By TIFFANY CAMHI/Oregon Public Broadcasting
and QUINTON SMITH/YachatsNews
One of the six fatal crashes on busy U.S. Highway 20 east of Newport this year is now being cited as leading to the demise of a 50-year-old nonprofit that advocated for Oregon college students.
The Oregon Student Association announced last week that it’s winding down operations and will shut down this month. The association was the only statewide group that represented the interests of public university and community college students at the Oregon Legislature.
OSA is closing after struggling for several years with its organizational structure and finances, according to a statement from the group. Tax documents filed in 2023 show the advocacy group had a negative net income of more than $400,000.
“This was an unbelievably difficult decision,” said Nick Keough, OSA’s legislative director. “This decision is ultimately about recognizing recent constraints we faced and being realistic about the organization’s sustainability.”
The group has also been operating without a central leader for three months.
Its executive director, Joseph Cruz, 31, and a staffer, José Zapata, 29, were involved in a deadly car crash July 1 on Highway 20 about 10 miles east of Eddyville while headed to a retreat on the coast.
Oregon State Police said Zapata was headed west when he attempted to pass a pickup and trailer driven and struck an eastbound car driven by Scott T. Novotny, 34, of Newport. Zapata died at the scene, Cruz was hospitalized with serious injuries and Novotny died later at Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital.
Keough said Cruz has a long recovery ahead and that the association’s staff are still reeling.
“The tragic loss of a staff member and the injury of our executive director have just made it incredibly cumbersome to continue operating,” said Keough.
On Friday, another fatality on Highway 20 killed the 18-year-old passenger in a truck Oregon State Police said was speeding when it overturned trying to turn into a side road just east of Toledo. Benito K. Esquivel Whitney of Florence died when the eastbound truck driven by Jacob J. Bartlett, 18, of Florence tried to turn from the highway into Arcadia Drive, rolled several times and came to rest on its roof, state police said Monday. Bartlett was injured critically and taken by Life Flight to the hospital in Corvallis.
Highway 20’s issues
Eight people – including Zapata and Novotny — have been killed on Highway 20 between Newport and Philomath so far this year. That’s more than double the usual number of yearly fatalities with three months left in 2024.
The state spent hundreds of millions the past 20 years to straighten and widen the highway. Now the 50 miles of Highway 20 between Newport and Philomath is a mix of narrow, twisting two-lane pavement, two wide lanes with an occasional third passing lane, and then sometimes four lanes with two going in either direction.
According to Oregon Department of Transportation figures, there has been a 30 percent increase in traffic the past nine years. Traffic on Highway 20 in the Blodgett area Mondays through Thursdays ranges from 5,500 to 7,500 vehicles per day most of the year but during the summer it can jump to 9,000 to 10,000 a day Fridays through Sundays.
From 1999 to 2022 the state designated 10 miles of Highway 20 east of Toledo as a safety corridor. That ended in late 2022.
The result of highway improvements and more traffic, police say, is that speeds have increased and when coupled with distracted drivers has helped lead to the spike in highway deaths.
No stretch of Highway 20 has barriers between east- and westbound lanes, which means that means when a driver has an issue they often cross over into oncoming traffic. Seven of the eight people who died this year were killed in four head-on collisions, according to state police records.
Formed in 1975
The Oregon Student Association was formed in 1975 with a mission to represent the state’s college students. For nearly five decades the nonprofit has helped expand state financial aid for students, secured additional funding for Oregon’s higher education institutions and advocated for student-centered policies.
The nonprofit’s main source of income came from student incidental fees from the state’s seven public universities and 17 community colleges. Student governments decide how much of those fees to put towards OSA. But as the costs of tuition and housing have risen in Oregon, more of that money has gone directly to student services, like bus passes.
Keough said OSA has been getting less money from student governments for the past five years.
Keough announced OSA’s closure at the Higher Education Coordinating Commission’s meeting at Portland State University last week. HECC commissioners thanked the group for its leadership in the student advocacy space and bemoaned OSA’s closure.
“[OSA] has historically been thoughtful, done the research and provided a very clear voice for students’ interest,” said HECC chair Sandy Rowe of Portland. “Thank you for your service to the students of Oregon and to the state of Oregon.”
