Four additional members of Student Association President Allie Curtis’ cabinet have resigned, but at least two say their departure isn’t related to the 57^th Session’s tumultuous start.

The four cabinet members who have resigned are: Ivan Rosales, chair of the Student Life Committee; Lynde Folsom, chair of the Judicial Review Board; Janine Savage, chair of the Student Engagement Committee; and Jenny Choi, chair of the Academic Affairs Committee.

A fifth cabinet member, Board of Elections and Membership Chair Emily Ballard, is leaving when her term expires in September, though she’s planning on running for a different cabinet position.

These changes mean eight out of 11 original cabinet members — not including the president and vice president — will have left by September. That’s about 73 percent.

“I’m not too worried about people coming (into cabinet),” Curtis said. “It’s exciting to see these applications going in,” adding that remaining members are prepared to carry on with initiatives the committee chairs were formerly working on.

The resignations follow a semester that included a marathon six-hour executive session to vote on Curtis’ impeachment, after it was revealed SA’s director of public relations was not enrolled at Syracuse University. The assembly ended up voting against impeachment.

Rosales said in an interview the first half of the session played a role in his resignation.

There’s been a “shift” in the student assembly. It’s hard to explain, he said, but this led him to believe it was time for someone else to step in as Student Life Committee chair.

“I just did not think that I would be able to lead (the committee) to the best of my ability,” he said.

He appeared to echo this in his letter of resignation to SA members, which The Daily Orange obtained, writing: “I no longer feel that the Student Association is the best place for me nor am I the best fit for it.”

The time commitment and his involvement with other activities on campus also played into the decision, he said.

The Board of Elections and Membership investigated Rosales for leaking information to The Daily Orange in an anonymous email back in March. He later sent an email to SA members apologizing, which didn’t seem to indicate he planned on resigning.

Rosales said he had no intention of leaving when he sent the apology, and would continue to work on projects he started in the committee.

The No. 1 priority, he said, is helping students. Returning as an assembly representative in the future isn’t out of the question either, Rosales said.

The reasons behind Folsom’s departure are unclear. She did not respond to two email requests for an interview.

Choi didn’t respond to an email request for an interview.

Both Savage and Ballard said their departures aren’t related to the events of last semester.

Rather, Savage said, she resigned solely because of a work opportunity, adding she was planning SA’s week of community service when the position opened up.

Due to privacy concerns and the sensitive nature of the work, she asked that her title not be named.

With this opportunity, Savage said, she felt she could also no longer fulfill her duties as chair of the Student Engagement Committee.

“It was a very difficult decision,” she said.

Savage said she’s confident the organization’s newer members will be able to take over.

Ballard said she’s leaving in September in order to get the term for Board of Elections and Membership chair “back on track.”

The term is supposed to coincide with the academic year, she said. But more recently, the chair has served for the length of the session, like most cabinet positions.

Once her term expires, Ballard said, she plans to run for chair of the Judicial Review Board — the cabinet position Folsom left open with her departure— and hopes the board will be full come SA elections in November.

Last semester pushed members to start getting work done in their committees, she said, and SA will likely fill the vacant cabinet positions during the first few meetings of the semester.

“Even though there are a lot of new people and a lot of switching over,” Ballard said, “I think it’ll end up being very strong.”

Published on August 26, 2013 at 1:07 am

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