Student Senate candidate takes measured approach to issues
By Mike Ludwig
Campus Reporter
May 5, 2008
Ohio University junior Michael Adeyanju says he has what it takes to be a student leader. He served as black affairs commissioner on Student Senate last year, and he is the only candidate for Senate president who has served there before.
His performance in last week’s debate with candidates Will Klatt and Mashur Rahman suggested that he’s an outspoken and charismatic man who’s not afraid to say exactly how he feels about the issues, his opponents and himself.
Adeyanju is heading up the small but scrappy Ability And Accountability (AAA) ticket in this year’s election, and he claims the ticket’s name is exactly what its candidates will bring to Student Senate next school year. Adeyanju maintains that he and his fellow AAA candidates have the ability to be strong leaders while holding themselves, OU administrators and Student Senate accountable.
Unlike opponent Will Klatt, Adeyanju is not calling for structural changes of the OU administration in order to achieve “shared governance.” Instead he said he’s banking on his ability as a leader, and the leadership abilities of AAA members, to create “working relationships” with OU administrators and student groups that will ensure that the concerns of students are addressed.
On Thursday Adeyanju told The Athens NEWS how AAA will represent students in Student Senate next year, and why OU students should choose him to be their next top student leader. The election is May 15.
When Will Klatt said that Student Senate has no power, you disagreed and said that Student Senate definitely does have power. Why do you believe that?
I believe that they have power because I sat on Student Senate last year, and I saw what it takes to make change. It’s about having those working relationships, you know. I went to the Office of Student Affairs when the new dorm was being built, and I asked if I could take it upon myself and draft a committee to get a list of names submitted to them, the board, and they said go ahead and do it, and we did, and that’s how the name came about. That’s why it’s named Adams Hall.
During the debate you said that AAA embodies accountability and shared governance. What do these terms mean to you, and will you promote them in Student Senate next year?
I believe that you have to have the ability to lead, and what that means is you have to have certain leadership qualities to really effect change in any position you take in life, and so to have the ability to lead, to be personable, you have to be energetic. You have to be able to problem-solve, but you also have to be able to criticize in a way that’s constructive and still work toward finding a solution to the problem. So when I say ability to lead, I mean having all of those characteristics and more, because as a leader, you have to be able to motivate the people that you’re working with. Accountability is holding yourself accountable for what actions you say you’re going to do, or the lack thereof. It’s about holding the people you work with accountable for their actions, and it’s about holding the administration accountable.
Can you go into the specifics on how you will hold the administration accountable as president?
I believe that at a fundamental basis you have to be able work with someone, and you have to be able to have a working relationship. If you have those two things, you will be able to say ‘hey, we don’t like what’s going on here, a lot of students don’t feel this is a positive change for the university, or that this policy is beneficial, can you change this?’ If you have a working relationship, they will be able to listen to you, and if you present your idea in a positive manner, then they are more inclined to go ahead and implement change. It’s also about using whatever media outlets you have. It’s about talking to the Board of Regents if necessary, talking to the governor. It’s about using whatever medium you have.
You and your supporters said that the protests Will Klatt and the SDS organized to hold administrators accountable only brought negative media coverage to the university. Why will your approach work better?
I’m not going to say that holding protests or demonstrations is negative, because sometimes that’s what you have to do, but that should be a last resort. You have to use the channels you have, and use them in the appropriate manner. So go meet with the administrator you have a problem with, tell him why you have a problem and try to work toward a resolution. If that doesn’t work, then go to the next step and the next step, go to the person above them, go to the Board of Trustees. If you exhaust all your options, then hold protests that will draw the media attention that will effect change. If you just keep doing protest after protest, then people are going to look at this university and think that people are out of control and nothing is being accomplished.
You said that you wanted more student input in administrative evaluations of President McDavis. How can we do this?
I think right now, we have to look at just getting a comprehensive review done. His contract was extended and a comprehensive review should have been done first, before any talks of the contract extension happening. We should have had the student trustee speaking; we should have had (Student Senate) President (Tim) Vonville speaking; we should have had President Barbato speaking to the board, so they could say, ‘this is what students feel, this is how President McDavis is doing.’ The board should have taken that into consideration before going ahead and saying, ‘here’s our new contract extension.’
Do you support an annual, comprehensive review of President McDavis?
I support a comprehensive review as the board has it. Their new policy. Every year before the last year of the president’s contract. I support doing that now, and at the same time I’m going to push for an annual comprehensive review that includes faculty, administrator, staff and student input. That way the whole campus is really involved in the evaluation of the president, because hey, at the end of the day, he represents us.
In the past couple of years there have been several revisions made to OU’s policies on alcohol and marijuana use on and around campus. Are you happy with the current policies?
I believe Protocol B, the marijuana policy, is student input. That’s something that was drafted by committee and was approved by the Student Senate. So I’m satisfied by that proposal, you know, because that’s an illegal act in the first place, so there has to be consequences. In regards to the alcohol policy, at the end of the day, it’s an illegal act if you’re under 21, so you’re assuming the consequences when you take that risk. I do sympathize with students who are in the situation where they’re caught with just a beer in their hand and get harsh ramifications… One thing that we all have to keep in mind is that we have to remember our degrees. Your degree means something, and if everyone keeps seeing OU as a party school, and we’re not taking care of the alcohol situation on campus, then your degree means less and less, and it will be harder for you to find a job. I’m not saying we shouldn’t be allowed to be having fun or drinking; I mean, that’s college, you have to enjoy your experience, but you also have to think about the choices your making and think of what it’s going to mean for your future.
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