The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

The independent student newspaper of Northeastern University

The Huntington News

Top SGA e-board members to leave positions early

For the first time in recent Northeastern history, both the president and the executive vice president of the Student Government Association (SGA) will be graduating before their term in office is complete.

At Thursday’s Joint Senate meeting, SGA President Rogan O’Handley and Executive Vice President Adriana Campos announced they will graduate May 5.

When a senator takes on an executive position, their term runs from the beginning of Summer II to the end of Summer I. With O’Handley and Campos graduating in May, there was an issue of who will replace them for Summer I.

Although this is the first time the two announced this in front of the senate, the problem has been discussed with the association’s executive board since early January, O’Handley said.

“It hasn’t been a secret. A lot of people have been asking, and a lot of people knew,” Campos said.

O’Handley and Campos said they did not realize they met the requirements to graduate until last semester when they each met with their advisors. Both have double majors and a lot of credits double-counted, which they were not aware of, they said.

The senate was not prepared for this and there was nothing written in the bylaws of the constitution regarding the issue.

Parliamentarian Michael DeRamo wrote an amendment proposing the Vice President for Academic Affairs, MJ Paradiso, take over the presidency for Summer I because alphabetically his title comes first. If for any reason he was not able to take over the position, the line would continue, placing the responsibility on the Vice President for Administration and Public Relations Krystal Beaulieu, then Vice President for Financial Affairs Chris Kelley and Vice President of Student Services Susan Dye. In accordance with the constitution, the assistant vice presidents would fill any vacated positions.

Some senators asked why the system would be alphabetical and Campos said it is because it is impossible to categorize the various vice president positions by importance.

“We can’t rank order of who has more responsibilities [in the associations],” she said.

The amendment passed 55-4 with 14 abstentions, making Paradiso interim president of SGA for Summer I session.

When elected in an organization like SGA, students must be ready for everything, even the unexpected transitions, Campos said.

“[Paradiso] if not yet, will be fully prepared to be president by the time I graduate,” O’Handley said.

Paradiso said he was excited when he found out.

“I don’t feel overwhelmed,” he said. “I feel prepared now and I will be even more prepared come transition time.”

Paradiso said he felt even more confident since two thirds of the e-board remain and they all work well together.

“I fully respect Rogan and Adriana with their decision to continue with their careers and their lives,” Paradiso said.

O’Handley made it a point to remind all senators that first and foremost they are all students of the university. Everything else comes second and is an extracurricular activity, he said.

“We’re here for an education and then to enter the work force,” Campos agreed.

O’Handley said he met with senators who expressed their worries to fully understand their concerns.

“They felt the organization was going to be hurt and that the student body would suffer. I made sure this would not happen. I’ve invested three years in this organization and the reason I joined student government is because I love Northeastern,” O’Handley said.

He promised that although he will not be enrolled as a student, he has no plans to “jump ship.” He will be around the office during the summer to properly train the new president and will always be “just a phone call away to make sure things continue with no bump in the road,” he said.

Three amendments proposed by DeRamo were also passed at Joint Senate. These included a rule that legislation, except senate resolutions, can only be voted on during the meeting in which they are introduced, as well as two amendments rearranging the language of the bylaws.

An amendment by Senator Valeria Gioioso, which passed with unanimous consent, stated current senators cannot sign prospective senators’ nomination forms. Senators are required to get 50 signatures from undergraduate students in order to become senators.

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