Did Portland State Make a Big Mistake?

Monday, December 14, 2015

Brendan Murray, GoLocalPDX Contributor

On Thursday, protestors flooded the Board of Trustees meeting at Portland State University, demanding, among other things, that tuition be lowered and that campus safety officers be disarmed.

The Trustees ultimately relocated the meeting, claiming that students disrupted the agenda and made it impossible to continue in the public forum, but experts familiar with protests at Missouri State University told GoLocal that refusing to enter a dialogue could be a costly mistake.

Arthur Jago, a professor of management at the University of Missouri, told GoLocal that if Wiewel and other PSU leaders want to avoid a situation like the one in Columbia, they need to take protestors seriously.

“Each situation and each school is unique, but the first step is opening up a dialogue,” Jago said. “If and when students approach you, Presidents should respond with open arms and respond and take the opportunity to talk to the students and the protestors to create a conversation.”

Student Demands

Students from the Portland State University Student Union, a horizontal advocacy group which campaigns for the rights of PSU students, were visible during the Board of Trustees meeting, forcing the meeting to be moved.

The organization published a letter in the days leading up to the meeting and protest. In the letter, they demand reversal to the decision to arm campus police officers, accuse the school of threatening and call for changes to the school’s leadership.

“At the beginning of the academic year you were interrupted during your convocation speech by concerned students who wanted to inform freshman of armed campus security. after this non-violent action, two student of color were targeted and threatened by the administration,” the letter reads in part.

“This administration prioritizes remodeling the school of business and administration before finding a suitable building for the school of gender, race and nations. They prioritize their own salaries over lowering the price of tuition.”

At the meeting, the Student Union presented four demands; the disarmament of all public safety officers, that the university break ties with the food service provider Aramark as soon as possible, a $15 minimum wage for all campus workers and that tuition be lowered by lowering administrative salaries.

Calls for Wiewel’s Removal

Portland State students also told GoLocal that they would like to see President Wim Wiewel be removed as the school’s head.

Mason Ashwell told GoLocal Wiewel should be removed as the University’s President.

“I personally would like Wim removed from his post. In my own opinion, Wim is very inept when it comes to dealing with matters of race and inequality,” Ashwell said. “He went to the Students of Color Speak Out last week and the way he dealt with hearing students' grievances was by rolling his eyes, rubbing his temples and almost refusing to give eye contact when someone would directly address him. I do not feel as though Wim has any student interests at heart, he is only concerned with making sure he keeps getting money, while taking money from students and denying campus workers a living wage.”

Letty Martinez, a student at Portland State, agreed. She told GoLocal that she believes that Wiewel’s term as President should come to a close.

“I think he needs to be removed and there has to be a serious discussion about how much our administrators make,” Martinez said. “I've been told my whole life I need to have a good education to get a good job, but I can't afford to get one...There are professors with no job security, working part-time jobs to be able to pay their expenses and they're supposed to be educating the next generation. He has no struggle, and so much privilege.”

Related Slideshow: PSU Students React to President’s Compensation and For-Profit Business

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Oliviah Franke, 21, Environmental Science Major, Third Year Undergraduate Student at PSU

"I think it was wrong that it wasn't inherently communicated."

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Josh, 27, Physics Major, Second Year Graduate Student at PSU

"I don't have high expectations [for the administration]. I went to a UC school (previously)."

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Allegra Jongeward, 26, Jazz Voice Major, Second Year Undergraduate Student at PSU

"I feel hopeless when it comes to the administration. They should be using these resources for the students."

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Meghan Wilson, 22, Jazz Voice Major, Fourth Year Undergraduate Student at PSU

"It doesn't really surprise me. What always surprises me, though, is there's a pretty good size of students who are knowledgeable, but don't know about these scandals until after they happen. It's a struggle where to put your priority on getting mad about it. We want to hold someone accountable but theres so many outside factors."