2008 Woodie Awards
Jots and Tittles and "Carry the 1"
Blair Loving
Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Post
How much can a simple counting error actually affect? The campus is currently awaiting a report on freedom of speech that actually started four years ago. In 2001 the Student Media Board (SMB), through proper channels and following proper procedure, adopted the WOU Student Media Board Guidelines. The board and media sections, NW Passage, WSTV and the Western Oregon Journal, all functioned relatively seamless from that point-until 2004. In 2004 the SMB consisted of only seven voting members, even though they were mandated to function with nine. They couldn't find enough students interested in Student Media to be on the board. Dr. Henry Hughes, a voting member of the 2003-2004 board, concerned with the quality of the NW Passage at the time, sought for more student input and wanted people who were familiar with publishing, so he made a motion to strike from the 2001 guidelines the line, "or be part of any student media," referring to the section of appointments to the SMB. This motion would then allow individuals who were employees of NW Passage, WSTV, or the Journal to be voting members of the board. This change, incidentally, was essentially what Dr. Dukes and Dr. Yehnert were trying to reverse when they sought to make changes to the WOU Student Media Board Guidelines earlier this year. This action on their part, specifically the manner in which it was undertaken was the final straw for Gerry Blakney, Editor in Chief of this year's Journal. This motivated Blakney to write a passionate letter of concern seeking the support of students, faculty, staff, alumni, the public media and lawmakers. This letter and the resulting fallout prompted President Minahan to appoint a "panel to investigate the allegations…" Ironically, on this panel sits Dr. Hughes, the one who moved the change be made in 2004.
The ripple from this has now reached nuclear fallout status. The motion presented in 2004, which passed the board's approval, and was subsequently signed by Dr. Dukes, was found to be invalid because there was not a quorum in attendance. In other words not enough voting members were there to make such a motion valid. The result of this year's Student Media Board findings, last Tuesday, caused a current member, Megan Obright, Culture Editor for the Journal, to be immediately removed, since the phrase, "or be part of any student media," from the original 2001 guidelines, was re-recognized as official. The problem with this is that, since 2004, members of student media have held positions on the Student Media Board, in violation of its own guidelines. According to those same guidelines, the Student Media Board has not had a quorum since 2004, invalidating every action, each subsequent Student Media Board has made because they were made counting members who were inelligable.
With no quorum existing since 2004, some of the invalid actions include the hiring of every student media head, NW Passage, WSTV and the Journal since 2004. Technically, since the media heads were not properly hired, their staffs, also, have been hired by individuals that were not properly authorized to do so.
The potential impact goes even deeper. Depending on the interpretation of Oregon open meetings law and Robert's Rules of Order, which the board recognizes as official policy, the current student members of the board themselves have not been properly appointed, since the media heads who hired them were not legitimately authorized to be employed in that or any other capacity according to the board's own guidelines.
What does this mean for the future of Student Media? That depends on a board that may or may not actually be legitimate.
The ripple from this has now reached nuclear fallout status. The motion presented in 2004, which passed the board's approval, and was subsequently signed by Dr. Dukes, was found to be invalid because there was not a quorum in attendance. In other words not enough voting members were there to make such a motion valid. The result of this year's Student Media Board findings, last Tuesday, caused a current member, Megan Obright, Culture Editor for the Journal, to be immediately removed, since the phrase, "or be part of any student media," from the original 2001 guidelines, was re-recognized as official. The problem with this is that, since 2004, members of student media have held positions on the Student Media Board, in violation of its own guidelines. According to those same guidelines, the Student Media Board has not had a quorum since 2004, invalidating every action, each subsequent Student Media Board has made because they were made counting members who were inelligable.
With no quorum existing since 2004, some of the invalid actions include the hiring of every student media head, NW Passage, WSTV and the Journal since 2004. Technically, since the media heads were not properly hired, their staffs, also, have been hired by individuals that were not properly authorized to do so.
The potential impact goes even deeper. Depending on the interpretation of Oregon open meetings law and Robert's Rules of Order, which the board recognizes as official policy, the current student members of the board themselves have not been properly appointed, since the media heads who hired them were not legitimately authorized to be employed in that or any other capacity according to the board's own guidelines.
What does this mean for the future of Student Media? That depends on a board that may or may not actually be legitimate.
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