News

Brain Drain

We should be proud of ourselves. For one full year, student groups and government found, as Gordon Smith would say, the "sensible center." With only predictable exceptions, 1995-96 passed by us without notice. 1996-97, however, started with a bang.

The source of that bang began long before September 28, though, when Matt Scotten and Glen Banfield, newly elected President and Vice-President of the ASUO, formed their hiring committee. Representatives of the International Student Association, Native American Student Union, Asian/Pacific-American Student Union, Student Bar Association, Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group, MEChA and the ASUO came together for a total of four days of deliberation and interviews to hire 22 people for ASUO Executive positions.

"We basically solicited people we thought would give different perspectives from different student groups," Scotten said.

"After the new Executive is elected, they have about a month before they take office officially. One of the first things they start thinking about is how they want to structure their office. So Glen and I decided to... take an opportunity to redefine the Executive structure," Matt Scotten, ASUO President said.

In past years there's been a fairly obvious trend that whoever volunteered for campaigns was rewarded with a position that they may not necessarily be qualified for. Mandy Hood, last year's beginning State Affairs Coordinator was an Alaskan citizen who did not register to vote in Oregon due to financial considerations. "I think that if you look closely at who we hired this year, that wasn't the case at all," Scotten said.

Instead, the Safety Advocate was resurrected, the Housing Advocate was created and then dropped, and an Environmental Advocate was created. "The Environmental Advocate was created because there is, like, five different programs and the Law School has, like, three programs and there's an obvious need for cooperation," Scotten said.

The hiring committee is formed by the President and Vice-President of the incoming ASUO administration without election or approval. "The president and vice-president look for a cross-section of people who represent different constituencies. There's an attempt to get a representative group of people together," Cheryl Hunter, ASUO Executive Coordinator said.

Scotten and Banfield looked for qualified, well-rounded, well-spoken people with demonstrated skill or interest in the position to which they applied. "We were looking for kind of communication skills, that they actually know what they're applying for," Scotten said. "The last third [of the interview] is specific to the job questions, do they have a sense of what the position is," Scotten said.

The various representatives of student groups, according to Scotten, did not ask questions specific to their own groups. "They didn't ask any questions relevant to their position, except for Sabir of the International Student advocate. It's not like Ellen was asking any questions about recycling or something," Scotten said. "The Exec is not in the business of saying what programs should or shouldn't be funded. That's [the Senate's] charge, if you will."

Although Ellen Hufger, the representative from OSPIRG, was asked to join the committee because of previous hiring experience, some in the ASUO have said that she asked questions specific to OSPIRG's standing on campus, in both a political and legal sense. None of these sources were willing to go on record, however.

The fact that Multicultural student advocates, the Student Bar Association and OSPIRG advocates were selected as being a reasonable cross-section of the ASUO's constituency is somewhat troubling by itself. Scotten did seem unconcerned, however, about the lack of voter turnout in student elections. "There is a large percentage of students that aren't even going to care about student government elections," Scotten said. Clearly, these students are not as high on the list of priorities for representation as EMU insiders.

There are many who feel that the core of EMU insiders extends across the hall from Suite Four to Suite One and OSPIRG's campus headquarters. In fact, Brennan Rounds et al. v. OSBHE et al., the recent lawsuit regarding OSPIRG's use of student fees as a political organization, has, for many, reinforced that view. A magistrate's recent decision in a summary judgment finding for the Oregon State Board of Higher Education and OSPIRG, however, seems to have created a false sense of security both in student government and in OSPIRG's own ranks when it comes to the future of EMU insider trading.

"I fully support the most recent decision. I feel like it's a victory for student control over student fees. That judge's summary judgment is a defense of a process that has been around for a long time and that has worked really well," Scotten said.

Scotten challenged the silent majority, when he dismissed claims that OSPIRG has an unfair advantage at the polls because of low voter turnout in student elections, in comparison with high voter turnout of heavily involved program leaders. "If there's a group whose budget has been approved on the ballot, and had an unfair advantage, you're going to get off your ass and get people to vote," Scotten said. "Get involved and change it."

Scotten did seem to realize the reason that student's don't get involved: They know they spend money, but they don't know that they have any local control on how that money is spent. "I don't think [students] realize they spend $135 a term and that students who represent them are spending their money on things they think are appropriate," Scotten said.

Meanwhile, the remnants of Joey Lyons' "Progressive Ticket" gained election to the Student Senate and PFC last spring. Many who were in the office of the Student Senate for the transition spoke of these new members making "big plans that didn't include James Boyd" then-Student Senate interim President, after Martin Fisher's graduation from the UO Law School in May.

