ASUO President Jay Breslow doesn’t see a difference between his roles as a student leader and as a student activist.
“Student leaders are student activists, and those who don’t believe it shouldn’t be student leaders,” he said.
Despite Breslow’s personal convictions, this year’s Executive staff is being forced to decide where the distinction must be made, with both its ideology and monetary funds. Only days after classes have begun, staff members are defining exactly what the ASUO is and how it will fit on campus this year.
A handful of this year’s student leaders spent last year fighting for causes through the Survival Center, an umbrella group based out of the EMU that includes the Human Rights Alliance and the OSPIRG offices.
Others, including Breslow and ASUO Vice President Holly Magner, were involved in last spring’s student protest for University membership in the Worker Rights Consortium.
Now elected, some activists say they won’t need to draw a line between the two. Others plan, in the meantime, to quell how much their opinions enter the office duties. But all agree their new positions this year will not dampen their spirit of activism as a whole.
University Affairs Coordinator Chad Sullivan was heavily involved with the WRC issue last year. He said he was constantly frustrated by the number of people who didn’t have all the information about the organizations working to improve labor conditions.
He believes that, for now, the best thing he can do with his ASUO position is to be an educator on the issue.
“When people become aware of the issue, the choice is obvious,” he said.
The Executive has already encountered one major distinction during its voter registration campaign. Despite directly affecting higher education and funding, it can’t take a specific stance on any political issues, including the Oregon ballot measures.
But Breslow said it isn’t hard to figure out what he and his staff think about the issues, even when they speak simply to encourage students to vote.
“People elected us to these positions because we have opinions,” he said.
As the Executive continues to stress how the ballot measures can affect students, the underlying message, including staff members’ opinions on the negative affects of the measures, is hard to avoid.
“We’ll do it within the rules of the administration and the ASUO,” Breslow said of the voter education and registration campaign. “But we won’t shy away from confrontation.”
As she stood on the corner urging passing students to register for the November election, Legislative Coordinator Melissa Unger said she, like Breslow, sees a direct connection between student government and student activism.
Unger, who worked for OSPIRG last year, said she thinks her ASUO position is the perfect vehicle for student activism because of the clout that comes with her title, especially with the administration.
“We have to be listened to,” she said. “We can get a lot done.”
Breslow said he thinks the primary job of the ASUO is to educate students and to advocate for them. But, eventually, advocating has to involve taking a position on what will benefit students the most and deciding the best way to take action.
“While I deal with politics, I don’t consider myself a politician. It’s a really sticky situation,” he said.
Unger agreed and said she even considers the ASUO an activist group advocating for students based on their voice in the ASUO elections. She acknowledged that turnout for ballot measures concerning the WRC, Designated Driver Shuttle and other groups is low, but thinks the Executive is doing what the campus population wants it to do.
“The elections are all we have to gauge the student voice,” Unger said.
Breslow agreed that those who remained silent last year need to vote in their campus, local and national elections if they want their voice to be heard.
Or better yet, Breslow suggested, run for office.
“I didn’t get elected because I’m middle of the road,” Breslow said.