The resignation of Eleanor Roosevelt College Senior Senator Jordan Rosenfeld during the Feb. 18 A.S. Council meeting marked the fifth senator resignation this term.

Former Earl Warren College Sophomore Senator Susie Parras, Thurgood Marshall College Junior Senator Billy Ikosipentarhos, Warren Junior Senator Kirsten Bowen and Revelle College Sophomore Senator Rachel Corell have all resigned from their offices since the A.S. Council began its term on April 30, 2003.

A.S. President Jeremy Paul Gallagher said the number of resignations were not abnormal.

“It happens every year,” Gallagher said. “Different things come up in peoples’ families, [things] happen in their lives and they can’t handle the amount of time it takes to commit.”

Rosenfeld said that he resigned because he accepted too many responsibilities outside of the A.S. Council.

“Some of my friends came up and asked me if I resigned because of all the tension that is in A.S. and all the arguing over the past few weeks,” Rosenfeld said. “That’s not the reason at all.”

Corell said that her reasons for leaving the council were personal and not related to the council itself.

“I think that it’s a funny coincidence that all of these resignations have happened in the same timeframe, even though, [after] talking with the other senators, I know that we all love A.S. dearly and want to support it as much as we can,” Corell said.

Some of the senators who have resigned continue to be involved in the A.S. Council in other ways.

Bowen is now an assistant in the A.S. Finance Office where she assists the vice president finance in contacting organizations who have requested A.S. funding.

“I think it’s really important to keep people around on the third floor [of Price Center] who have a knowledge of history and a knowledge of procedure,” Bowen said.

Bowen resigned in late November 2003, saying she believed that she had learned all that she could from the A.S. Council. However, Bowen’s replacement was not installed until the Feb. 18 A.S. Council meeting.

Warren College Student Council Chair Tim Alexander said that it took two rounds of applications and personal invitations before a new junior senator was identified.

“Kirsten was a special case because it’s been extremely hard to find any third-years from Warren who want the junior senator position,” Alexander said.

After a senator resigns, it is up to that senator’s college council to appoint a replacement. The appointment process usually involves a publicized application period followed by interviews by an appointments committee, although the bylaws of each college council vary.

David Goodwin, chair of Student Council at Eleanor Roosevelt College, said that he hopes to appoint a replacement as soon as possible for Rosenfeld.

The resignations come only weeks before UCSD students will be asked to choose new representatives in the A.S. Council and college council elections.

In the interim, the senators who have stepped in to replace those who have resigned, gain firsthand experience in student government.

“At first, I was a little nervous because it’s kind of intimidating,” Revelle Sophomore Senator Ashley Aluisi said. “I didn’t want to make any decision on anything that I didn’t feel well-educated about.”

Aluisi called the appointment procedure “a good process to go through,” and says that it is good to be knowledgeable about what is happening at a college and campuswide level.

“I think that the A.S. Council has a lot of good ideas coming up,” Aluisi said. “I’m so excited and I’m so glad I get to be a part of all of it.”

A.S. Vice President Internal Jenn Pae said she felt that while it is always sad when a senator resigns, but it also allows space for someone with new ideas and energy to become involved with the A.S. Council.

“I feel like anyone who comes in learns the ropes and gets the hang of things pretty quickly,” Pae said.

Even though five senators have stepped down this term, no executive officers or commissioners have resigned.

“Usually there’s one person in the cabinet who’s lagging … but this year has been really impressive,” Gallagher said. “This year has been absolutely amazing, which is … very shocking.”

In addition to the senators, former executive secretary Tracy Phillips, former marketing coordinator Tracy Davee and former A.S. advisor Paul DeWine have left the A.S. Council during the last year.

“[Resignations] impact the council, but the institution is so set, it’s not too disruptive,” Gallagher said. “The people that have replaced [the senators], they’re on top of their stuff.”