Obianko Osaro denies accussations of harassing high school students made by what appears to be UNCA students on YikYak during a wave of criticism related to his actions as SGA President.
“One of them was posting on the UNCA public story saying I was ‘silencing the student body’ because she thought I was deleting the posts on Yik Yak,” Osaro said.
Osaro has recently received an intense wave of backlash due to his actions as president. This backlash has consisted not only of negative comments about his leadership, but also accusations against him and his moral fiber. These comments and accusations were posted onto YikYak; many of the commenters appear to be UNCA students. Osaro has been placed, along with a few other students, under a no-contact order by UNCA as a result of these events.
Accusations of Osaro sexually harassing high school girls were posted on UNCA’s Yik Yak, along with other negative claims and comments about him.
“One girl was claiming I have been harassing high schoolers or some shit,” Osaro said.
After accusations, which Osaro describes as bullying, were posted on the school’s Yik Yak, they were taken down, something Osaro was blamed for. Even though Yik Yak is anonymous, some students have said Osaro participated in a back-and-forth trying to defend himself when the posts were made.
“It was people questioning him on Yik Yak, and then it was very clearly obvious that he was responding on Yik Yak and getting very upset. There were multiple posts that I saw where you could tell it was him and people were like, ‘You need to get off Yik Yak and chill,’” said Brooke Pederson, a UNCA student and member of the Student Action Coalition and Save the Woods.
Osaro blames the Student Action Coalition for the negative press he has been receiving.
“The group, the Student Action Coalition, they’re the masterminds of all this crap,” Osaro said.
After the accusations were made on Yik Yak, a student went to the Student Action Coalition hoping the allegations of Osaro harassing high school girls would be addressed and investigated. This information is corroborated by screenshots Osaro has taken and saved, which were then presented when the no-contact order was issued by the school.
“Another person said something in the Student Action Coalition group chat saying that I don’t know how to treat women. I took a screenshot of that too and that person has also been added to the no-contact order,” Osaro said.
Osaro also has been rumored to have been seen yelling at a fellow student while discussing a student government meeting. Osaro says he has no idea what these rumors would be in reference to. Pederson says they are the student Osaro was yelling at.
“I would describe that as yelling. There was no reason to use that tone or that volume. My first question was hey, so I understand this isn’t a general meeting but why wasn’t it posted about,” said Pederson.
One of the main actions Osaro has received criticism for during this time was his decision to not vote during a Board of Trustees meeting last summer, when the construction of the stadium and deforestation of the woods on campus were put to a vote. Osaro said that his lack of understanding was the reason behind his decision not to vote.
“It was my first Board of Trustees meeting. It was during the summer. I had no clue what was going on,” Osaro said.
Osaro said his decision to vote either way on the topic would not have swayed the outcome and that it would have passed anyway. Other students have a conflicting account of his reasoning for not voting.
“When asked about it, he said it was because of a summer Instagram poll,” Pederson said.
This decision on Osaro’s behalf and the way in which he conducts SGA business has brewed discontent and doubt when it comes to his abilities as president.
“He will not advocate for the student voice and then thinks, ‘Well, I know the students. I’ve talked to these students and this is what they’ve told me’,” Pederson said.
Osaro said students do not fully understand how the student government works or how much power he actually has. He said he always tries to do his best but still faces criticism. Some of his fellow SGA members agree that some issues are simply out of Osaro’s hands.
“From some of the things that I’ve heard people are upset about, it is genuinely because things are stuck somewhere else or he’s waiting,” said SGA member Kevin Eddings.
SGA members like Eddings say Osaro does what he can and that many issues are not actually his responsibility.
“It’s not a shortcoming on Obi’s part,” Eddings said. “In conversations with senators and the executive chain, he is very big on wanting us to get things done. A lot of things, like resolutions, are for the senators,” said Eddings.
According to Eddings it is possible that Osaro and his presidency are more complex than students may think or suggest.
“I do think we need to take a step back and think about the things we say before we say them and we need to understand that not everything is black and white,” Eddings said.
