Portland State Student Group Tells President Wiewel: “Comply or Resign”
Monday, February 08, 2016
The Student Union, a horizontal advocacy group which campaigns for the rights of PSU students, is organizing the protest, which will take place on February 17 at 12 PM. The group is calling on Wiewel and the Board of Trustees to comply with a list of demands published by the Student Union or to resign their posts.
“We are prepared to fight for these demands until they are met without compromise, in order to come closer to our goal for a student, faculty and staff empowered university,” protest organizers declared in a Facebook post promoting the event.
Multiple students told GoLocal they hope this event will mark the beginning of the end for Wiewel's tenure.
“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,” Mason 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.”
The Demands
The organization penned a letter in the days leading up to the 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.”
The Student Union currently has 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.
Not Taking Protest Seriously Would Be A “Big Mistake”
The newly planned protest is not the first time students have directed anger toward University leadership. Student protestors flooded a Board of Trustees meeting in December, demanding that Wiewel and the Board respond to demands for changes on the Portland State Campus.
The Trustees ultimately avoided the protesters. They relocated the meeting, claiming that students disrupted the agenda and made it impossible to continue in the public forum
In light of a recent wave of protests and ousters of University heads at American colleges and universities, the decision to move the meeting may have been a mistake, according to an expert in college protests and responses from University leadership. In the fall of 2015, University of Missouri President Tom Wolfe resigned after students demanded the end of his tenure.
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.”
Related Slideshow: Recapping GoLocalPDX’s Coverage of PSU President Wim Wiewel
Related Articles
- Recapping GoLocalPDX’s Coverage of PSU President Wim Wiewel
- Who’s Hot and Who’s Not in Oregon Politics: Terry Bean, Dave Hunt, Wim Wiewel
- PSU President Wiewel’s Consulting Business is Unique Among University Presidents
- Portland State University Responds to GoLocal’s Coverage of President Wim Wiewel
- INVESTIGATION: PSU President Wiewel uses University House for For-Profit Company
- Ethics Commission Not Investigating PSU President Wiewel
- PSU Students Protest Giving Guns to Campus Police
- PSU Students React to President’s Compensation and For-Profit Business
- PSU Students Plan Protest for Board of Trustees Meeting
- PSU Sees Increase in Students of Color
- PSU Reduces Planned Tuition Increase Due to Additional State Funding
- PSU Sacks Sherri Murrell, First Openly Gay NCAA Div 1 Basketball Coach
- PSU Study: Over 40,000 Move to Oregon Last Year
- PSU To Build New Education Center Shared with OHSU
- Ten PSU Students win Fulbright and Boren Grants for International Study
- U.S. News Calls PSU One of the “Most Innovative Schools” in the Country
- Rogue’s “Viktory Ale” Celebrates PSU’s Class of 2015
- PSU To Discuss Real Mummies vs “Reel Mummies”
- PSU Virus Discovery Could Impact HIV Drug Research
- PSU Receives $3.5 Million Grant for Cutting-Edge Research on E-Cigarettes
- PSU President’s Salary More Than Meets the Eye
- INVESTIGATION: PSU President Uses University Employee for Private Company
- EXCLUSIVE: PSU Student Says School Failed to Properly Investigate Rape Complaint
- DA Won’t Press Charges After Alleged PSU Sex Assault on Eden Paul
- Early Morning Fire Burns Six Food Carts Near PSU
- NEW: Prairie Underground and Little River Sock Mill Capsule Collections Launch at Adorn Boutique
- NEW: PSU Students Help Launch Low-Carbon Beer
- PSU Names Karen Marrongelle Dean of College of Liberal Arts and Sciences
- Police: Man Arrested at PSU For Sex Crime After Breaking into Woman’s Hotel Room
- Older Generations 10-20 Times More Likely To Vote for Mayor, Says PSU Study
- Pair of Overdue Books Returned to PSU Library 52 Years Late
- Additional State Funding Leads to Reduction in Tuition Increase at PSU
Follow us on Pinterest Google + Facebook Twitter See It Read It