Eric Noll, president of the Associated Students of Portland State University, and Rayleen McMillan, vice president of ASPSU, released a statement earlier today in regard to Tony Funchess and his resignation.
“At 9 am on April 22nd, ASPSU Leadership accepted Tony Funchess’ resignation as Multicultural Affairs Director of ASPSU. We recognize the work that Tony has accomplished for the student body at Portland State and the passion with which he pursued his service.
ASPSU officers are not employees of the University and ASPSU does not seek any knowledge of legal history related to appointees or nominees for any position. Eligibility for membership and removal from membership in ASPSU is solely based on the requirements enumerated in ASPSU’s Constitution and Bylaws. Beyond that, no authoritative justification exists for examining the legal history of any ASPSU officials or removing a student from student government based on legal history.
Moving forward in healing from this situation, the paramount priority of ASPSU Leadership is to be attentive to the needs of multiple traditionally silenced populations: survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse, communities of color, folks with criminal and legal histories, and others. These populations are silenced in different ways via utilization of various oppressions, making this situation extremely harmful. We ask that those who engage in public conversation about this situation be mindful of their impact, be responsive to the needs of others in the space, and recognize that each individual is unique in the way they receive information and process statements. ASPSU Leadership will not tolerate harassment of our officers, our staff, or any student who wishes to engage in dialogue regarding this situation.
We would also like to remind our fellow students that professional mental health assistance is available to Portland State students on a walk-in basis at the Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC).
ASPSU Leadership has not been involved and will continue to refrain from involvement in the elections process and campaigns. Any inquiries of this nature should be directed to the ASPSU Elections Committee and ASPSU Judicial Review Board.”
wow they actually found a more insipid way to say no comment
Since Eric and Rayleen did not address the questions I asked them in the Senate and what I sent to all of ASPSU Leadership in a much longer email, I’m going to post the questions I asked directly to Eric and Rayleen in that email I sent to all of ASPSU Leadership:
“Questions: Eric and Rayleen – did you know Tony Funchess was convicted of Attempted Rape II (defined under Oregon statute as involving a minor under the age of 14. Tony was the age of 23) and Sodomy III (defined under Oregon statute as involving a minor under the age of 16. Tony was the age of 28)? If you did know, why did you hire him? What actions do you plan to take now that you’ve been aware not just in last night’s public meeting but also since Thursday when Portland Observer reporter Olivia Olivia first asked Eric similar questions? Considering the Oregonian article that cited Funchess’s convictions was posted on April 24, 2014 – before the elections began and long before hiring of the executive cabinet for ASPSU, it is difficult for me to believe that ASPSU leadership did not know. A simple google search would have brought that article immediately up. In fact, before recent news stories were published, it was still one of the top things that appeared when you searched his name. Either complicity or gross negligence was behind allowing a convicted child rapist to assume power and in either case, their lack of immediate response or even preparation for media commentary concerns me. I await to hear what their response is if they release a response. Silence is complicity, complicity is violence.”
You spent nearly a week avoiding press to not answer their or our questions and stretch out a statement that basically said ‘no comment’ but in multiple paragraphs. You might as well have said nothing at all if you were not actually going to address what we asked of you.
It’s interesting that you raise these questions since you were aware of Tony’s criminal history when you asked him to run on your slate during the last election cycle. Why did you condone his history then but now are such a vocal antagonist?
I didn’t see this until now but I thought I’d respond anyways.
I didn’t know when I originally asked Tony but, like my public statement written about this said, when people on my slate (the VP, actually) brought to my attention that he was a child rapist, we thought it unacceptable to include him, and we were also scared of repercussions speaking out against him, but the events of the 2015 election cycle brought everything to the public.
That’s why we both spoke out against him then and not before. It’s why a lot of people didn’t speak out, and are afraid to speak out now that he has been put into another position of power on campus by DMSS.
They really just lumped in rapists with their victims to try to pretend that protecting rapists is just as valuable as protecting sexual assault victims.
Look, some people DO deserve second chances! People who rob a liquor store when they can’t afford to pay bills, people who sell a friend a joint in a park, people who get in a fight with their best friend behind a bar one drunk night.
