Before we delve into this week’s Oregon Student Association mishap (considering that it appears to now be a weekly occurrence) I want to give a shout-out to some other events I feel are worth spending some time on.
First, Cinco de Mayo happened this past Saturday and for the most part it was just another Saturday night in Eugene (granted, the closest I came to the campus bar scene was Oak Street).@@oh@@
Thankfully, I didn’t encounter much cultural insensitivity, but if you saw me and began to apologize for wearing a “silly big hat” and “pancho” then you probably made a poor choice dressing up.
I enjoy drinking and having fun as much as the next person, but that doesn’t mean I lose the ability to discern that my behavior is likely to offend.
On a lighter note and in the spirit of drinking and having fun — Sasquatch Brew Fest is this Saturday, May 12. If you enjoy local brews, good music and delicious food then there is no better place than the Hilton this Saturday. Did I mention that it’s also for a good cause? What more could you ask for?@@http://www.northwestlegendsfoundation.org/@@
Back to your regularly scheduled programming.
Fight Club’s well-known first rule is simple: Do not talk about Fight Club. It seems that for nearly a decade those involved followed this rule extremely well.
There are many facets to this story — all of them disgusting — but some more than others.
It is difficult to even determine where to begin.
As one commenter on the original story pointed out, the only way this could have been worse (or better, depending on your view) would be if the potential candidates actually got in the ring to duke it out until only one was left standing.
It should come as no surprise that lobbying and money are involved in politics at every level. Recently, this notion of money in politics has been strengthened and reinforced by the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling.
But for such blatant political favoring from an organization, which is a nonprofit and whose goal is to give students a lobbying voice in Salem and D.C., is contrary to everything they claim to stand for.
In reality, they’ve allegedly circumvented what is supposed to be a democratic system. And for what?
Is it because they want more funding? Continued funding? Or does it just boil down to wanting people who are sympathetic to your cause to be in power?
It doesn’t really matter what the justification is because nothing can justify this behavior.
Now, some apologists I’m sure at this point are going to point out that it may not have been the OSA as a whole that was complicit with this scheme but rather “rogue” employees.
This is entirely true. But it doesn’t absolve them of condemnation, nor should it.
Even if higher-ups were unaware what was going on, it doesn’t excuse them and in some ways it is worse.
Where is the oversight? How could this take place for so long without anybody picking up on it? We aren’t talking about some clandestine organization here.
Furthermore, there needs to be some acknowledgement of these allegations from the OSA. And more precisely, an investigation into these claims.
If this occurred in any other organization you would find many a PR person trying desperately to get ahead of this story and reassure the public that it was getting investigated.
There has been no such report here.
Going forward, it will be interesting to see how far this rabbit hole goes. As it will also be interesting to see what — if any — action OSA takes to remedy the situation.
Considering they now employ two former beneficiaries of their alleged impropriety, I won’t hold my breath for the latter.
Fortunately, now that this story is out there, there is a possibility for real change in campus politics. The community is now privy to these under-handed practices and now that this behavior has been exposed it will make it more difficult for those who wish to continue with said practices.
Ironically, this might be OSA’s greatest accomplishment; I eagerly await their newsletter praising their efforts.