9.23.25 – Back to School with Your Union

As UAOSU president, I try to stay up to date on political news locally and nationally.  With all the developments recently, this inevitably leads to doomscrolling.  It’s easy to get sucked into news and analysis of this historical moment and to feel anxious about the future of higher education, free speech, shared governance, and democracy, in general.

Digital experts warn us that doomscrolling, rather than getting us deeper into knowledge and information, negatively impacts cognitive development and mental health. This is particularly the case with young people such as our students.  The experts suggest we learn strategies to detach from the digital feed and reconnect with people around us.

This makes good sense politically too.  There is so much going on now at higher levels of power that we cannot control individually.  Yet, there are also many things more locally, closer to home, that we can take part in and make a difference.

As we begin this new academic year that is bound to be filled with numerous challenges, I want to invite you to think of our union as one of those spaces.  Our state and national affiliate allies are involved in efforts to safeguard our universities from government overreach, to restore research funding, and to protect faculty from layoffs and attacks on due process and free speech.  Many of our officers are involved in these campaigns, but I am asking for wider participation from OSU faculty.  The more of us who participate, the more we can push back against this rising tide of repression. There are lots of different ways you can connect right now to make change happen.

We have several committees open to members, such as Social Justice, Organizing, Communications, and Grievances, that help to set directions for our union.  You can also join to become a member of our Representative Assembly and help with outreach to faculty all across the university.  

We have several caucuses, such as Queer Caucus, BIPOC Faculty, and Labor Education that meet every so often. Caucuses are informal groups of UAOSU members who share interests, gather socially, and plan public events.  There is also room to create your own caucus if you know of a group of members who want to be able to get together.  

You can find out more about our committees and existing caucuses on our website and the contact info for the chair of each committee and caucus if you are interested in joining.   

Our union is also a place to “touch grass” (as the young folk call disconnecting from the digital realm).  We host a regular Odd Friday gathering in Fall term at Common Fields in downtown Corvallis which gives us an opportunity to have food and drinks together and talk about what is going on.  The first Odd Friday is Friday, October 17 from 4-6 pm.

And in just a couple of weeks, we will be hosting our annual Fall Picnic on Sunday, October 5 from 1-4pm in Avery Park.  Bring your friends and family and reconnect with other UAOSU folks as we settle in for the new term. More information, along with the RSVP link, is below.

Throughout the next few months, pay attention to notices about events that our union will be hosting.  I look forward to being able to meet you there as we continue to build a supportive and effective community for faculty at OSU.

In solidarity,

Joseph Orosco, UAOSU President