Changing horses midstream

The current student government administration was elected on a platform consisting of three campaigns, but those campaigns have taken a backseat to issues that have popped up throughout the year.

ASPSU President Jonathan Sanford’s administration pledged to work on the establishment of shared governance with PSU’s administration, the creation of additional inexpensive, subsidized housing and to foster “truth and reconciliation for campus healing.”

Regarding the campaigns outlined below, Sanford could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Housing
“There is not enough time for housing. This is going to be a multiyear campaign,” said Ed Hallman, ASPSU administrative director.

This was the campaign of Rachel Richardson, former ASPSU university affairs director, who resigned before the start of winter term. Stephanie Rio Collier was just hired to fill the position, according to Hallman, who hopes John T. Eckman, auxiliary services director, will allow Collier to pick up where Richardson left off.

According to the ASPSU Web site, the purpose of the campaign is to keep housing costs low to combat the rising cost of education.

A new building for underserved populations would benefit student-parents, as would gender-neutral living spaces, Hallman said.

“Eckman expressed a willingness to accommodate a demand for gender neutral spaces if we can establish that a demand exists,” Hallman said.

Shared governance
 “Shared governance is Jonathan’s [campaign], exclusively,” Hallman said.

Hallman believes shared governance has come a long way, although the picture is incomplete. According to the ASPSU Web site, the campaign outcome, if accomplished, would give students a voice in the way PSU supports its students and faculty.

As part of this campaign, ASPSU would like to no longer be advised by Student Activities and Leadership Programs, and to have a stand-alone advisor who is imbedded within student government, Hallman said.

He said he feels the progress made thus far is solid but it will not be complete until papers are signed.

Truth and reconciliation
“This campaign could still happen,” Hallman said.

The original conception of the truth and reconciliation campaign was a year-end, weeklong event with speakers and forums held in a safe, public place, according to Hallman.

“It is a glaring reality that people in our communities of need are suffering. Portland is, in fact, not as liberal as it may seem and this campaign was created to give people a way to speak out without repercussion from either side of an issue,” according to the ASPSU Web site.

Hallman said, “[Truth and reconciliation] is a great thing but other priorities are more important than putting on an event at the end of the year.”

Ad hoc campaigns
ASPSU has issues that are bigger in scope and scale to deal with than the original campaigns, according to Hallman.

The possible corporate restructuring of PSU, state budget short falls, legislative measures and a supplemental state legislative session are of primary concern to ASPSU, Hallman said.

“In all reality, things that came up this year became a higher priority than things we speculated on in the beginning,” Hallman said.

Watch Ed Hallman discuss ASPSU’s response to the possibility of restructuring on YouTube at:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcWHgOrTNtg

ASPSU’s Web site states:
“No matter what we do for this year, we have to support students on campus to: stay in school, graduate, and become engaged in our communities. This is how we gauge how we are supporting students. We believe that through our campaigns, students will have the best opportunity to succeed at Portland State.”