Audrey Schlotter, the Associated Students of Oregon State University president, said in an email Tuesday night that she will not be appointing a new vice president. 

After Zach Kowash, the former vice president resigned on Feb. 25, the typical process according to the ASOSU constitution would be that Schlotter would appoint someone in his place with the help of the senate. 

Article II, Section B states, “In the event that the office of Vice President is vacated during the elected term of office, the President shall, with the advice and consent of the Senate, appoint a member of the ASOSU to succeed to the office.”

In an interview last week, Schlotter said Kowash’s resignation was the tipping point for the decision to partially shut down ASOSU. However, Schlotter and Vice Provost for Student Affairs, Dan Larson both cited the turmoil in ASOSU as the main reason for the pause.

“The accomplishments we were able to make in this time came in tandem with hostility and unprofessional conduct towards elected student representatives — not just within our roles, but as people. At the core of who we are as leaders, we are students — students at OSU trying to get our degrees and hopefully leave this place better than we found it,” Schlotter said in her email Tuesday. 

Schlotter said she thinks in light of the shutdown, filling the role would be more harmful than good for the student body. 

“Until these problems are addressed and there’s a clear plan to make ASOSU a representative, constructive, and safe place to work, I will not be appointing a new Vice President,” Schlotter said in the email. 

Schlotter said that Kowash’s resignation should serve as a reminder to members of ASOSU.

“So I’ll end with this: I am proud of Zach and the decision he made. His decision was the right one — not just for him, but as a reminder that no title, position, or desire to fix a broken system is worth sacrificing your sense of self or well-being.”

The Barometer is working to provide updates on the ASOSU shutdown as we receive them.

Schlotter’s letter in full:

Hello everyone, 

It has officially been a week since former ASOSU Vice President Zach Kowash resigned from his role within student government. I have taken this time to reflect not only on Zach’s departure but also on the culture of ASOSU and what’s next for the role of ASOSU VP.

Zach and I went into this administration with clear goals on how to make OSU a better place for all students. In a lot of ways, we were able to accomplish many of the initiatives we set out to do. On the other hand, I think we failed to recognize that the changes we were elected to make were constrained by an organization that needed more attention and dedication just to stay afloat — let alone make the changes we were elected to complete.

The accomplishments we were able to make in this time came in tandem with hostility and unprofessional conduct towards elected student representatives — not just within our roles, but as people. At the core of who we are as leaders, we are students — students at OSU trying to get our degrees and hopefully leave this place better than we found it. Every time our peers, coworkers, and even friends post something on social media, we see it. Every critique made that attacks our character without the care to understand the difficult position we were put in to represent over 20,000 students — or just an assumption about who we are as people, we see it.

This is not to say you shouldn’t question our decisions as your representatives — you absolutely should. But I do ask that every time you call one of your representatives an awful name, every time you take a nuanced situation and make a split-second judgment based on something you saw on YikYak, Discord, or a satirical social media page — remember there is a real person on the other side of that screen. A real person with feelings, emotions, and probably a paper due at 11:59 that night.

Yes, ASOSU is a governing body, but we are not politicians. We are your peers, your classmates, and more importantly, we are people. Zach and I didn’t come into this to fight with different bodies within ASOSU. We came here to bring free at-home STI testing to campus, to prioritize clubs, and to make sure even the people who have never heard of ASOSU are adequately represented — whether they care about student government or not.

In Zach’s resignation, he addressed the very real challenges of his role — challenges that many others in ASOSU have also faced. Many of these reflect why our organization is currently paused from activity. Do I think this pause is a perfect solution? No. We were elected to represent OSU students, and right now we can’t do that fully. But I also question whether we were ever representing students equitably fighting the internal turmoil of ASOSU. As we wrestle with the next two months of changes and unknowns I want you to reflect on your own experiences within ASOSU and use those struggles to help change this culture.

Until these problems are addressed and there’s a clear plan to make ASOSU a representative, constructive, and safe place to work, I will not be appointing a new Vice President. I believe filling that role right now would be more of a disservice to whoever would step into it than a gain to those we represent.

This communication is meant to address next steps and Zach’s resignation, but the truth is — his departure and the direction ASOSU goes is inseparable from the realities of this role and the culture that’s been allowed to fester within ASOSU. So I’ll end with this: I am proud of Zach and the decision he made. His decision was the right one — not just for him, but as a reminder that no title, position, or desire to fix a broken system is worth sacrificing your sense of self or well-being.

Best,

Audrey Schlotter

ASOSU President