Student Association President Omar van Reenen announced July 26 that the recently elected vice president, Catherine Millington, decided to step down for undisclosed reasons.
Previous campaign opponent SA Senator Edward Kelly will act as interim vice president until an official vote can take place to appoint a permanent position based on the line of succession.
“Interim VP Kelly has taken the position head-on and jumped straight into work to assure the summer duties of the VP is carried through,” van Reenen said. “He has been phenomenal at assisting both myself and Director Kryskow, while already putting into place an action plan for the VP come fall.”
According to van Reenen, the SA constitution would normally have the chair of rules and judiciary step up to assume the role as vice president, but since the resignation took place while SA was not in session, the decision went to the president to appoint a temporary position.
“Upon seeking an interim VP, I was looking for a student who places service before self and leads with the notion of pushing the campus forward and uplifting the students they serve. Edward possess all these attributes,” van Reenen said. “In addition, he ran a fine campaign for SA vice president, in which students resonated with his message of an SA that works for all Lakers.”
Kelly said he would love to run for the permanent position when SA starts back up again in the fall.
“I have been brainstorming ideas for new senator training, making sure to get SA’s name out there by ensuring that we have a table present during orientation for all incoming students, along with attending meetings with faculty and forming that connection that I would need should I get the permanent position during the semester,” Kelly said.
If Kelly is voted to be the permanent vice president for the academic year, he said he would work to strengthen the bond between SA and the ALANA organizations, a goal on which he ran his platform during the campaign in the spring semester. During the election, Kelly said he would aim to raise the number of senators in SA of typically underrepresented students, such as transfer students and veterans.
Van Reenen said when the time comes for SA to vote for a permanent vice president, he plans to nominate Kelly for the position himself because of the responsibility he showed this summer in carrying out the role to prepare for the fall semester. The president also said that he believes Kelly already possesses the attributes of an SA executive board member.
“I can assure our students at large that the Student Association will continue to make strides forward, and their support and diligence with our transition is much appreciated,” van Reenen said. “In addition, the students come first. Thus, all decisions made in the appointment of a new vice president by the senate will be in their best interests.”
