Amidst a shutdown of the majority of Associated Students of Oregon State University’s branches on Feb. 28, LaborBeavs-endorsed candidates took the win in the elections last week.
Kayla Ramirez and Masha Mogylevsky won the presidential ticket and Dylan Perfect took Student Fee Committee Chair. In an email, Ramirez and Mogylevsky said they hope to make student government a positive and inclusive environment.
The election comes in the wake of the recent resignation of former ASOSU Vice President Zach Kowash who cited a “deeply toxic work environment” for his early departure from his position.
In a reaction to these developments, along with the alleged toxic culture within the ASOSU throughout this year’s administration, President Audrey Shlotter, in collaboration with Vice Provost for Student Affairs Dan Larson, announced a temporary suspension of key ASOSU functions on Feb. 28 in order to conduct a comprehensive review of the organization’s operations and culture.
The review is set to last through May 2. During the review, all meetings are paused for the Senate, Judicial Council, Student Fee Committee and independent committees of the executive branch. The Elections Committee and other executive functions are allowed to continue under the guidance of ASOSU advisors and the Division of Student Affairs.
This decision aims to address the legislative dysfunction and erosion of shared governance principles highlighted in Kowash’s resignation.
“We prioritize open and respectful communication, where leaders can share their ideas without fear of dismissal or intimidation. We have zero tolerance for bullying or harassment of any kind, and seek to set clear expectations for collaboration and decorum,” Ramirez and Mogylevsky said in an email.
Ramirez and Mogylevsky shared that during this shutdown and rebuilding period at ASOSU, they hope to help reshape the culture in student government to be empowering and engaging.
“Rebuilding and fostering trust and collaboration within ASOSU begins with centering and involving students, as well as understanding the implications that led to its current state,” they said. “In order to move forward, we cannot simply ignore the mistakes of the past. Positive change must be held in accountability, transparency, and engagement. We encourage students to reach out, we want to hear from our community on the best practices and approaches moving forward.”
Schlotter shared a similar sentiment in emphasizing the importance of student voices.
“We’re employees at the university. We have employees bullying and harassing members of their own organization online, in person, and it’s affecting not just students, but the entire university,” Schlotter said after the shutdown announcement was released.
Schlotter said that Kowash’s resignation was the tipping point for the decision, but it was not the only thing that led to the pause.
“The internal turmoil in ASOSU is making it so we can’t represent who I was elected to represent and who they were elected to represent,” Schlotter said. “This was a really hard decision, but the thing that kind of pushed it over the edge for me, I guess, was noting that there are people who don’t even know what ASOSU is, who are systematically being betrayed by our organization.”
According to Rob Odom, vice president for University Relations and Marketing, “This review will include an extended assessment of both student conduct as well as student employment, in matters related to allegations of intimidation, hostile work environment, retaliation, acts of bias, and other behavior and performance issues.”
The review is set to conclude by May 2, by which time, “ASOSU can resume activities after the pause with appropriate adjustments having been made to practices and policies, and employment training and employment expectations are met,” Odom said.
There have been many angered responses to the student government shutdown.
Emerson Pearson, ASOSU senator and chair of the Student Government Committee said the shutdown was “an unconstitutional power grab” from the executive branch of ASOSU. Pearson expressed concern that the Senate and the Judicial Committee would not provide the necessary balance of power during the period of reform.
“It has become clear that the current model is not sustainable because of the opportunity for the meddling of Student Affairs, of administration, in student governance,” Pearson said.“I don’t blame my fellow student leaders for this. I blame the university administration and Student Affairs for their choice to try to shut down student democracy.”
Matteo Paola, current Judicial Councilor and former SFC chair had similar thoughts, and expressed extreme concern over the matter of only having one branch in power during the reform.
“I do not think this is a legal order, the fact the president and exec staff are exempt despite being a major cause of the current internal conflicts is insane to me,” Paola said in an email. “It is also obvious without a Judicial Council or even Senate there is no one to rule on the legality of the suspension and (Schlotter) is free to operate outside the bounds of the ASOSU Statute and constitution with no bodies able to hold her accountable.”
Perfect shared similar sentiments, addressing Larson and Schlotter. “You’re basically suspending our democratic institutions, and you can’t cite us a single, specific example of something that’s happened that justifies this. And frankly, I don’t think that there really is anything that justifies it,” Perfect said.
In response to the backlash, Odom said, “Students have resigned from their leadership roles citing concerns and an assessment conducted by the Ombuds office has indicated hostility in the workplace,” Odom said in an email on March 3. “OSU leadership observed and listened to the pattern of behavior, the consistent and urgent feedback from students, and incorporated student input in making this decision.”
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