ASSOU special election would remove Schneider fee

Students at Southern Oregon University may have noticed a small fee on their Fall Term bill that seemed slightly out of place. The $13 fee is for the Schneider’s Children Center and ASSOU is running an election through Wednesday to get rid of it.

In reality, the fee was assessed for Fall Term students and then automatically reversed. But the fee will be eliminated altogether if students vote to do so in the special election.

Originally, the Schneider Children’s Center fee was implemented to support the Schneider Children’s Center. The Center supported many families over the years, but experienced much financial hardship because of little to no financial support from the state.

The Schneider Children’s Center was closed on Aug. 31 because there was no viable funding solution that wouldn’t raise childcare costs for parents using the center.

The funds generated by the Schneider fee are intended to help pay the center’s annual operating costs. The fee cannot be used for anything else on campus.

A “yes” vote in the special ASSOU election is a vote to remove the Schneider Children’s Fee, effective this fall.

A “no” vote is a vote to continue charging the Schneider Children’s fee.

Follow this link to vote (you must be logged in to your SOU Student account). The online ballot will be open until Oct. 10.

Questions, comments or concerns, can be sent to ASSOU President Alexis Phillips at assoupresident@sou.edu.

Story by Bryn Mosier, SOU Marketing and Communications intern