~Commentary
Comments on my being fired'
By Tim Travis
Feb. 7, 1973:
It seems to me that you accuse me of
silence while you are holding my words.
Your editorial of the 7th accuses me of not
being out front about my being fired. I
gave the Emerald a three page com
mentary on the subject at around 2:00 p.m.
on the 6th.
Please print the commentary and this
letter to correct your mistake.
Tim Travis
The commentary
It was announced earlier this week that I
had been fired as ASUO Chief Ad
ministrative Officer because of policy
disagreements I had with the President of
the Association. Having taken a few days
to collect my thoughts, and to avoid off
the-cuff remarks, I would like to expand on
the difference of opinion that led to my
being fired.
As ASUO President, Bill Wyatt has
decided that his highest priority is to in
sure the passage of certain legislation in
Salem that is beneficial to students. As a
result of this decision, Bill’s major com
mitment is toward lobbying in Salem,
where I understand he is doing a
reasonably good job.
ASUO grown stagnant
I have never questioned the value of
these legislative tasks, but I do question
the ASUO President doing them himself. I
think that his first duty is to be chief
executive, and that legislative affairs
should be, ln the main, handled by the
Legislative Coordinators. I think this is
especially true now, because the ASUO has
grown stagnant and internally weak The
student government is isolated from the
students, and most consider it a waste of
time, effort, and money.
This cannot be denied. With a few
notable exceptions the ASUO is a mess.
toe student government is
isolated from the students people within
the student government are isolated from
one another. This internal isolation divides
the ASUO against itself, and causes the
periodic power struggles and internal
bickering that destroys the Association’s
credibility.
Pointless nihilism
There are those who argue that the
Association is so screwed up it should be
abolished. I do not agree. Abolishing the
Association is pointless nihilism. I believe
that student government can be valuable,
that in some cases it is now valuable. If
much of ASUO is useless, as I believe it is,
that is something we should change. I
firmly believe that people can have in
fluence over events if they organize
politically, and that as students the ASUO
is a vehicle for gaining some influence in
our here and now.
Right now the Association is stagnant, it
continues to exist largely because of
momentum and bureaucratic resilience.
However, there is dormant political
energy among the students, and there is
never a lack of useful political, social,
cultural and academic goals. The energy
and the ASUO cannot get together because
the Association operates on assumptions of
student power that are four years old. The
politics of confrontation—even conference
room confrontation—are not only trite but
also ineffective. The Association has not
been growing.
It is the chief executive’s job to do
something about this. More than anyone
else the chief executive is responsible for
the general well being of the Association.
When there are problems he should spend
his time dealing with them.
Must lead discussion
The chief executive must be the one to
find the common values and interests, to
integrate, harmonize and express these in
such a way as to provide the Association
with a framework of use to all of its
members. Above all, in time of crisis, it is
the chief executive who must lead the
discussion about how to proceed.
Bill Wyatt is doing none of this. He
cannot deal with the crisis because he is
out of touch with the ASUO, however
together and capable he may be in Salem.
Bill is working as a legislative lobbyist, a
task best performed by specialists in the
Legislative Coordinator’s office and by
interested students. If his lobbying is so
important to him, and if he has some
special expertise in such things, then he
should be Legislative Coordinator and not
ASUO President.
The chief executive has many things to
do right now, things that only the
President is in the position to do. The
Association is on the point of breakdown
because it does not have a President, Bill
Wyatt became tired of hearing me advise
him to act on internal problems, and so he
fired me.
Not bitter
I am not bitter about being fired. I ex
pected it. I did what I could from within the
Executive to bring attention to the
isolation, stagnation, and weakness of the
Association. I did this to the point that I
was making many ASUO officials un
comfortable. They argue that public
discussion of the Association’s problems
will show we are weak and undermine our
newly won influence with the State Board,
the Administration and the Legislature!
That is silly. They already know we are
weak. Besides, until we solve some of our
problems we won’t have any real influence
at all. We may have gained seats on many
committees and boards that make
decisions about how this place operates
but we have not encouraged and trained
students to sit in those seats. Opportunities
may have been created for students to do
many things, but few of them are aware
what is available.
Caught in the middle
It would have been ridiculous for me to
stay where I was not listened to, carrying
out policies that I did not agree with,
caught in the middle of crises that could
have been prevented. Being fired saved
me the trouble of resigning soon. I cannot
see being held accountable later for the
performance of the Wyatt-Loveys ad
ministration. That does not mean,
however, that I am no longer thinking
about what the ASUO President should do
to revitalize the Association. I’ll be back.
DANGER:
A-S.u.o.
W^RNMENT
ft WORK
5
GOSH- JUST LIKE THE REAL THING.