Child molesters, maybe too have a place in society, to be helped and listen. But you know, for SOME reason I feel like Tony Funchess is literally in no way looking for “just a second chance” like so many people seem to say. He’s looking for an 8th, 9th, 10th chance. And let’s not forget, he doesn’t think his first or second or third or forth offense are really legitimate chances. There he was, being arrested for having sex with someone under 14 when he was 23, saying she had consented, not understanding how she was actually in any real tangible way a victim. There he was at 27, saying another girl under 16 had totally consented, saying he was giving her pleasure and that’s why it’s not bad and she’s not really a victim, smooth talking his way directly to prison. There he was in his 30s, getting arrested for beating his girlfriend or screaming at her until she called the cops. Here he is again, saying his victims are really only victims because of a technicality of the law, and telling you and every friend that trusts him for his active – and honestly valuable – prisoner’s rights work. And here you are, nodding your head along, telling yourself that by agreeing a rapist should take office at a school and the NAACP and the Urban League and every other activist organization, you are literally somehow an anti-racist or a prison abolitionist.
Let me tell you!
-You can be a prison abolitionist and still think child molesters should NOT take office and control a public university at this level.
-You can be an anti-racist and still say I don’t want an unrepentant child molester to run my school or my social justice organization.
-You can support the Ban the Box campaign 100% and still want child molesters to fully be aware of when they are out of line. In fact, YOU SHOULD if you are a supporter of Ban the Box, we aware of its GOALS and its limitations. Ban the Box was intended to let men who served some time get back on their feet, not literally take power of the same population that their VIOLENT crimes created victims in. Please understand that it’s a gross misrepresentation of Ban the Box for Funchess to invoke it to run your school or the NAACP or whatever the hell else he is running today – remember, he’s also on a subcommittee for the Board of Trustees. Like THINK about what bringing a child molester means to your community and where is an appropriate place for them. Don’t just say “let them interact and control and even silence a public university with minors” when you know damn well the campaign was intended to help men come back to society and fix cars, not run pre-schools or work on a playground or, as in this case, work across the hall from a daycare. You can ban a felon from babysitting your kids or running a women’s shelter. That is legal and not covered by Ban the Box.
Tony Funchess is not looking for a “Second Chance” – he is looking for an 8th chance or 9th chance – a chance to assault another young girl and be like “WELL she liked it” in his best R. Kelly voice and talk about how much of a “queen” she is in some pseudo “conscience brother” ankh voice. The man is unable to feel bad for his first two crimes – which, guess what? – means he would probably see nothing wrong if he did it again.
And I KNOW why so many people are afraid to say he doesn’t belong in power. You met him! He’s a nice guy. He’s decent in person. He’s charming. He’s fun to be around. He’s a good public speaker. He’s convincing. He’s a good people person. He’s great at leading. How on earth do you think he raped these girls in the first place? You must understand that rapists become powerful because they’re friendly and charming and great, and that’s why everyone will say I LOVE TONY and I TRUST HIM and HIS VICTIMS ARE LIARS! as loud as they can, that’s why you have white women crying and defending him in senate until their faces turn blue, that’s why you see his faux conscience VP running around with a headwrap kissing his ass while gleefully throwing little black girls under the bus. He has his hand in every cookie jar in town. Why shouldn’t we let him?
Imagine if he raped you, Imagine now that you’re also black. IMAGINE how hard it’d be to step and say something when he’s involved in a leadership position in every black organization in town, in the state, and he has GOOD politics otherwise – it’s true, his prison rights work is amazing! his anti-cop, anti-gun work is amazing! that’s why a girl WOULD stay silent. If you came for him, everyone would say “you want to stop the movement” instead of realizing how a man can be both positive on some social justice issues and still be a rapist.
And frankly, if he somehow does take office that will be all the bigger a mess on his – and your – hands. Because it will make national headlines, someone will inevitably invoke Title IX, and Tony will then have international attentions, and activists who don’t give a goddamn about his local social capital, coming for him, and for the school administration, and lord I hope the whole school gets shut down if you make it that far because this is a pitiful, uncritical way to be white and support the one black person who just also happens to be a child molester. White folks, you want to support black people and feel bad calling him out? Think of black girls you can support, think of black kids, think of maybe supporting someone you know in the black community that isn’t a rapist. You want to support ex-convicts and ban the box? support non-rapists. You want to support rehabilitating sex offenders? Support full mental health care available for free or cheap widely. The wrong as hell answer is to “support” Tony Funchess by putting him directly in a position that enables him to fuck his whole life up and go back to prison again.
Aren’t these the same two people who in the ASPSU Debates last year said they didn’t have a stance on racial violence that an armed police force would bring to PSU’s Black community? lmfao they’ve always been incredibly avoidant of people directly confronting them or calling them out or taking any responsibility for their own terrible actions. This statement is part of their long history of avoidance.
