Hopoi should stay; let’s focus on the real issues

ASOSU, like most organizations, does need substantial improvement. We need to see change, but we do not need President M. "Tonga" Hopoi to leave office to achieve the results.

It would be foolish to pin all of ASOSU's problems on one person. Change will not come through resignation or removal of office. Change will come through identifying and tending to the roots of the problem. The resignation or removal of President Hopoi will not solve any of the organization's problems.

Let me first say that I agree with a couple oppositional arguments. There has been a complete failure in training and advising. ASOSU (all branches) needs increased oversight and accountability. And ASOSU's money, which is the student body's money, needs to be handled with more insight. Just a few things that do need to change…

First, we must implement sufficient training and advising for ASOSU. Both the OSA issue and this recent one would have been properly handled from the start if proper training were in place. The president and vice president should have all the information they need available to them before taking office. Furthermore, we at Oregon State University are students first. To expect the president to know every statute and protocol without viable training or sufficient advising is to expect her to neglect her academic duties for work.

Second, the Legislative Branch needs to work toward fixing an issue before calling for the impeachment or removal of the president. The farce of an impeachment trial in fall 2011 was an embarrassment for the student population in front of the entire state. Is this the image we wish to broadcast on their behalf?

Mishandling issues and disagreements like this negatively affects internal operations as well. The presidency is more than one person and when one attacks the presidency, he or she attacks the entire chain of individuals who work for it. The issue over the pay raise needs to be handled with the utmost care and foresight, and without automatic hostility, or else it will lead to an even bigger embarrassment for us all.

Third, the Legislative Branch needs to be reworked. ASOSU senators are unpaid. This creates a system where those in charge of our student government's by-laws are more likely to succumb to apathy or to invest in personal interests rather than representing the students at large.

The system of implementation is also broken: There are almost always more seats available than students running, and there is no minimum amount of votes required to become elected. Therefore, students running with personal agendas can become Senators and make huge impacts in ASOSU without actually representing the student body.

Fourth – and this is key – all branches of ASOSU need to be held accountable systematically. If ASOSU does this, decisions can be discussed before they become a potent issue for the entire student body. I recommend this be done through a third-party board of appointed officials who receive sufficient training and advising. That way, we wouldn't see as much back-and-forth unproductive bickering in the coming years.

As the executive-ordered pay raise moves into the spotlight, we must remain levelheaded and perceptive. Many great accomplishments have come since President Hopoi and Vice President Sokho Eath took office.

ASOSU is working to bring the Student Experience Center to fruition. OSU is the only Oregon University System school with projects in the Capitol Construction bill secured.

ASOSU is working to increase hours of operation for SafeRide even further for student safety. ASOSU is bridging the gap with the Cultural Centers — OSU may host the Oregon Students of Color Coalition 2012 conference.

ASOSU is developing the Human Services Resource Center for independence and growth for next year. Relationships with university administrators and the Faculty Senate have strengthened due to this ASOSU Administration's work.

ASOSU is saving students' money by submitting its most efficient budget in years with a decrease in per-student fees. ASOSU is working to keep tuition low in the first Tuition Setting process mandated by OUS, where students and administration work together in the decision-making process.

ASOSU is partnering with administration for the first ever OSU-City of Corvallis Collaboration Project Task Forces for better livability, transit and parking, and neighborhood planning.

These are just a few of the successes ASOSU has achieved since June 2011.