On Oct. 1, the gross income limit to qualify for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits increased, as did the maximum amount of money received. This was due to an annual cost of living adjustment, which is implemented to keep up with inflation. 

SNAP is a federal government program that allows for low-income persons to receive assistance in paying for food. SNAP benefits, also referred to as food stamps, Oregon Trail Card or EBT, are a supplemental financial support program for individuals who are food insecure. The University of Oregon Basic Needs Program can help students apply for these benefits.

For a single person, the income limit for those eligible to receive SNAP benefits has risen to $2,510 per month, and the maximum benefit amount for a single person has increased from $291 to $292. 

To qualify for SNAP benefits as a student, individuals must be between the ages of 18 and 49 and take six or more credits for undergraduate students and five or more for graduate students. In addition, they must meet at least one of a number of requirements to qualify. 

“I think the maximum income [used to be] around $1500 per month. Some students might make more than that just barely, and then they wouldn’t qualify. Now the maximum income limit is $2,510, so you can imagine that more students will make less [than that] a month. It’s not guaranteed, but they could qualify,”  Julia Morrill, director of UO’s Basic Needs Program, said.

SNAP benefits can be used at most grocery stores to purchase food and non-alcoholic beverages. They may be used for fruits, vegetables, breads, cereals, meat, fish and other foods. 

SNAP benefits cannot be used to purchase tobacco, alcohol, medicine, supplements or any non-food items. They also cannot be used to purchase food that is hot at the point of sale, according to the UO Basic Needs website.

“It helps students who can’t afford to purchase healthy and nutritious food to supplement their grocery budget,” Morrill said. “It takes the pressure off their regular budget to buy healthy and nutritious food, which can help students think more clearly, sleep better and have better health.” 

Students may apply for SNAP benefits on the Oregon Department of Human Services website, or in person at an Oregon Department of Human Services office. After the application process, students will have to meet with an ODHS caseworker, which may take place in person or over the phone. 

“It’s a little bit of a complicated paperwork process, so throughout the year, our team, the Basic Needs Program, will have some support for students who are having a little bit of a hard time filling out their forms,” Morrill said. “ We don’t actually submit the forms for students, but we can give them some advice.”

Most stores will confirm if they accept SNAP online or in-store. 

On the UO campus, the Agate Street Market in Unthank Hall is the only store that accepts SNAP. The Agate Street Market sells packaged food and cold deli products, such as sandwiches and salads, all of which can be purchased with SNAP benefits.

According to Morrill, students who are on meal plans that cover more than 51% of their meals may not qualify for SNAP benefits. 

“If your meal plan consists of 51% or more of your meals, then you won’t qualify for SNAP. So if it’s less than 50% of your meals throughout the week, then you might be able to qualify for SNAP in other ways, but there is that restriction for students who live in a residential campus and they have a meal plan that is a complication,” Morrill said. 

To learn more about the SNAP benefits program, visit the UO Basic Needs Program website.

United States Congresswoman Val Hoyle and Oregon House of Representatives candidate Lisa Fragala held a student leaders forum today at the Erb Memorial Union Diamond Lake Room from 3 to 4 p.m.

Various student leaders voiced their questions and concerns about community topics while Hoyle and Fragala were asked questions regarding reproductive health, environmental issues, education and the Israel-Hamas War.

“I felt it was important to hear from student leaders in their voices and their concerns,” Hoyle said. 

Hoyle is a congressional representative for the Fourth Congressional District in Oregon; there are six total districts. 

“We find the best way [to get college student votes] is college student to college student. So reminding people, especially people from out of state, that we’re a mail-in ballot state,” Hoyle said. “Reminding people to vote and that their voice is important.” 

The presidential election and workers’ unions were other topics discussed. Both candidates emphasized their support for unions. 

Fragala said that she had attended a previous UO Student Workers rally in support of campus union labor groups.

The Israel-Hamas War was also mentioned multiple times. Hoyle said that she would vote to stop U.S. aid to Israel. 

“I connect with the district, and I’ve spent a lot of time trying to focus on delivering on the things that make people’s everyday lives better,” Hoyle said. 

Hoyle is running against Republican candidate Monique DeSpain. Fragala is currently running unopposed.

Election Day is Nov. 5 and results should be released by 8 p.m. with updates at 10 p.m. and the following day.

With the 2024 election underway, several student groups on campus have spent the past weeks working to reach student voters and encourage voter registration. 

Oregon Students Public Interest Research Group is a student-funded, student-run, nonpartisan organization on campus that has been campaigning to get students registered to vote. The New Voters Project is a project run by OSPIRG with the goal of increasing civic engagement throughout campus. 

“We really believe in peer-to-peer contacts,” Kali Kleven, who runs the New Voters Project at UO, said. “We believe that when students hear something from someone who they can relate to, it sticks more.” 

OSPIRG uses strategies such as tabling and working with coalitions to reach students. The organization has teamed up with other groups on campus, such as Associated Students of the University of Oregon, to reach more voters.   

