The Student Association Senate filled three vice presidential positions during a meeting Monday on the Mount Vernon Campus.
Theo Leavell, a junior studying international affairs, was confirmed as vice president of community affairs by a razor-thin margin. Of the 28 senators who voted on his nomination, 19 voted yes – just above the two-thirds threshold needed to confirm his nomination. In his new position, he will be the SA’s primary representative to the surrounding community and will examine D.C. issues that impact students.
Leavell fills the position vacated by Jacob Smith when he left to become SA President Peak Sen Chua’s chief of staff in September.
“You just need to give people the right tools to recognize how to go about service in a very intentional and thoughtful way,” Leavell said.
Joy Kayode, a sophomore studying international affairs, was confirmed as the vice president for student activities. She said she will work to build and maintain relationships among student organizations and involve them in events like town halls, where the SA gathers feedback from students.
Only 24 students attended a town hall last month featuring the leaders of the SA, the Residence Hall Association, Class Council and Program Board.
“Just by talking to people within the last month, I would say about 60 percent of the people I have had the chance to speak with did not know or could not name two to three members of the senate, of the SA,” she said.
Jesse Altum, a graduate student in the Elliott School of International Affairs, was confirmed as the vice president for graduate student policy. He said he wanted to work on long-term policy projects during his tenure that would have a lasting impact on campus.
“I’m an Elliott student now, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to advocate simply for Elliott,” he said.
The senate also approved Wayne Arminivage as a graduate justice on the Student Court after Chua’s previous nominee failed to meet constitutional requirements to fill the role. Two SA members – Director for Pride and Athletics Cecily Dreyfuss and Sen. McKenzie Swain, ESIA-U – were also appointed to serve on the Faculty Senate, on the committee on athletics and recreation and the committee on libraries, respectively.
Later, SA Executive Vice President Sydney Nelson announced that Sen. Joe Vogel, U-at-Large, was suspended following four consecutive absences from committee meetings.
The senate also approved a $5,702 co-sponsorship allocation for GW Hackital, an undergraduate hackathon that will take place this weekend in the Marvin Center.