Boyd, who had devoted two years of his time here at the University debating governing documents with Martin Fisher, who authored many of them, expected that unless members of the body took strong exception to his role over the summer, he would continue as Senate President for the year.

October 9, however, brought different news. The Student Senate, in a 9-6 decision, made Kalpana Krishnamurthy, state chair of OSPIRG, president of the Student Senate, in what has been called by many a purely political move. There may be something to that. The chapter chair of OSPIRG, Sadie Rogers, and Geneva Wortman, also of OSPIRG, sit on the Senate as well. Of course, as Krishnamurthy pointed out, "I think it's interesting that he's concerned about three people in OSPIRG when seven people from the Greek system sit on this body and there are a series of people of color. Oh my God! Maybe people of color are taking over the Senate, maybe women are because there's actually six of us! I'm not concerned about it all because I think that the students that are sitting in this room are more diverse now than they have ever been. They express concerns that are unique from each other regarding every single issue we've discussed this far. I don't think there's an agenda."

Boyd expressed opposite sentiments in his resignation letter. "I pray that the Senate will refrain from taking part in the political games and special interest agendas by which it is currently permeated. If student interests continue to be ignored by the members of the Student Senate, perhaps we would be better off letting our administrators regulate the incidental fee," Boyd wrote in his Oct. 10 resignation letter.

"I'm really disappointed. I think that if he's really concerned about special interests permeating the Student Senate, or the Senate being taken over by a certain contingency that isn't representing students, then he should have stayed and fought that contingency. I also think that it was a little presumptuous to assume he would be Senate President... he should have been prepared for the possibility for not getting it," Matt Scotten said of Boyd's resignation.

In addition to concerns about politics, Boyd fears for the competence of both the Programs Finance Committee and the Senate. "I don't even know if [the PFC] knows what a benchmark is," Boyd said. "[Kalpana] was up for non fulfillment of duties for missing Senate Meetings and Academic Council meetings, but it came so late in the year, that the Senate just said forget it."

"She would only show up to make sure OSPIRG didn't get in trouble or when anything leftist came up, like Fight the Right, the Promise Keepers," Boyd said.

"I'm not the filter for all their stupid little statements anymore," Boyd said. "Susan graduated, Martin graduated and they left all this behind for us to take care of, they're going to drive it into the ground, it'll get worse before it gets better."

The process is now going to be: "Just guess. Who cares?" Boyd said.

"If it weren't for the incidental fee, I wouldn't care. But I'm tired of paying."

Boyd also maintains that what the Senate and student government in general needs is students who decide to get involved because they want to make a difference, not because of program affiliations.

Krishnamurthy, however, counts herself as the facilitator for such a change. "I think that Martin and obviously James was very interested in the position and had a very different style of leadership than I feel could benefit this body. Martin and James were incredible leaders, they've done everything, they've basically handed the Student Senate everything to sign on dotted lines. It's been great for the Senate. But what I wanted to do was actually develop people to do those things. The expertise left with Martin and James," Krishnamurthy said.

"I think that James would have continued the tradition that Martin started of basically being the Senate," Krishnamurthy said. "I don't think that's what this body should be."

Krishnamurthy expressed surprise, however, at Boyd's decision to vacate his seat after the Senate's decision to replace him." I expected him to bring his ideas to the table and be able to participate. I expected him to realize what a valuable resource he's been to this body. And I expected him not to be so childish about it," Krishnamurthy said.

"I think that there are people who have watched this Senate for years and seen it degenerate into this pathetic financially conservative group of students," Krishnamurthy said. "The history of this body is rife with people walking all over student's interests. I have never tried to limit or control the debate that has gone on at this campus."

"I have a lot of respect for Kalpana, she continues to impress me basically all of the time. I think she'll surprise everyone," Scotten said. "I think she will do an incredible job and in spite of what people have said, she will prioritize the Senate as number one."

With Boyd and Bart Alexander, likely chair of the Programs Finance Committee having vacated their positions due to personal problems with the running of the bodies, turning instead to non student program interests, the brain trust of student government is finally gone.

"I've got to admit there are definitely a lot of holes to fill in both of those organizations before they're going to be solvent," Scotten said.

That's not all that Scotten should be admitting. Just as we should be proud of ourselves for making last year truly boring, he should be proud of himself for finding himself in office during this much turmoil. If he's not careful, the bang could be heading straight for him. Without the brain trust of years past to make smooth transitions and keep governing bodies in check, it's up to Krishnamurthy, Scotten and Banfield to keep the new kids under control.

Farrah L. Bostic, a junior majoring in Journalism, is Publisher for the Oregon Commentator