According to a college senator on one of the 10 AVP selection committees who wished to remain anonymous, the remaining appointments were tabled over concerns about the candidates’ lack of experience.
AVPs are responsible for closely managing key council responsibilities such as organizing the annual Sun God Festival and allocating money to student organizations.
The selection committees, each consisting of three to four council senators and the outgoing AVP, review the candidates’ applications then present their appointment recommendations to the president and the three vice presidents.
Among the candidates who were approved as scheduled were 2009-10 Marshall College Senator Brian McEuen, nominated for AVP of Enterprise Operations by Vice President of Finance and Resources Andrew Ang.
Eleanor Roosevelt College Senator Pauline Nuth was selected as AVP of Athletic Relations after a recommendation from VP of Student Life Kristina Pham. Nuth will oversee programs like Triton Tide.
Marshall College junior Alyssa Peace and Eleanor Roosevelt College senior Brian Wong — both also Pham’s picks — were selected to serve as AVP of Diversity and AVP of Concerts and Events, respectively.
Vice President of External Affairs Michael Lam’s pick for AVP of Local Affairs, junior Matthew Vu, was also approved by the council.
Former Campuswide Senator Carli Thomas was appointed AVP of Student Organizations, following a recommendation by Vice President of Finance and Resources Andrew Ang.
Thomas will serve as the liaison between the A.S. Council and the nearly 500 student organizations on campus. She will make an allotment recommendation to the A.S. Finance committee for each request she receives from student orgs — a process she hopes to reform next year.
“It’s really important for student orgs to have a chance to program and do whatever they want during the school year [that] their organization [is] running, but at the same, there’s only so much money,” Thomas said.
A vote on Ang’s pick for AVP Student Services, former AVP Student Services Meredith Madnick, was tabled indefinitely.
Pham said she chose Wong for the position of AVP Concerts and Events because of his experience working as a production coordinator within the office this year. In his new role, he will be responsible for planning events like the annual Sun God Festival, FallFest and Bear Gardens.
Wong said that he would like to see a greater level of student contribution in choosing which booths, vendors and performers will be featured at next year’s Sun God Festival.
Wong also said he is unsure what next year’s festival lineup will look like.
“Given this year’s lineup, it’s been totally hard to get feedback from the students, because if you look on the Facebook page for Sun God, there’s quite a few negative reviews,” Wong said. “Yet the event sold out, so it’s hard to gauge how popular the acts are.”
Peace said she hopes to increase the number of underrepresented minorities on campus by supporting yield programs that host overnight events for admitted high-school seniors, but added that her work will not focus solely on racial issues.
Two of the candidates chosen by A.S. President Wafa Ben Hassine — former AVP of Local Affairs Aries Yumul for the position of AVP of College Affairs and former Campuswide Senator Desiree Prevo for the position of AVP of Academic Affairs — were voted down by the council.
Ben Hassine’s pick for AVP of Student Advocacy, Eleanor Roosevelt College sophomore Arohi Sharma, was tabled indefinitely.
Readers can contact Regina Ip at [email protected].
