Supporters of OSPIRG said Tuesday they would withdraw a ballot measure that attempted to save the group in response to concerns that the wording of the measure would endanger groups with similar functions.
The measure made no specific mention of the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group. Instead, it asked whether the ASUO should “fund student-directed programs that address issues that affect both students and all Oregonians” by using methods similar to OSPIRG’s. Representatives of groups such as the Oregon Student Association, Oregon Students of Color Coalition and multicultural groups said they would be threatened if the ballot measure failed because their methods are similar to OSPIRG’s.
“It just opens up a Pandora’s box for not-good things to come,” former ASUO presidential candidate Kari Herinckx said.
Representatives of the groups expressed their concerns in a meeting Tuesday night at the Many Nations Longhouse for a new group calling itself the Coalition for Student Voice, which proposed the resolution.
The meeting pitted Herinckx against her 2008 running mate, former OSPIRG President Jesse Hough. It also brought Herinckx and the Oregon Student Association together with ASUO President Sam Dotters-Katz, who defeated Herinckx in last year’s election and later removed an OSA organizer from campus.
The meeting took place on the week of the one-year anniversary of discussion on the creation of the Ethnic Studies department, which was viewed as a high point by supporters of ASUO programs and unions. Since then, the progressive wing of the ASUO has splintered to the extent that there are four candidates for ASUO Executive espousing progressive causes.
At the end of the meeting, OSPIRG board member Sarah Harbert, who created the measure, said she would withdraw it after hearing the opposition of students she expected to support it.
“I have to apologize for the way I-slash-we went about submitting the referendum,” Harbert said. “I really didn’t anticipate this much controversy.”
Harbert said she and other students in the coalition created the resolution at the end of February in response to the ASUO’s decision to strip OSPIRG of its funding.
While OSPIRG members said they hoped to save the organization when they created the resolution, they said they drafted the measure in response to comments by Dotters-Katz during the hearing on their budget. Dotters-Katz argued that the incidental fee, which funds the ASUO, is not meant to “save the world,” but to benefit the University campus. OSPIRG advocates said the rhetoric threatened other groups on campus.
“If that principle is challenged, it seems like there’s a lot more at stake,” OSPIRG Campus Organizer Michael Reagan said. “There’s a lot of groups here that work to ‘save the world.’ There’s a lot of groups here that … work off campus.”
However, members of unions and programs said putting the question to the student body would put other advocacy groups at risk if the measure failed. Some accused OSPIRG of attempting to use the fates of other groups to propel themselves back to campus.
“We asked what groups are in this coalition, but really it’s just OSPIRG. Let’s be real,” ASUO Sen. Carina Miller said.
Members of the Coalition for Student Voice said they were taken aback by the opposition voiced at the meeting. After senior Justin Tandigan asked Harbert what the coalition would do in response to the complaints, Harbert said she would withdraw the measure, although she added that it would be difficult.
Those at the meeting said they hoped they could use the discussion to move forward on the issues important to OSPIRG.
“If we all believe what we just said, then what we just did was really good. We have prevented a potential catastrophe,” Hough said after Harbert offered to withdraw the measure.
Dotters-Katz, who appeared at the meeting to oppose the measure, echoed Hough’s sentiments. Dotters-Katz’s appearance represented his recent support for programs such as OSA, which he opposed after his election.
“After how hard they worked on this, whether or not I agree with them, that decision represents an incredible level of maturity and respect for the student voice,” Dotters-Katz said.
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