Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to clarify Larson’s comments.

After over half a year of being on pause, the student government “shutdown” — as it has come to be known — has come to an end.

In an email sent Wednesday evening to members of the Associated Students of Oregon State University, OSU Vice President for Student Affairs Dan Larson said he is lifting the “remaining restrictions” put on ASOSU.

The lifting of the shutdown means ASOSU can return to student government duties such as holding meetings, maintaining the student fee budget and filling any vacant positions.

According to the email, Larson said ASOSU’s first order of business should be to pass a new constitution, which sets the practices and procedures for passing legislation.

“I understand the Constitution is still under review by (the) Senate, and I would like to see that review to remain your highest priority,” Larson said. “Please continue your thoughtful approach and ensure you are providing each other ample time to review, question, discuss and refine. As you know, you need a ratified Constitution to begin passing legislation, so I trust you will prioritize this important and necessary task.”

“ASOSU officers will need to collectively focus on completing the deliverables of the review, including a fully revised Code of Conduct, Statutes, Judicial Council Policies, and Election Procedures. I will look to President Mogylevsky to communicate a strategy and timeline for this next set of deliverables.”

On Feb. 28, Larson and former ASOSU President Audrey Schlotter put a temporary pause on the student government after the sudden resignation of former Vice President Zach Kowash. After Kowash’s resignation, Schlotter asked for university intervention for what she deemed harassment and a toxic work environment.

Initially, the pause was to be lifted May 2, but Larson decided to continue it, citing ongoing concerns surrounding workplace culture, governance, and organizational dysfunction.

Some ASOSU officials told The Barometer that the student government had been rife with harassment for years and that ASOSU was a “toxic work environment.”

Larson said the shutdown sought to address and fix a culture of toxicity.

“The pause was ultimately due to a deterioration of (workplace) culture,” Larson said.

According to Larson, if the ASOSU were to continue without a pause addressing the inner turmoil, toxicity and inappropriate workplace behavior, the ASOSU ran a high risk of no longer being recognized as the student government by the university.

Though the procedure to enact a pause of the student government is not explicitly stated in the ASOSU Constitution, bylaws or statutes, the decision to pause the student government was a shared one.

According to Larson, the decision to pause student government activities was made between the former ASOSU president and himself, using his delegated authority as VP of Student Affairs over ASOSU recognition standards.

Neither the Board nor Schlotter could be reached at time of publication.

The lift came after months of training, a reworked Constitution and employment manual were developed to improve transparency and structure, in an effort to make sure the breakdown of communication that led to the shutdown won’t happen again. 

Over the course of the spring and summer following the pause, OSU’s Office of University Human Resources paid a legal foundation to conduct a workplace review and analysis to address workplace issues.

According to the findings of the review, investigators said OSU’s decision to temporarily put a hold on ASOSU was “reasonable and legitimate” given the evidence.

The ASOSU wasn’t expected to make a full return until the Senate passed a new Constitution. However, after Provisional ASOSU President Masha Mogylevsky along with members of the Senate expressed a “shared commitment” that they would like to work in an environment that’s clear, transparent and sustainable, Larson made the decision to lift the pause fully.

“I have faith that the student government is going to continue the work that they need to put those structures in place,” Larson said. “And I think the best way to give them the ability to start doing that work is to not have any barriers to it.”

Emails provided by Mogylevsky showed the two confirm their shared commitment.

Larson said he appreciated ASOSU members’ commitment to making a healthy, productive workplace and asked the members to “regularly discuss with one another the health of (their) organization.”

According to the email, Larson expressed his expectations regarding the ASOSU’s next steps now that the pause has been lifted. 

In an email response, Mogylevsky voiced concern over the language of Larson’s email. 

“The wording of your email raises concern that ‘the remaining restrictions’ have not been lifted in practice, and that until a requested constitutional amendment is not just passed, but ratified in a special election, that any attempt for the Student Senate or its committees to discuss other items may result in punitive action. It has become difficult to reassure my peers that this will not happen, given recent events,” Mogylevsky said.

Mogylevsky said any limitation of the legislative process is “unacceptable and inconsistent” with what they and Larson discussed.

“I would appreciate if you could please clarify whether the remaining restrictions have been lifted in full, and whether student senators will be punished for introducing resolutions that are not pre-approved by administration,” Mogylevsky said in their response to Larson.

In an interview with Larson, he clarified there is nothing he has in place that restricts ASOSU from functioning as it wishes.

“There is nothing that I have in place that restricts ASOSU from proceeding with committee meetings, writing legislation, even passing legislation, but they do need to have a Constitution in order to pass that legislation,” Larson said. “That’s not a condition I’ve placed that ‘you need to have the Constitution completed’… (I’m just saying) I don’t know how you would pass legislation if you don’t have a Constitution.”

It is unclear what the next steps for the ASOSU Senate are, though it is expected that their first order of business will be to complete finalizing constitutional amendments and passing the new Constitution.