The newly-elected Student Association Senate met Monday night to review President-elect Phil Robinson’s cabinet while the old Senate concluded its term Tuesday with last minute legislation.
Senators reviewed Rules Committee decisions on Robinson’s appointees Monday. They agreed with the committee by approving 15 of 21 appointees and rejecting sophomore Dani Greenspan, freshman Graham Murphy and law student Patrick Hurley for positions. Three other appointments were tabled until fall.
Robinson said he intends to resubmit rejected candidates after they become more familiar with SA procedures and leadership roles.
“I respect their ruling, but I don’t agree with it,” Robinson said. “I feel all of them are more than qualified.”
Robinson nominated Greenspan for vice president of undergraduate policy and said he felt the sophomore had adequate leadership experience.
“A VP of undergraduate policy should have significant GW experience,” Rules Committee Chair J.P. Blackford (G-SEAS) said. “(Greenspan) did not possess the characteristics, but it doesn’t mean that there isn’t a spot for him in the SA.”
Greenspan said he feels he has leadership experience, noting that he received 17 percent of the vote in March’s presidential election and said he planned programming for the Jewish Student Association.
The SA president appoints eight vice presidents to his or her cabinet, with more than 60 assistant vice presidents and other executive positions, said.
The Rules Committee rejected Greenspan 4-1. Freshman Omar Woodard (U-ESIA) was the only Rules Committee member who said Greenspan possessed the qualifications to be vice president.
“Looking at his resume, he has leadership experience,” Woodard said. “Not only that, he had great ideas.”
Woodard said he felt the committee voted with “conscience” and not “politics.”
One of the final pieces of legislation passed by the Senate Tuesday created what sophomore Finance Chair Dan Moss (U-SBPM) called a “rainy-day fund.”
The endowment fund would place a quarter of the SA’s remaining funds at the end of the year into a savings account, while the other 75 percent would be added directly to next year’s budget.
Moss estimated that $20,000 remained in the SA budget last year but was unable to determine this year’s total. The SA has until June 30, to use remaining funds.
In past years, the University reclaimed any unused SA funds at the end of the year, but after the Senate created a student dollar-per-credit-hour funding system last year, the SA can now determine the fate of the funds.
Robinson said the remaining funds in this year’s account will be spent by creating a student help hotline at the Mount Vernon Campus, updating SA office equipment and purchasing SA giveaways such as pens and bottle openers for Colonial Inauguration.
