The Beacon THE STUDENT VOICE OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND SINCE 1935 February 4, 2016 • Volume 118 • Issue 15 • upbeacon.com
ASUP President steps down Khalid Osman resigned Monday, citing a problem with teamwork By Rachel Rippetoe & Clare Duffy THE BEACON A special election for a new ASUP President, following the resignation of former President Khalid Osman, will be held in coordination with the vote on a change to the ASUP constitution on Feb. 16 and 17. Applications for students wishing to run for ASUP President are now open and are due Feb. 8 at noon to Election Chair Joseph Rojo. Osman announced his resignation to the ASUP Executive Board Sunday and notified University administration, deans, faculty and ASUP Senate Monday afternoon. Members of the ASUP Executive Board, now being led by Interim President Grace Holmes, are working with the Oversight Committee to ensure that all actions taken remain within ASUP constitutional bounds. “It really came down to not being able to establish teamwork … and I take full responsibility for that,” Osman said. “I should have worked harder to get the team on the same page in order for us to move forward with being the best Executive Board that we could have been for the student body. I feel like I wasn’t able to accomplish that, and don’t know if I would have been able to accomplish that in the time left, and for that reason I just decided to kind of step down.” Although there had been
obvious tension among Executive Board members at ASUP meetings prior, the announcement seemed to take ASUP by surprise. Several senators told The Beacon they didn’t see this coming. Holmes, who said she too was surprised by Osman’s resignation, does not plan to run for president. “I don’t think it would be for the best interest of the student body,” Holmes said. “I’m not sure that Khalid’s platform of change would really be realized if I ran, so I’m just trying to work together with the team that I’m a part of to make sure that the change I started in office with Khalid is implemented. One of the main roles of the now-vacant secretarial position is running elections. Rojo will continue to serve this role while also serving as interim VP. The senior now holds all the responsibilities of vice president and chair for the election committee along with managing ASUP meeting minutes. “I wouldn’t feel comfortable giving that job that gives seven to eight hours of the week to someone who’s not getting paid for it because that just doesn’t seem fair to me,” Rojo said. “It’s a lot right now, but we’re managing it. We’re doing well.” Rojo, along with co-chair of the elections committee
See RESIGNATION page 2
Thomas Dempsey • THE BEACON
Osman’s resignation was announced at Monday’s ASUP meeting. Former Vice President Grace Holmes has taken up the role of interim president.
An open letter to the University from Khalid Osman:
Dear University of Portland,
I have officially resigned from my position as president of the Associated Students of University of Portland. It has been a pleasure and a challenge to serve in this role the past 10 months. I am proud of what we were able to accomplish, but disappointed in my ability to foster genuine teamwork amongst the Executive Board. The lack of a healthy team dynamic had created consistent miscommunication and distrust. For these reasons, I was unable to fulfill all my duties as president, and therefore felt I should not continue in this role if I cannot satisfy all of its merits. It was an extremely difficult decision to make, but one that I finally made for myself. To all the students, thank you for your continued
support this past year, I have been delighted by all of my interactions with all the great student leaders who are making an impact on this campus. All of you have inspired me, kept me going, and truly given me a sense of purpose in this community. It was one of my goals as president to interact with as many students on this campus as I possibly could, in the past 10 months I’ve used that goal to push me out of my comfort zone and into a position to learn what makes University of Portland an amazing place. I’ve said this all year, but I’ll say it one last time: We, the students, are the reason for exuberant life on The Bluff. Each conversation, each smile and each wave has given me fulfillment and contributed to lifelong memories. To all of the senators, I feel blessed to have had the
opportunity to witness your relentless efforts towards reform. You took the vision of change with the seriousness it required and created historical legislation. I am sure that the student body will vote to approve the constitutional changes in order to ensure the next generation receives an effective student government. Another goal of mine was to revive Senate, to make it a team that people would want to be a part of. I believe you all saw what can be accomplished when the group is clicking, and improved in the new legislation where you saw further work needed to be done. I am excited to see where ASUP Senate goes from here, even following my departure from the university. To all of the service directors, you have all exceeded expectations on every imaginable level. Your
work does not go unnoticed, and the record number of students engaging with the services backs this. You are all behind-the-scenes heroes and a critical piece of what makes the student experience at UP an unforgettable one. I am beyond grateful to have had the opportunity to serve you all. To all of the faculty and staff, your eagerness to relay not only information, but also life lessons to the students here on The Bluff is what attracted me to the University of Portland. Your consistent advice for and relationship with us students, and willingness to mold next generation leaders, is on display everyday. I am thankful to have had several of you as my life coaches. Finally, to all of the administration, thank you for your openness in hearing and addressing student concerns.
In the past 10 months, all we’ve had together were productive interactions that led to campuswide awareness. I truly believe the University is headed in the right direction under all of your guidance. I learned this year that student concerns are a priority, and I can say with full confidence that you do genuinely care about the wellbeing of the student body. If I could have one last request: All I ask is that I am not remembered as the president who quit, but rather the president who made you smile, was always available when needed to be and who catered to all that mattered to the student body. From that aspect, it has been an absolute pleasure to serve in this role. -Khalid Osman