Rudy Soto, Portland State University’s student body president, is putting the Oregon Student Association’s 32-year-old structure to the test.
Soto ordered PSU’s annual $100,000 student government funding for OSA, the statewide student advocacy non-profit organization, to be placed in a reserve account until the OSA Board of Directors accepts the structural proposal he made last month.
The Board of Directors was taken by surprise when Soto and his senior policy advisor Ryan Klute proposed to create an additional board that would give larger universities more say and, essentially, more power. That is because the number of voting members would be determined by the number of students enrolled at each respective university. This new “general assembly” would allow a university one voting member for every 2,500 students enrolled full-time. The general assembly would not work in place of the current Board of Directors, which includes two students from each OSA campus, but rather alongside it.
Soto said it’s not fair that PSU, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon pay the majority of the total OSA dues but each of those three major institutions has the same amount of say as the smaller rural campuses that have far fewer students and provide less funding.
“We wanted to make sure we were looking at the model, trying to understand why we pay this much but we’re getting the same amount of voice that, say, Eastern (Oregon University) does,” Soto said.
Were the general assembly to be formed following the guidelines of the current proposal, OSU would have the most voting representatives, with seven. The University of Oregon would have six, and PSU would have five. The six remaining OSA institutions would have one representative each.
No decision has been made thus far regarding acceptance, alteration or rejection of Soto’s proposal, but at the last OSA Board of Directors meeting the idea of forming a committee to examine the proposal further and more in-depth was well-received by board members.
ASUO President Emily McLain is hesitant to move forward with the proposal given the overall success of the student lobbying group, especially in recent years.
“I disagree with the premise of the proposal, and I disagree with changing the structure away from a coalition that has been built over 32 years and has won great victories for students,” McLain said. “I think the reason that we’ve had so many successes … is because everybody’s at the table and everyone feels like they have an equal say in the organization and in the decisions that are made by the organization.”
McLain, who is also chairwoman of the OSA Board of Directors, specifically cited OSA’s recent efforts in Salem encouraging state legislators to reinvest in higher education after a decade of disinvestment. The student organization’s campaign was comprehensive and highly successful, passing 14 major bills related to higher education.
But McLain also said the reason OSA has been able to win so many victories for students is because it’s a coalition, and its practice is to allow everyone a voice, which is why she thinks it’s important to respect and listen to Soto and to commit serious time to the proposal.
“I think that having a committee put together is going to really provide some honest and open conversation about OSA’s organization and making sure each member school feels adequately represented,” she said. However, McLain noted “there has been and continues to be little support for the proposal.”
OSA’s two affiliate organizations, the Oregon Students of Color Coalition and the Oregon Student Equal Rights Alliance, have expressed concern they were not invited to the meeting at which the proposal was discussed. Soto said they would be included in the committee.
Responsibilities of the general assembly would include recommending lobbying issues and electing officers to the Board of Directors, and possibly setting membership dues for OSA member institutions.
The Feb. 1 inconclusive Board of Directors meeting left Board members wondering what will happen next, and whether PSU will continue to withhold its funding. McLain said she trusts that the funding issues will be worked out and “the Board will keep OSA as strong and active as it’s ever been.”
“I am confident that PSU will be a member of OSA in all the years to come,” she said.
Although he hasn’t committed to anything, Soto said if a committee is formed to examine the proposal he “would feel more comfortable changing the conditions for releasing the money.”
As for whether this controversial process has been an appropriate one, Soto said he made the right decision.
“Sometimes is takes some conflict to be able to make progress,” he said. “Anytime someone proposes a change you get a lot of resistance. It’s something that I knew was likely to happen. Yes, it’s a tough decision, but it was one I had to make because I care about all students throughout the state, but I have a responsibility to the students who voted for me.”
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