WRC protest
continued from page 1A
maintained their occupation of
the lawn of Johnson Hall and
showed no signs of letting up un
til all of their demands are met.
“It’s sad we’re out here on the
steps,” said Laura Close, who has
been one of the most vocal pro
testers.
She said students feel that they
have little power in the Universi
ty’s decision-making process,
which is one of the main reasons
for the protest.
Since the protest began, stu
dents occupying the space in
front of Johnson Hall have em
phasized the importance of each
decision being made by the
group as a whole. Though the
Saturday morning meeting was
amplified, allowing about 50 stu
dents and protest supporters out
side of Johnson Hall to hear, they
said they feel it is essential that
all involved with the protest be
physically present when any de
cision is made.
Frohnmayer, who returned
from Washington D.C. Friday,
said his staff went straight to
work to set up a time to meet.
The decision to meet Saturday
morning took about four hours.
He is prepared to announce his
support of the WRC, but the final
decision will depend on what the
University Senate decides
Wednesday.
Laura Gurley was one of the
few students who did not leave
Johnson Hall Sunday to catch up
on homework.
“I don’t think [the meeting]
was progress; I think it was a
stalling tactic,” she said.
Close said she wants to make
sure other student demands are
addressed at today’s meeting. She
said the protest is starting to look
as though it is only about the
WRC.
“I hope we can move forward
to taking some things off the
table,” Frohnmayer said in antic
ipation of today’s meeting.
Students want to open the
lines of communication because
they have felt ignored by Frohn
mayer, Close said. Close was one
of the students arrested Monday,
April 3 in Johnson Hall on a
charge of second degree trespass
ing.
The students stayed after 5
p.m., when the building official
ly closed, because they could not
get a phone call with Frohnmay
er to set up a time to meet, Close
said.
Frohnmayer said he thinks the
students who were arrested were
unreasonable because his secre
tary told them he could not be
reached at the time. When the
protest began, he was attending a
banquet dinner and was not car
rying a cellular phone.
Some of the demands, Frohn
mayer said, need to be reworked.
“Some of the proposals are off
the mark,” he said.
In addition to the University
joining the WRC for a period of
five years, protesters demand
more input in University deci
sions.
The demands call for a change
in structure in the University
Senate. The University Senate
currently operates as an advisory
body to the president, with leg
islative voting power on issues
such as degree approval.
“It’s meant to strangle the pow
er of the president,” Frohnmayer
said of the demand for advisory
committees to have direct deci
sion-making power. “To turn it
into an issue of University gover
nance I think is a mistake.”
Close said she does not see it
that way.
“We need decision-making
power that doesn’t rest on one
person, like the president, who is
vulnerable to corporate influ
ences,” she said.
Though students understand
Frohnmayer’s reasons for waiting
until Wednesday’s senate meet
ing before deciding whether to
sign on with the WRC, they are
concerned with the system as it
stands at the University, Close
said.
“We’re in support of the Uni
versity Senate,” Close said.
“We’re not in support of the larg
er system, but you have to use
the existing structure to change
the system.”
Others think students should
not have significant power to
make University decisions.
John Condie, a senior majoring
in biochemistry, said he supports
the WRC but disagrees with the
£007088/
it /1 ike the fact that
these other people felt
secure enough to come
out It shows democracy
in action.
Ann Strahm
_GTF »
anti-Frohnmayer sentiment with
in the occupation zone and the
idea that students should have
voting power.
“We’re not ready to run the
school,” he said. “People need to
trust our leaders more.
“It bothers me that when
[Frohnmayer] gives his word that
it is going to go through that peo
ple get angry that he won’t cater
to a date set by someone else,”
Condie said. He said he thinks
the University is best run by peo
ple with experience.
“Everybody I know thinks
[Frohnmayer] has done an in
credible job,” he said.
On Friday, another handful of
students staged a protest of the
protest and held signs in support
of Frohnmayer.
James Eddy’s sign read: “Don’t
cave Dave.”
Passers-by shook Frohnmay
er’s hand and expressed support
for his effort. He talked to stu
dents about what is wrong with
the protesters’ demands.
“I don’t think the University
should take a stand on such a po
litical issue,” said Eddy, who is a
junior majoring in economics
and business administration.
“I’m always trying to bring di
versity to issues,” said Eddy, who
also participated in the Honesty
Campaign against OSPIRG last
year. “I’m not here just to be the
opposition.”
Though some of the protesters
found Eddy’s presence annoying,
they said they believed he had a
right to be there.
“I like the fact that these other
people felt secure enough to
come out,” said Ann Strahm,
who is a GTF and has been at the
protest since it began. “It shows
democracy in action.”
Frohnmayer also said he sees
the protest as an exercise in free
speech and said it can continue
as long as it is peaceful and sani
tary.
“After we settle the WRC issue,
the students should declare vic
tory and go home,” Frohnmayer
said.
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