that have continued to rise; yet students have had minimal access to typical services and experiences due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Doing away with ticket funding will only further minimize UO students access to a true college experience that has already been diminished over the past year.

This action taken by ASUO without properly communicating with the student body further demonstrates ASUO’s inability to lead and why it is crucial for the University of Oregon to take into account the feedback of the student body as well of those of ASUO.