Last month, the Oregon Commentator’s mission statement proposal resulted in a
two-hour, emotionally charged, chaotic meeting in which First Amendment rights were threatened, content was criticized and a committee member quit (temporarily) and accused other PFC members of “sleeping
with the devil.” The next day grievances
were filed against three members of the
committee. Those members are currently
prohibited from voting.
Monday, the Commentator’s hearing was a serene, half-hour gathering that actually fulfilled its purpose. There was no yelling, no insults and no drama. PFC members remained viewpoint-neutral, as their jobs require.
Furthermore, late Monday night, PFC members experienced a change of heart and embraced long-sought after changes to the stipend model.
What has happened? PFC Vice Chair
Mason Quiroz and member Eden Cortez
are no longer allowed to vote; member
Dan Kieffer resigned; Michael Sherman and Jared Axelrod joined the committee.
Now budget hearings are calm and businesslike, and actions which should have
been implemented months ago are finally
being undertaken.
We congratulate our student leaders for
finally seeing the light at the 11th hour.
And while it is a huge relief to have sane
people on the PFC, this sudden shift proves we desperately need to evaluate the system. The personalities and backgrounds of
the committee members have radically shifted the dynamic, and that screams of flaws
in the selection, training and education processes.
The PFC is supposed to be viewpoint-
neutral; it shouldn’t matter who is on the committee because the members’ own opinions and temperaments should not affect
the decision-making process. Committee members need to be made aware of the
nature of their jobs before budget hearings begin in order to avoid the chaotic screaming mess that resulted when a couple of volatile PFC members let their personal opinions into the process.

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