“We get people registered to vote, and then we contact them ahead of elections to make sure they know where their polling locations are,” said OSPIRG Chapter Chair Sam Broussard. 

According to Kleven, low voter turnout amongst college students is often due to a lack of knowledge and resources about registration and voting. 

“I was really lucky in high school. They sat us down and registered us to vote. A lot of people don’t have that, especially if you grew up in a home where there’s political tension, it might not be an open conversation,” Kleven said. “People are just genuinely not aware, I think, of the steps they can take and how easy it is to actually register and vote.” 

Historically, 18 to 29-year-olds have had the lowest voter turnouts among all age groups, with percentages trending higher with older age groups. 

“Voting is absolutely important for anyone who has any interest in not only politics, but just their local government,and even culture because culture is downstream of politics,” UO College Republicans President Cassidy Perkins said.

UO Republicans did not run any voter registration events, but are working to do more initiatives and charity work in the future, according to Perkins. 

According to the US Census Bureau, in 2022, only 49.1% of 18 to 24-year-olds were registered to vote.

Another group working to increase voter registration is the College Democrats at University of Oregon. They have been running a voter registration drive and tabling at the Erb Memorial Union’s Fishbowl and Amphitheater.  

“The more young people that vote, the more that young people have to be taken seriously as a voter bloc. When not very many young people are voting, when the politicians are trying to figure out what to do in order to get more votes, they’re not going to be looking at young people,” Bryson Petterborg, president of the College Democrats at University of Oregon, said. 

College Democrats at University of Oregon ran a voter registration drive from Oct. 9 to Oct. 11 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., and continued their efforts until Oct. 15, the voter registration deadline in Oregon.

“Whatever that issue is for you, whatever you’re interested in, it’s really important that you go out and vote and campaign on the issues so that you can get that specific issue addressed,” Petterborg said.

Lauren Goss, a third-generation UO alumni, has recently become University of Oregon’s first athletics archivist, the only person on the West Coast to hold this position after a $1 million gift from an anonymous donor. 

According to UO spokesperson Eric Howald, though the donation was $1 million, most of the funds went toward building out the athletics archival program.

Goss teaches courses at the UO in history, ethnic studies, business, journalism and advises students on research projects. Several members of her family attended the UO, including her parents, grandparents and brother, as well as aunts, uncles and cousins. 

“I was a history major here at the Honors College, and in your senior year at the Honors College, you have to write a thesis,” Goss said. “I wanted to choose something where I could talk with people who lived through a historic event, and [I was] personally interested in athletics here at the University of Oregon.” 

The athletics archivist position consists of a number of responsibilities, all of which are connected to the history of athletics at the UO. 

“I love the opportunity for engagement, whether that’s researchers or talking with students or talking with alumni about their experiences. And in athletics, we talk about singular moments, right? The game-winning shot or phenomenal play,” Goss said. “What I get to do as an athletics archivist is tell the story leading up to that moment, that moment, and after that moment, using different types of resources to explain why that moment is important or historical.”

Archives of athletics games are displayed in the library and are used for the purpose of educating students about history in a hands-on way, according to Goss. 

“Athletics is very engaging and relevant to students,” Vice Provost and University Librarian Alicia Salaz said. “Our students recognize the UO has such a strong athletics brand and so many are involved in athletics in some way, so it’s exciting to offer a new way to introduce undergraduates to the archives and special collections.”

After completing her bachelor’s degree at the UO, Goss worked as a paralegal in litigation defense before obtaining a master’s degree in library and information science. 

“I came back to the University of Oregon in 2016 to work in the archive,” Goss said. 

Goss has worked in various different positions in the library archives since 2016, including doing identification and conservation of athletic films, which helped lead her to her current position. 

“I came across an article written by an athletics archivist at the University of Maryland about her work, and that was my first exposure to the idea that such a position could exist, so I pitched the idea to the library administration and development, which is the fundraising side of the university,” Goss said. 

In order for Goss to become UO’s athletics archivist, additional funding was needed. 

“Lauren’s position was funded by an anonymous family foundation. The family has deep Oregon roots and a love of UO libraries. The combination resulted in creating a new opportunity for U of O to be a leader in the field of college sports history preservation, joining only about a dozen other colleges and universities throughout the nation,” said Margaret Savoian, senior associate director of development.

According to Goss, it took several years to get a proposal and find a donor before she was officially named as UO’s athletics archivist on Sept. 1. 

“The history of this university is complex and multifaceted, and using the story of athletics is one way to look at that university history. We have over 130 years of history of our athletic teams and people and traditions and facilities. And similarly, my job is really multifaceted,” Goss said.

Goss is the only person to work as an athletics archivist on the West Coast and one of fewer than 10 athletics archivists at the collegiate level in the entire United States. 

“Most people are surprised that this position didn’t already exist at the UO, given our emphasis and history on human performance and sport across our curriculum and across our university, but I definitely understand that it’s a monumental responsibility to be a part of preserving and sharing through the lens of sport,” Goss said.