Remove President F. King Alexander from OSU
The Issue
Trigger Warning: Discussions of sexual assault below.
Students at Oregon State University (OSU) recently received an email from the university’s newly appointed president, F. King Alexander. This was in response to the very serious allegations regarding his past at Louisiana State University (LSU) and his failure to address them. Oregon State claims that they strive to lead the charge in combatting rape culture and sexual misconduct, and having this man as president lies in direct contradiction to these values.
As far back as 2013, Alexander was made aware that football coach Les Miles had repeatedly been inappropriate with female students, “texting female students, taking them to his condo alone, making them feel uncomfortable and, on at least one occasion, kissing a student and suggesting they go to a hotel after telling her he could help her career” (USA Today). These reports date back as early as 2012 and the coach was allowed to remain at the school all the way through 2016. F. King addresses this in his email to students by claiming that these reports were “not substantiated to support termination”. Clearly, this would prompt an immediate investigation, given the seriousness of the reports… However Alexander did not take these claims seriously and allowed four more years of students being around this dangerous individual. All was done so extremely privately without the reports being presented in the termination of Les Miles, essentially sweeping all of it under the rug.
If Oregon State failed to inquire about any part of this incident during the vetting process, then there is a clear neglect to properly find a leader of this community who is willing to keep it safe. Otherwise, the board of trustees will have willingly hired a president who was a complicit bystander in unacceptable conduct, and obviously have no regard for the safety of the students who attend the university. Given the tone and nature of Alexander’s email, there is a clear desire to dismiss this as a mere PR setback. However, him being the president of this school presents a fundamental endorsement of his behavior and leadership, contradicting any message of being against sexual misconduct and sexual violence that OSU claims to uphold.
OSU has previously attempted to make strides in taking action against rape culture by hiring sexual assault survivor, Brenda Tracy, to be an advisor to administrators. Here, she was allowed to help shape policies at OSU and even tour to other universities. However, the hiring of F. King is a direct insult to Tracy and all of the work she has done to protect women in universities. She has noticed the inaction of OSU and addressed it in a brief tweet stating “I hope the Oregon State Board of Trustees is paying attention. Speaking of... have any of them made a comment yet??”. The silence of OSU’s administration, even after being repeatedly emailed by students at OSU, speaks volumes.
F. King Alexander should immediately resign his position as president, and the board of trustees must reconsider their vetting process, and search for a replacement. Failure to do so is an endorsement of sexual violence, and any claims to the contrary wish to downplay the seriousness of what occurred under Alexander’s leadership. It is unacceptable that a university that wants to keep its students safe would allow someone with such a history to make any decisions or in any way represent this institution.
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The Issue
Trigger Warning: Discussions of sexual assault below.
Students at Oregon State University (OSU) recently received an email from the university’s newly appointed president, F. King Alexander. This was in response to the very serious allegations regarding his past at Louisiana State University (LSU) and his failure to address them. Oregon State claims that they strive to lead the charge in combatting rape culture and sexual misconduct, and having this man as president lies in direct contradiction to these values.
As far back as 2013, Alexander was made aware that football coach Les Miles had repeatedly been inappropriate with female students, “texting female students, taking them to his condo alone, making them feel uncomfortable and, on at least one occasion, kissing a student and suggesting they go to a hotel after telling her he could help her career” (USA Today). These reports date back as early as 2012 and the coach was allowed to remain at the school all the way through 2016. F. King addresses this in his email to students by claiming that these reports were “not substantiated to support termination”. Clearly, this would prompt an immediate investigation, given the seriousness of the reports… However Alexander did not take these claims seriously and allowed four more years of students being around this dangerous individual. All was done so extremely privately without the reports being presented in the termination of Les Miles, essentially sweeping all of it under the rug.
If Oregon State failed to inquire about any part of this incident during the vetting process, then there is a clear neglect to properly find a leader of this community who is willing to keep it safe. Otherwise, the board of trustees will have willingly hired a president who was a complicit bystander in unacceptable conduct, and obviously have no regard for the safety of the students who attend the university. Given the tone and nature of Alexander’s email, there is a clear desire to dismiss this as a mere PR setback. However, him being the president of this school presents a fundamental endorsement of his behavior and leadership, contradicting any message of being against sexual misconduct and sexual violence that OSU claims to uphold.
OSU has previously attempted to make strides in taking action against rape culture by hiring sexual assault survivor, Brenda Tracy, to be an advisor to administrators. Here, she was allowed to help shape policies at OSU and even tour to other universities. However, the hiring of F. King is a direct insult to Tracy and all of the work she has done to protect women in universities. She has noticed the inaction of OSU and addressed it in a brief tweet stating “I hope the Oregon State Board of Trustees is paying attention. Speaking of... have any of them made a comment yet??”. The silence of OSU’s administration, even after being repeatedly emailed by students at OSU, speaks volumes.
F. King Alexander should immediately resign his position as president, and the board of trustees must reconsider their vetting process, and search for a replacement. Failure to do so is an endorsement of sexual violence, and any claims to the contrary wish to downplay the seriousness of what occurred under Alexander’s leadership. It is unacceptable that a university that wants to keep its students safe would allow someone with such a history to make any decisions or in any way represent this institution.
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Petition created on March 11, 2021