When The Oakland Post caught wind of the stirrings of a vote of no confidence against Oakland University President Gary Russi, we were tempted to call a situation FUBAR.

With the new faculty contracts approved and put into motion, we thought the worst was behind us. Students no longer needed to be concerned with whether their professors would be in the classroom.

Now we’re left to wonder if our president will be in his office in the months to come.

A group of faculty members are organizing the vote against Russi, providing a “bill of particulars” to support their decision.

Although the results of the vote will not have an official impact on the state of Russi’s contract with the university, the faculty members behind this movement are hoping the outcome will be in their favor, and Russi would leave his office.

This could happen one of two ways: By Russi’s own resignation, or by request of the board of trustees — the same board which appointed him to his position in the first place.

It seems unlikely that the board will ask Russi to step down, especially in light of the university’s recent press release quoting board members on how impressed they are with Russi’s performance. These sentiments were reiterated at the Nov. 9 BOT meeting.

No university is perfect, and when things go wrong, people often look to its president. When a country is faltering, the president is the first person from who we demand change. The same goes for companies that are failing. Ask the president. So it’s no surprise that Russi is the go-to guy right now.

The bill of particulars is a laundry list of legitimate concerns, with which we sympathize.

Russi does seem isolated at times — just ask WXOU General Manager Erik Anderson. He’s been trying to pin Russi down since the beginning of the semester, documenting every step of the way on his Dr. Russi Log (found at www.erikandersonprogram.com). The fruits of Anderson’s labor have yet to grow. But how much time does a president of a university have to spare? And who gets to decide which people deserve his limited time?

It’s worth noting that Russi is making time for the two faculty members who have stepped up to be the faces of this movement — we hope they make it past the security check in Wilson Hall.

Yes, it has been an uphill battle to obtain documents regarding the new medical school, one which seems unnecessary. Yes, the lack of requests for input on budgetary matters is frustrating. And yes, we all hate the 9 percent tuition increase.

But is Russi responsible for these decisions on his own, or are they left to the administration as a whole?

The one thing that was completely in Russi’s control was his 40 percent increase in salary, which nobody can refute, nor seem to justifiably explain.

It seems as though while Russi has an obvious influence on all of the grievances the faculty has brought forward, they are not his mistakes alone. The problems of the university are being placed at the feet of its president, with no room for criticism elsewhere.

Russi has a team of people working alongside him. And while some of these team members are alluded to in the bill of particulars, they are not asked to be held accountable. Maybe the problem does not lie in Russi, but instead with his inner circle of advisers.

If the right people are held accountable for the problems at OU, we have a real chance to make change.