Since Eric and Rayleen did not address the questions I asked them in the Senate and what I sent to all of ASPSU Leadership in a much longer email, I’m going to post the questions I asked directly to Eric and Rayleen in that email I sent to all of ASPSU Leadership:
“Questions: Eric and Rayleen — did you know Tony Funchess was convicted of Attempted Rape II (defined under Oregon statute as involving a minor under the age of 14. Tony was the age of 23) and Sodomy III (defined under Oregon statute as involving a minor under the age of 16. Tony was the age of 28)? If you did know, why did you hire him? What actions do you plan to take now that you’ve been aware not just in last night’s public meeting but also since Thursday when Portland Observer reporter Olivia Olivia first asked Eric similar questions? Considering the Oregonian article that cited Funchess’s convictions was posted on April 24, 2014 — before the elections began and long before hiring of the executive cabinet for ASPSU, it is difficult for me to believe that ASPSU leadership did not know. A simple google search would have brought that article immediately up. In fact, before recent news stories were published, it was still one of the top things that appeared when you searched his name. Either complicity or gross negligence was behind allowing a convicted child rapist to assume power and in either case, their lack of immediate response or even preparation for media commentary concerns me. I await to hear what their response is if they release a response. Silence is complicity, complicity is violence.”
You spent nearly a week avoiding press to not answer their or our questions and stretch out a statement that basically said ‘no comment’ but in multiple paragraphs. You might as well have said nothing at all if you were not actually going to address what we asked of you.
Roger Allen is not only guilty of false logic (ironically described by Alex), but also succumbs to the lowest form of persuasion- which is to make gross personalized non-sequiturs. Not having a position on armed campus police (as it relates to the propensity of racial violence) equals avoidance and a lack of personal responsibility? Really?? I don’t think so. To me, avoidance is replying to the comments of others with false logic and personal attacks rather than addressing them directly with fact and respect.
Wow, Eric and Rayleen could be Catholic bishops.
Eric and Rayleen need to be accountable not just to the students but BOFA
What? I wasn’t the one who was disqualified. That was Marcus and Erica. Sam and I’s campaign was clean and did not receive a single infraction nor had one filed against us let alone disqualified. Your information is wrong.
Also I don’t care about what’s “productive.” I care about justice so…
Also who are you even?
First, Phoenix wasn’t disqualified last year.
Second, Candace Avalos doesn’t hire or fire anyone. It’s not in her job description nor in her ASPSU-given authority to do that – although neither is serving as a member of the JBoard, which is bizarre behavior coming from an adviser.
Third, the ASPSU President and VP make hiring recommendations (nominations) to the Senate, who confirms the nomination.
Get your facts straight please. People have a right to be angry but need to have their facts in order.
Why do you want people to direct angry towards a Black Woman who has no power in this situation? She’s not a hiring official. That’s not how ASPSU works lol. Sounds like you want us to yell at Black Women and not the white folks who ACTUALLY have the power to hire/force people to resign.
On reflection I realize that I made my comment as an emotional reaction to the video of Phoenix yelling at the meeting “I don’t care about your opinion!”
I am an alum and I heard the other details from some friends who still go there (I obviously did not understand the details fully and I apologize for re-posting my misunderstanding here, I have asked the moderator to remove my comment as factually incorrect but I am not sure if that will be acted upon) I apologize for posting with low blood sugar in a fashion designed to inflame the situation.
Not knowing all the details it seemed obvious to me that part of the adviser’s job would be to assist in the hiring process, do the paperwork and act as the hiring official, I don’t actually know any of her personal details.
“I don’t care about what’s “productive.” I care about justice”
I meant achieving your goal (justice) by “productive”
I want to thank you for your response and taking responsibility, and admitting that you had wrong information. I appreciate that.
And confronting the news clip you’ve seen, that was probably an hour into the meeting, after all the people from Step Down, Tony had finished speaking and expressed their concerns. At this point the Senator had said things such as “Tony is not a sexual predator” even though his victims were children that were 13 and 15 years old when he was 23 and 28 years old. This was going unchallenged so many of us, because this was deeply emotionally traumatizing as survivors, began yelling and speaking out of turn. It was a very tense space and I can’t speak for everyone, but for me it was hearing someone justify the ways grown men have sexualized me as a child as well.
Ultimately, I feel pity for her and the rest of Tony’s supporters. I feel like they’ll be very unhappy when the full consequences of their actions are realized to themselves. It doesn’t seem like Eric and Rayleen coached any of the members of the Body on how to respond or if they should respond at all, to community concerns, which would have allowed for those conversations to occur in a less tense and traumatizing way.