Soon after vice president of student affairs Robin Holmes emailed the Oregon University System board to inform them that the contract with RBI Strategies and Research had been terminated, reactions began surfacing.
Former ASUO Chief of Staff Kerry Snodgrass was excited about the news and glad that students had made such a big difference.
“I think that this wouldn’t of happened without student advocacy; I think we’re lucky that students caught this, made it public and demanded a different outcome from student affairs,” Snodgrass said.
Despite the recent victory for her and other students who share her perspective, she was not completely satisfied.
“I think that just because they cancelled the contract doesn’t mean that there isn’t a glaring problem here,” she said. “I really think that the logical next step is to find solutions that work for students.”
Assistant Vice President of Strategic Communications Phil Weiler was quick to address the termination.
“In a sentence, it was terminated because it was a mistake; it was something we shouldn’t have done in the first place. As soon as we realized that, we rectified the situation,” Weiler said.
ASUO President Laura Hinman was not concerned and was looking into how to move forward.
“I wasn’t surprised; I think it was the best choice for the institution,” Hinman said. “It’s always good to look around and say ‘Are we doing this right?’ I think it was a good choice, and I’m not surprised by it, but I don’t think student affairs had malintentions.”
She was also concerned about the confusion surrounding the hiring of the marketing firm and wanted to clarify.
“It wasn’t hired by student affairs; it was a group of students who said ‘Okay we know what the student government is doing is incorrect and wrong, how do we move forward, what do we do?’” Hinman said. “The students were seeking advice on two areas both on my perspective of how to run a better campaign; a transparent, high voter turnout, more engaged campaign and then from the EMU Task Force perspective on how to increase a positive vote.”
She was optimistic about how the EMU Task Force would rebound after the termination of their hired help.
“I think that they’ll still move forward, they’ll still do a great job and that it empowers them even more. They have done a great job on their own, I think they didn’t need this group; they’re students so they understand what the students need,” Hinman said.