PORTLAND — A student representative for Oregon State University’s student body is facing a recall after expressing white nationalist views.
Eight student senators signed a petition for the removal of Andrew Oswalt, and presented it at a Wednesday night meeting.
Oswalt, a graduate student in the congress, was arrested and released Monday by Corvallis, Ore., police on suspicion of criminal mischief, a misdemeanor. Police say that in June, he plastered activists’ cars with bumper stickers containing the n-word.
Simon Brundage, ASOSU’s president, said in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive that the petition will give students the option to remove Oswalt from office in the upcoming election in three weeks.
His removal requires a two-thirds majority vote by student voters. If the recall is successful, he will be expelled from the congress effective immediately, Brundage said.
Throughout Wednesday’s meeting, which was dedicated to the discussion and passage of student fees, Oswalt took issue with various student-funded programs.
One of these programs was OSU’s student paper, which on Monday published an interview that outlined his inflammatory views on minorities and women.
The article portrays Oswalt as a person who believes that race and gender can determine intelligence levels and claims he’s been attacked in academia for being a white male.
Brundage has said Oswalt’s views do not have a place within the student government, and said Wednesday he was pleased to see the legislative branch take a hard stance against racism and bigotry.
At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, several students spoke out in favor of Oswalt’s removal.
“This community will not recognize you as a member,” said one student. “Hate speech is not free speech.”
This statement, and others like it, was met by raucous audience applause.
Oswalt also made a statement.
“Doing the right thing is rarely easy, but always worth it,” he said.
The audience tittered.
“This next vote is gonna be hard, guys,” someone yelled sarcastically. “But it’s worth it!”
Oswalt did not immediately return a call after the meeting seeking comment.
