Evening settles in. The brisk air blows through the 40 or so in attendance. It is quiet in the EMU Amphitheater, save for the rat-a-tat of anxious chatter.
Ten minutes after its expected arrival, ASUO Elections Coordinator Cedar Cosner’s@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Cedar+Cosner@@ voice rolls around on a bull horn:
“It is time for change!”
However, he is not in that role tonight. Tonight, Cosner is a Student Coalition On Re-prioritizing Education campaign coordinator, working with ASUO Communications Director Andrew Rogers@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Andrew+Rogers@@ to lead a crowd who would amount to around 60 on a march to Matthew Knight Arena. This is the coming-out party for SCORE.
Seeing Cosner’s name popping up occasionally in connection with the group, I decided to attend the rally and try to see what connection, if any, he had with the group.
(For full disclosure, I followed them on their march, split ways with them at East 13th Avenue and Agate Street and attended Oregon’s men’s basketball game that evening against Colorado. I had a fantastic time, as the Ducks outlasted the Buffaloes for a 90-81 victory.)
I showed up shortly before the scheduled time (around 6:25) accompanying Emerald multimedia. I joined our cameraperson as they tried — and failed — to find an angle on the speeches that wasn’t obscured by the Oregon winter’s night.
And I watched, a little confused as Cosner was given the bullhorn at around 6:40 by Rogers (the evening’s MC) and started a rousing speech about the athletic department’s unwillingness to give back to students. The speech concluded with an admonition for athletics director Rob Mullens: “We are calling on you, give it back … we (students) deserve better.”
Curious about how Cosner viewed Thursday’s rally in the context of his role as elections coordinator, I went to his office hours the next day to ask him about how he viewed the connection there.
He said he hopes no one construes his involvement with the group with impropriety in elections. If any candidate were to bring up athletics as an issue in the election or an athletics ballot measure was raised, Cosner said, “I would immediately withdraw.”
He said that as a member of ASUO Executive staff, people on staff are encouraged to participate in issues on campus, and this is one of them. His job requires heavy responsibilities during certain parts of the year and periods of downtime.
“In the downtime, it is my responsibility to take on other tasks, as long as they’re not affiliated with elections,” he said.
Sam Dotters-Katz,@@http://uoalumni.com/s/1202/blank.aspx?sid=1202&gid=1&pgid=535@@ former ASUO president, doesn’t view it as such. He said that while the Executive is responsible for the hiring of the coordinator, any coordination beyond that should remain in the realm of providing resources the elections board needs to run the election properly.
“Starting winter term, my elections coordinator was asked not to attend staff meetings and asked to maintain an appropriate level of distance from office of the Executive,” he said.
He said there is a burden on the person who assumes the position to self-impose a restriction on political speech and action.
“While I am not alleging improper motive, it’s really — more than anything — a complete lack of good judgement,” Dotters-Katz said.
That’s a good way to look at it, honestly. I have no doubt that Cosner can run a perfectly fair and impartial elections process and fully expect him to fulfill what he said he would do if any candidate were to bring up athletics as an issue.
But the question here is not timing, as he can no more take back his words than I can collect every copy of the Emerald that these words are printed on.
For wider reference, we at the Emerald support SCORE’s mission; the athletic department should be taken to task for failing to follow the agreements laid out with the student body. It’s a good cause, and we encourage students to participate.
But I don’t know how to reconcile 1) the fact that the elections coordinator is housed in the office of the Executive with 2) the fact that it by nature should be removed from campus issues.
But boisterous speech about the athletic department is not my idea of a solution.