By: Jade Rayner News Editor
Election Day is coming up fast and many Oregon voters have already been and will continue to receive their ballots in the mail. The key to voting for both first-time and experienced voters is taking time to read the Voter’s Pamphlet and do some additional research in order to make informed decisions on your ballot.
Measure 95 is one of those decisions that could potentially have an impact on students, therefore it would be beneficial to research all sides before voting on it. As stated in the Oregon Voter’s Pamphlet, Measure 95 is a proposed amendment to the Oregon 
Constitution that, “allows investments in equities by public universities,” in order to try to reduce financial risk and increase investments to benefit students. The measure would allow all seven of Oregon’s public universities, Western Oregon University included, to invest in stocks which is currently prohibited by the Oregon Constitution. Summarized on oregonvotes.gov, the measure itself would place zero financial requirements on the state or local government; it would be the responsibility of each individual university to invest or not as they see fit.
According to Michael Shill, Edward Ray and Tom Insko, Presidents of University of Oregon, Oregon State University and Eastern Oregon University, the goal of the measure is to, “create more opportunities for middle-class Oregonians to access a college education,” by using investments to minimize tuition increases and reducing the amount of student debt. Currently there are no officially stated oppositions to Measure 95, but there have been reports of concern about risky investing and whether or not tuition costs would actually be lowered.
It is important that you do your research and make your own decision when it comes to voting on any issue. Make sure to find reputable resources and look at all sides before sending out your ballot this week.
