Erin Watari is becoming a political force as she approaches the halfway mark of her term as a student member of the State Board of Higher Education, the governing body for the seven public universities in the Oregon
University System.
But many students wouldn’t know it if they met her at a party. The easy-going 21-year-old might mention the time she and her best friend, Whitney Wong, hit The Big Easy for a night of revelry during Mardi Gras. Or about the time she and Wong packed skis into her 1984 Honda Civic and headed to Colorado for some champagne powder on the slopes of Breckenridge and Aspen.
But once the Southern Oregon University political science senior starts talking politics, there’s no question she’s not a typical college student. Four years in student government have left their mark.
“Erin makes issues relevant to students,” said Sidney Simas, who worked with Watari for three years in SOU student government and now is spokeswoman for the Associated Students of SOU. “She can turn an issue into something you feel passionate about. She makes students care.”
As vice president for ASSOU, Watari helped fuel an effort to register a record number of student voters and beseech them to vote in the 2000 election. She marched in Washington, D.C., with 300 other student leaders to lobby lawmakers for legislation that would eradicate racial profiling by police. It was a professional and personal vindication for Watari because the racial profiling issue became especially dear to her heart while she was a freshman at Gresham High School.
The Gresham, Ore., native said police officers detained her and a group of her friends who met at Jefferson High School on the way to a birthday party. The officers were following up on an investigation of a high school shooting several weeks before involving a group of Asians, she said.
“They told us to get out of the car and join the lineup,” Watari said. “I’m from the suburbs. I didn’t realize these kinds of things happen.”
Years later, Watari paved the way for the formation of the Oregon Students of Color Coalition, a group of students from the seven OUS schools, Lane Community College, Rogue Community College and Oregon Health & Science University who advocate greater access to higher education for students of color.
She served as co-chairwoman of the group.
“She pushed that program to get it started,” Simas said. “And it found its place last year.”
So did Watari.
Gov. John Kitzhaber appointed her in June to a spot on the State Board; her term expires in June 2003. The board, composed of nine members appointed to four-year terms and two student members who serve two-year terms, sets tuition costs and adjusts funding for OUS schools, among other duties.
“It is a huge challenge,” Watari said. “At first it seemed
overwhelming.”
Diane Vines, OUS vice chancellor for corporate and public affairs, said she has watched Watari mature quickly in her first year from a quiet observer to an active participant.
“As I got to know her, I appreciated her willingness to do her homework and research issues the board is dealing with,” Vines said. “She would not just go along with the majority. She became more of her own person.”
Watari was the only member to vote against the State Board search committee’s process to select a replacement for OUS Chancellor Joe Cox, who is retiring. Watari believed the selection process was too exclusive and that students and faculty should offer more input earlier in the process. Vines said Watari ultimately had to compromise with the board.
“It was not everything she wanted,” Vines said. “Whether you agree with her or not, her willingness to stand up and push on that was important. The board grew stronger because of that.”
And Watari grew stronger — but not just in her professional life. This weekend she was at her home in Gresham being strong with and for her family. Her grandfather Dean Nixon, 79, died of cancer on Valentine’s Day.
“Grandpa used to take me to their cabin on the coast,” Watari said. “That’s where I learned to drive — on a riding lawnmower. We would eat TV dinners together. But my grandmother is still with me.”
Her passion for politics is also still with her. She hopes to one day work full-time as a public servant, though she isn’t quite sure in which sector.
Fellow student board member Tim Young, who also was a vocal critic of the chancellor selection process, said Watari could succeed anywhere.
“She is the smartest, most passionate person I’ve ever known,” he said. “She really cares about what she does.”