Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to include and clarify Rob Odom’s statements.

Associated Students of Oregon State University President Kayla Ramirez was removed from their position Tuesday afternoon after a same-day meeting with university administration, according to a statement from ASOSU Vice President Masha Mogylevsky.

It is unclear why Ramirez was terminated.

In an e-mail from Vice President of University Relations and Marketing Rob Odom, Odom said, “While OSU does not comment on individual students due to federal privacy laws, all ASOSU student employees and officers must meet certain eligibility requirements outlined in the ASOSU Student Government Employment & Operations Manual posted at https://asosu.oregonstate.edu/student-gov/records to maintain employment,” Odom said. “Requirements are outlined on page 12 of the document.”

In a previous interview Ramirez expressed the possibility of being terminated by university administration. 

“I would rather be a president who is known… for accepting the consequences because I did the right thing,” Ramirez said. “I know that when I walk into these rooms, when I speak prominently, I carry that risk of retaliation, of being removed from office, of losing my job, but ultimately, as long as I serve the student body to the best of my ability, that is what is most important to me.”

In response to concerns about retaliation, Odom said, “with respect to claims of retaliation, retaliation is prohibited by OSU policy, including against those speaking out or filing a report, complaint or concern with an official OSU office.”

According to Mogylevsky, this action by the university is incongruent with the student body constitution and they express “extreme concerns for the state of democratic shared governance.”

Ramirez’s termination comes at a time when many are sharing their concerns about what they see as the dissolution of shared governance in American universities, including at OSU.

“It is important to note that (Ramirez’s) peers in the student government and student body at large had no say whatsoever in this decision,” Mogylevsky said.

Minutes after the meeting, Ramirez administered the Oath of Office to Mogylevsky, making them ASOSU president. However, Mogylevsky said it is their foremost priority to return the Office of President back to Ramirez, as they were the one that was “duly elected by students, and their removal without due process undermines the democratic foundation of the ASOSU.”

“While I am fully inaugurated as President in the formal and legal sense, I will be using the title of Provisional President until this crisis is resolved,” Mogylevsky said. “This also serves as an ongoing reminder that these circumstances are far from normal.”

Last winter, students elected three branch leaders to represent them in the ASOSU, of those three — president, vice president and Student Fee Committee chair — only one remains, that being Mogylevsky who was elected into the role of vice president.

“Student leaders have expressed before to me and (Ramirez) that they fear retaliation for voicing criticism of university leadership,” Mogylevsky said. “Now we have confirmation of their fears. If the university can remove the (ASOSU) President arbitrarily without due process, everyone is at risk.”

Mogylevsky expressed concern over the precedent they say administration has set, and that members of the Senate and SFC will be subject to termination and conduct charges if they meet without permission.

“This makes the recognized student government’s exercise of its rights under ORS 352.105, including review of contingency allocations for incidental fees, effectively impossible,” Mogylevsky said. “For this reason and others, we fear that the administration’s actions may violate state statutes.”

Mogylevsky finished their statement by saying ASOSU is not a puppet of the University, and (the student government) “will not allow these escalations to stand without continuing our vocal opposition.”

According to Mogylevsky, the ASOSU Senate will still meet Thursdays and will be chaired by Senate President Pro Tempore Dawson Yang.

Ramirez did not have a statement at time of publication.

This is a developing story and The Barometer will follow as updates become available.