Sen. Nancy Mannebach, U-At-Large and chair of the finance committee, resigned from the Student Association Senate Monday night, leaving a third Undergraduate-at-Large seat open.
The now former chair of the finance committee announced her resignation at about 8:15 p.m. during her last meeting with the finance committee. The resignation was effective at 8:59 p.m., one minute before the SA Senate meeting began.
“I think I served the student body to the best of my ability during my time as chair,” she said after the meeting. “I strongly believe that sometimes, it’s really about how gracefully you let go of things that weren’t meant for you.”
Paden Gallagher, the vice chair of the finance committee, will serve as the committee’s interim chair until the next SA meeting, which will be held on the Mount Vernon Campus on Oct. 26. Applications to fill the other three spots are open until Oct. 23.
Sen. Sean Kumnick, U-At-Large, is the only Undergraduate-at-Large senator currently serving on the SA. He said he is “really looking forward to” filling the empty positions later this month.
“I’m looking for people that are willing to work with everybody else when it comes to all three committees,” he said. “I’m very confident in Paden’s interim leadership as chair and would love to see him as chair of the finance committee in the future, but we’ll see how things go. I really wish Nancy all the best.”
The senate also expects to fill four graduate seats at the next meeting.
During the SA Senate meeting, Chris Evans, the director of health and wellness for the SA, asked senators to encourage their friends to apply to be peer counselors for GW’s anonymous peer hotline, GW Listens. The application opened today.
Evans called the application process, which will last until Oct. 30, a “make or break point to bring this to the finish line.” The peer counseling program has been in the works for about 18 months. Former SA President Nick Gumas and former Executive Vice President Avra Bossov pushed for the peer hotline, and in January, University President Steven Knapp committed to the program.
After approved students fill out the five-question application, they will be interviewed and screened by professionals, Evans said.
The Senate also approved an act that would allow the SA Senate to send formal charges and recommendations to the Joint Committee on Faculty and Students. Gavin Rose, co-chair of the JCFS, said the charge could include suggestions for more on-campus “collaborative space” with faculty and ways to encourage faculty to post final grades on Blackboard within five days of final exams.
“[JCFS] only meets once a month, so we need specifics,” Rose said. “We need more communication and guidance on specific policies.”
