Oregon State University student government officials have given more insight into why the shutdown was extended again.

University officials and the president of the Associated Students of Oregon State University, Audrey Schlotter, decided to extend the temporary shutdown May 2, with no clear end in sight due to continued concerns surrounding workplace culture, governance and organizational dysfunction.

The shutdown began on Feb. 28, under the idea that it would help to correct alleged harassment and a cited toxic work environment.

According to Schlotter, much of the reason behind the extended shutdown is due to the ongoing reformation of ASOSU governing documents. She said the student government is making sure reforms are following all aspects of university policy along with state and federal law.

The upcoming transition in leadership adds another layer of complexity to the nature of the shutdown. On June 1, Schlotter will be at the end of her term as president of ASOSU and the incoming President-elect Kayla Ramirez and Vice President-elect Masha Mogylevsky will be taking her place.

Despite the shutdown, the formal inauguration timeline remains unchanged. However, the transition between administrations has been slow and constrained.

“The timeline for inauguration remains technically unchanged. However, the transition of power and preparations for this inauguration have been significantly delayed. Our transition only received funding and authorization to work in May, which is later than in prior years. We have also been unable to post jobs for our incoming staff and begin preparations for achieving our goals in office as early as we would like,” Ramirez said.

The work being done to reform the ASOSU is being led by three primary workgroups: Employment, Governing Documents and Culture and Wellbeing. Each workgroup focuses on a specific area of reform.

According to Schlotter, the reason why the initial slate of two months proved to be insufficient was due to an underestimation of how much time it would take to make the necessary reforms. “There’s significant administrative restructuring that is necessary to get us in line with state and federal laws and I think the severity of that was not… accounted for,” Schlotter said.

Ramirez and Mogylevsky have been invited to attend certain workgroup meetings, however they feel the reason behind the extension is due to an inconsistent meeting schedule. 

“Constant rescheduling and cancelling of meetings, which ultimately resulted in the workgroups deciding to conduct work asynchronously, as well as a lack of inclusive and transparent dialogue has slowed progress,” they said.

While ASOSU’s legislative and judicial branches remain suspended, the incoming executive team emphasized their commitment to rebuilding student trust and pushing for a full restoration of government function over the summer.

“We will continue to advocate for restoring full student government function and ensuring changes are guided by democratic principles. Our focus will be preparing to re-engage students, restore trust, and make sure their voices are central in what comes next. Trust is built through action over time, and we are committed to that work every day,” said Ramirez and Mogylevsky.

With summer approaching and key decisions about student fee allocations, hiring and fall programming still in flux, the indefinite nature of the pause continues to leave many of these things uncertain. ASOSU and university officials have not yet announced a concrete timeline for resuming full student government operations.