The first demand for Ohio University’s leadership to take a stance on student trustee voting rights came from Columbus. Now, the call is coming from students themselves.
OU Student Senate chose to meet in Walter Hall’s governance room Wednesday night — the same room where OU’s Board of Trustees meets — and passed a resolution requesting the board take a “for” or “against” stance on student trustee voting rights.
The resolution will be sent to all board members and OU’s top administrative leadership, requesting the board take a stance at or before its next meeting on June 21.
Senate took action after learning members of OU’s Board of Trustees have expressed concern with voting rights behind closed doors.
“The one thing we heard was that some members of our board were privately opposed to trustee voting rights,” said Giles Allen, senate’s governmental affairs commissioner. “We’re tired of them trying to (stop) giving a voice to the students of this campus on the Board. … It’s time for (them) to take a position.”
The university has no comment on whether the board or OU President Roderick McDavis will take a stance on voting rights by the next meeting, said Jennifer Kirksey, McDavis’s chief of staff.
Senior student trustee Amanda Roden has said she opposes student trustee voting rights, while OU’s newest student trustee, Keith Wilbur, supports them.
“Our practice is to communicate directly with any legislator who has concerns or opinions about matters related to Ohio University,” Kirksey said in an email.
Ohio State Representative Mike Duffey (R-Worthington), co-sponsor of HB 111, which would give student trustees’ voting rights, said Wednesday that Eric Burchard, OU’s director of governmental relations, has asked to meet with him to discuss the bill.
“I want to engage them in conversation,” Duffey said. “They don’t see it as a win to continue (being quoted in) the newspapers.”
Duffey was the first to call for McDavis and OU’s Board to take a stance on the topic in a Post article on Monday.
Though most Ohio universities have not taken a formal public stance for or against voting rights, Duffey said he believes the most opposition to the bill exists at OU.
“(Trustee) Gene Harris said I oppose (student trustee voting rights) as an active sitting board member,” Duffey said.
Harris said at a board meeting in November 2011 that she opposed voting rights, according to a previous Post article. She was not chair at the time.
“Last session, we got so close and our perception as the sponsors was a whisper campaign is what killed it … and OU was (part of that),” Duffey said.
Bringing discussion of the resolution to a close on Wednesday, Senate Treasurer Evan Ecos called on the board to act.
“We don’t want another response besides, ‘you are in favor of,’ or ‘you aren’t in favor of,’” Ecos said. “We expect a response by June 21.”
DD195710@OHIOU.EDU
