Media Credit: Matt Nicholson [Click to enlarge]

Dozens of rain-soaked Oregonians waited eagerly outside 180 PLC Wednesday night for a rare opportunity to speak out about the state's budget.

Despite the room's 230-person capacity, countless residents were still turned away.

The lucky ones, those who gained admittance when a straggler drifted out during the testimonies, found themselves in a tense environment packed with the tired and frustrated begging the Joint Ways and Means Committee for the state funding they need.

Senator Kurt Schrader and Representative Mary Nolan led the 21-person panel through 2 1/2 hours of two-minute testimonies. The Committee listened to approximately 65 speakers share the financial and social repercussions that would take place if the Co-Chairs' Budget, rather than the original and much more generous Governor's Recommended Budget, were approved by the Legislature. The highly anticipated event ran the entire allotted time, and as a result many citizens were denied the opportunity to speak.

Predictably, Nolan opened the forum by justifying the drastic cuts made to the governor's budget.

"The governor assumed about $800 million of revenue that is not authorized under current law," she said. "We are not allowed to spend money we don't have; we are not allowed to borrow in expectation of revenue we have coming in the next few years."

Nonetheless, Nolan's announcement did not deter the passionate speakers from various state-assisted organizations including OHSU, the Oregon Wine Board, Head Start and the Board of Lane County Commissioners.

Higher education was, as expected, a very prominent point of discussion at the forum. ASUO President Jared Axelrod was the first to speak on behalf of the University.

After thanking the legislators, Axelrod asked them to address a "pressing issue." He reported a few staple concerns legitimizing the need for higher education funding: Under the current budget, students will, increasingly so, be forced to take out more loans, drop-out of classes or stop attending school altogether.

Continued...

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