Student Body President Amy Sharp’s cabinet picks stood before the 71st Student Senate for approval Tuesday night, explaining the goals and experience they each plan to bring to their positions.
Of the 11 appointed students who spoke on the senate floor, 10 received the two-thirds vote necessary for confirmation, filling key leadership positions in student government’s executive branch. Full descriptions of each position are available on the Executive Cabinet’s Website.
- Chief of Staff: Paige Rigsby, chemical engineering sophomore
- Executive Vice President: Valentina Tovar, political science junior
- Operations Executive Vice President: Sarah Swiney, nutrition sophomore
- Vice President of Communication: Dylan Manshack, economics and Spanish sophomore
- Vice President of Legislative Relations: Gregory Cross, history sophomore
- Vice President of Municipal Affairs: Rohan Sethi, business administration freshman
- Election Commissioner: Mary Franklin, political science junior
- Vice President of Programming: Madi Telschow, English freshman
- Vice President of Academic Affairs: Michael Migaud, political science and philosophy senior
- Vice President of Student Services: Katie Morris, international studies freshman
Following their initial presentation, each appointee fielded questions from senators, expanding on specific objectives and preparation for their position. Sharp said this in-depth dialogue could help lay the foundation for strong communication between the executive and legislative branches going forward.
“I would all day every day rather you ask questions and truly engage with the people I’m putting up than pass them without paying attention, because these are the people you’re going to be working with,” Sharp said. “And I need you to have a relationship with them and understand what their goals are for us to work together.”
Sharp’s selection for Vice President of University Committees, agribusiness freshman Trey Richardson, did not garner enough votes to be approved, as senators expressed doubts about his preparation for the role.
“This guy seems like a go-getter and I really hope to work with him in the future, but it doesn’t seem like he’s too versed in the area that he would be taking over,” Speaker Pro-Tempore Tate Banks said.
If the office remains unfilled, responsibility for appointing students to the university committees will fall to the university instead, according to Senate Speaker Mitch Parker. However, there will still be another chance to ensure that a student takes the position in time.
“If we do not confirm a candidate the first time, SBP has the ability to put that same person up for a second time in front of us and then after the second time, that’s when we would move on to a second candidate,” Parker said. “On the agenda tomorrow, I’ve included a section after associate justice confirmations for executive cabinet considerations if we need it.”
The absence of student senators led to significant delays before and during the meeting as a majority of currently-serving senators must be present for any business to be conducted. During the senate’s consideration of Richardson, a count of the assembled senators showed that the total had dropped below the required number, halting the meeting for over half an hour before more senators arrived and allowed the meeting to continue.
With the Koldus building set to close at midnight, the senate voted to table the consideration of Sharp’s pick for Diversity Commissioner. Political science junior Ricardo Mercado is expected to speak to the 71st senate at their joint session with the 70th senate Wednesday night.
