(Eleanor Klock/Daily Emerald)

Students expressed their thoughts and criticisms toward the University of Oregon Board of Trustees leading up to the board’s meetings on March 11 and March 12 in the Ford Alumni Center at 9 a.m.

The Board of Trustees is a governing body who hold a fiduciary responsibility for the university. The board is responsible for the overall management, oversight and sustainability of UO. There are 15 members of the board including UO President John Karl Scholz and student representative Ruby Wool. Wool is a sports reporter for the Daily Emerald.
10 out of the 15 trustees are white and nine of the 15 trustees are women.
Through public comment at the meetings, students can voice their concerns and opinions on university affairs, but cannot contribute to any final decisions made by the board. Instead, solely the board is responsible for making major decisions that affect the university.
Some students expressed their thoughts on the board and its system of operations.
Jack Dodson, a freshman environmental studies major, said the structure of the board does not give power to student voices.
“Having student input and listening to the student body at the University is incredibly important, and the Board of Trustees structure does not allow for it,” Dodson said. “This is problematic because a lot of the time the students have very different views and opinions than the board given that we are college students, and they are some of the wealthiest people in the state of Oregon.”
Dodson suggested that having a more democratic system that considered student voices would be more effective.
Some student organizations, such as the Associated Students of the University of Oregon, Students for Justice in Palestine and Climate Justice League, plan to attend the board’s meetings.

ASUO

ASUO president Chloé Webster will join other student organizations and will discuss various campus issues. According to ASUO Secretary of Campus Health and Safety, Madison Studer, Webster will be discussing issues on food insecurity at UO.
Additionally, Webster will discuss the call of ASUO’s on-campus food pantry.
As an ASUO representative, Studer’s role is to attempt to bridge the gap between UO students and administration, she said. Furthermore, ASUO serves to be transparent with both students and administration “in trying to make this campus community better.”
According to Struder, it is crucial for ASUO to communicate issues of UO students to the board.
“[The Board of Trustees] make all the important decisions around campus and it’s super important that student perspectives and voices are heard,” Struder said.

Students for Justice in Palestine

UO SJP has hosted several rallies and die-ins leading up to the March 12 Board of Trustees meeting.
SJP will present “clear” and “serious” demands to the board, calling for “why they should divest out of not only Israeli complicit companies, but cut off Israeli ties with Israeli schools over overseas,” UO SJP member Salem Younes said.
Younes said that both the Board of Trustees schedule of meeting quarterly, and at an early start time makes it inaccessible for the students to attend, and that “it just feels like a sick game of cat and mouse,” for SJP members and students.
30 minutes are scheduled during the meeting for public comment, which is open to Eugene community members and UO students. Younes said that since the public comment is open to the whole community and not particularly for students, it is “an honor” to speak at the meeting.

“They’re feigning that they care,” Younes said. “They’re trying to put up some sort of facade like they will [care].”
Additionally, Younes said that the lack of representation on the board “speaks volumes.” Since Wool is the only student representative, “they definitely can just veto that one student’s idea or something. It just feels weak.”
Younes would like to see various ways for representation on the board, including a “sect [group] of students,” multiple meetings throughout each term and a public comment section specifically for UO students.
“I think if they made more of an effort to listen to their student body, it would benefit,” Younes said. “They clearly do not care.”

Climate Justice League

Ian Finn, the finance director of the Climate Justice League, said the board does not properly represent university students because the board members are not affected by their own decisions.
“These people make billion-dollar decisions with public money for a public university they do not even attend,” Finn said. “We cannot expect them to be held accountable for the decisions they make if they are appointed and then not removed from making decisions that are in their own self-interest.”
Finn advised how the board can adequately represent the student body at UO, such as adding more student positions to the board.
“To represent students, add student members to represent the University of Oregon. Start by taking away the people who are the CEOs of large corporations and who do not have to deal with the decisions they make. At the end of the day, they will not be the ones who face the impact of their decisions,” Finn said.
SJP and CJL will host a rally at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 12 outside of the Ford Alumni Center where the meeting will be held.
The meetings will be live streamed for those who cannot attend. For more information, students can visit the Board of Trustees website.