University President Dave Frohnmayer is in danger of losing students’ and administrators’ respect with his flawed “are we in or are we out?” approach to the Worker Rights Consortium. Frankly, we have had enough of the game-playing. Frohnmayer should step from behind his smoke-and-mirrors policy and make a decision.
Wednesday’s act — Frohnmayer posted a vague statement on the president’s Web page implying the University was not joining the WRC because of legal concerns before bolting to the Netherlands for a conference — was a breach of responsibility. Frohnmayer had to know that a confusing proclamation would only stir up passions on both sides of the issue, and he should have been the one answering questions about its significance, not the University attorney. (Especially considering the fact that Frohnmayer is an attorney.)
From the outset, Frohnmayer and other Johnson Hall administrators have bad-mouthed the WRC, which admittedly does not yet have the structure necessary to carry out its proposed plans. Yet, instead of working to help bolster the labor-rights group’s standing, or at least offering more constructive criticism, the University has done everything but that.
In July, after attending the WRC’s first-ever board meeting in Washington, D.C., Frohnmayer and Vice President for Public Affairs and Development Duncan McDonald returned with armloads of reasons why the WRC was not a viable organization. In mid-September, Frohnmayer used his authority to make a commitment to the Fair Labor Association — a monitoring group that also receives flak for its structure — and again cast a shadow on the University’s commitment to the WRC. And now, last week’s continuation of the three-ring circus had prognosticators around campus and the Oregon community at large debating what was happening.
One person, and one person only, can clear up the mess. Frohnmayer has proven that any decision regarding the WRC is his alone. He had the pen in his hand in April to sign on with the organization. He made the commitment to the FLA. And he released the statement that read, in part, “we cannot pay dues or affiliation fees to the WRC, and therefore can not, at this time, become a member.”
Out of respect for all of the students who are impassioned about this subject one way or another, out of respect for the administrators who mumble and grumble in private about the situation, and out of respect for the thousands of alumni across the state and the country, Frohnmayer needs to clarify his comments.
Instead, the issue was muddied, thanks to Frohnmayer using the “flagpole” technique of gauging public opinion: Run it up and see who salutes with the most fervor. Frohnmayer then left town and the media jumped in with their own conclusions. And what conclusions they had.
Local ABC affiliate KEZI descended upon campus with the attitude of a vulture at a slaughterhouse. The station’s report Wednesday was overdramatic and assumed that the University had severed all ties with the WRC, when, in fact, the president’s statements made no such claim. The following evening’s newscast was even more inflammatory, with the anchor standing outside Johnson Hall, stating that if students were going to protest, they would be setting up on the lawn, a lá last spring’s demonstrations.
Now, we aren’t eager to prompt conspiracy theories, but let’s step back and look at some facts.
Frohnmayer and the administration have made it very clear that they are not pleased with the WRC. Nike President and CEO Phil Knight certainly wasn’t happy with the decision, as evidenced by his withdrawal of $30 million and future donations to the University. Frohnmayer needs public sentiment to swing in his direction in order to make the final decision to pull out of the WRC and squelch the pro-WRC voices. The best way to gain public sentiment is to get the media to basically run a hatchet job on the WRC and effectively kill any promise of its survival at the University, which is arguably what KEZI did in its reporting.
Hmm, isn’t KEZI owned by Chambers Communications? And doesn’t Chambers Communications have a pretty large financial stake in the Autzen Stadium expansion and the overall success of Oregon athletics? Doesn’t the station have the contract to televise Duck football games and doesn’t it also manage and run Duck Vision, the big screen production at Autzen?
These questions are not meant to imply any kind of dirty business behind the scenes. We are just pointing out that the longer Frohnmayer keeps the community guessing about what is really happening, the more the entire situation is open to interpretation.
Frohnmayer can take the first step in putting a kibosh on all the rumors and innuendo when he returns this week by answering a simple question about the WRC: Are we in or are we out?