While there are normally clear distinctions between one’s private and public life, for leaders the lines are often blurred. Everything they do — in and out of the office — can come under scrutiny. Leaders at all levels, from the nation’s president to a club chairperson, find themselves in the spotlight.

Recent allegations of assault and criminal mischief against ASUO Vice President Eduardo Morales, and last year’s case against former ASUO Vice President Ben Buzbee for furnishing alcohol to minors, show leaders at the University level are no exception.
What expectations does the campus have of its student leaders? Do leaders’ personal actions reflect on their official life? And is evaluating any of this even fair?
ASUO spokeswoman Taraneh Foster said this year’s student government has outlined specific guidelines for its staff.
She said leaders’ acts reflect on the organization no matter what the instance, and part of the responsibility of being elected is understanding that one’s actions will be under more scrutiny.
“There’s a stress that, although you’re a student and you’re apt to have a life, you are a representative of student government,” Foster said.
Office of Student Affairs Director Anne Leavitt said all members of the University community are held up to the same code of conduct. Student leaders do not have higher standards of conduct, but they are under higher public observation because of their positions. This is especially true of elected leaders, she said.
“The public will pay a lot more attention to their behavior,” she said. “I don’t think the standard for conduct is greater, it’s the visibility.”
Leavitt said according to the concept of “referent power,” people believe they know public figures and have expectations of how they should behave.
“People ascribe to you and give you an elevated standing because you’re a leader,” she said, adding that leaders become exemplars. The leaders themselves may even feel the need to tailor their behavior in a certain way, she said.
“We place enormous value on our student leaders because they represent what it’s like to be a model citizen,” she said.
ASUO Senate President Ben Strawn is one such leader who said he occasionally feels the pressures of his position, even in his personal life.
“I think when I’m in a capacity when people know what my job is, I try to watch my behavior and hold myself to higher standards,” he said.
But the extra scrutiny on student leaders is not always fair, Strawn said.
“I think people should try and put themselves in your position more often,” he said. “Certainly I think all students should be held to the same standards.”
In fact, many students who may not even think of themselves as leaders sometimes are held to high benchmarks. Non-elected leaders like resident hall assistants may find their actions up for analysis. As Director of Residence Life Sandy Schoonover said, RAs have to act as role models at all times.
“It’s very difficult to say, I’m going to be an RA now, and I’m not going to be an RA later on,” she said. For instance, she said even if RAs are older than 21, it still would be inappropriate for them to behave badly due to drunkenness, even in their personal time.
“If they don’t do their jobs, it will be the residents who tell us, or if they’ve done something they shouldn’t have done,” she said. “Our residents do have high expectations of our RAs.”
Other students in the limelight also have to conform to certain standards. Perhaps the largest, most visible group is student-athletes, who are carefully trained to watch their behavior on and off the field.
“My expectations are that they are perfect gentlemen and they recognize their responsibility as student athletes,” Oregon football head coach Mike Bellotti said.
He said athletes are students first, but they are also public figures. While Bellotti said an athletes’ “personal life is their personal life,” they do realize they stand out because of their position.
“We make them very aware that in a small college town, they’re in a fishbowl,” he said.
Part of the extensive training student-athletes receive on proper conduct includes talking with lawyers, judges and even police officers to ensure athletes are aware of laws and how to handle possible confrontations, Bellotti said.
“I think we have very positive peer pressure on them to do things rights and live up to the responsibility,”
he said.
Oregon men’s basketball head coach Ernie Kent said he also has set high standards.
“My expectation is for them to be the best student they can be, the best person they can be and the best basketball players they can be,” he said.
While he wants his players to lead normal lives, Kent said what they do in all contexts matters. The players have a code of ethics and go through a self-improvement program that teaches them about everything from proper dress and food etiquette to media relations and behavior on campus.
“When it’s all said and done, I believe our student-athletes have, by far, more monitoring put on them,” he said. They also have more responsibilities and accountability, he added.
Kent said it can be tough for the students because they are human beings.
“They are under a lot of pressure,” he said. “But the key things is, my guys handle themselves really well.”
Still, other leaders approach the question of behavior effortlessly. ASUO President Maddy Melton, for one, said via e-mail she has not had to change her behavior since she was elected.
“Being in office doesn’t affect my conduct,” Melton said. “My conduct is what got me into office. As for my staff, they should be who they are — that’s why they got hired.”