ASU is temporarily leaderless

The current ASU president has vacated his position, leaving no clear person to assume his duties.

By Gabriel Arizon, Editor-in-Chief

April 16 Update: On April 14, Commissioner of Campus and Environmental Concerns Dania Castillo was appointed the interim president of the ASU.

Original story follows:

---

ASU President David Nargizyan resigned from his position last week, leaving the student government body without any officers to take charge.

On April 2, Nargizyan resigned from the ASU due to personal issues. His departure leaves the organization with no officers, aside from Secretary Sebastian Diaz, and four commissioners. The next president will be chosen among its remaining members: Dania Castillo, Leilani Alvarez, Saulo Abundis and Brenda Bernal.

The person most likely to step up would be Abundis, the commissioner of political and external affairs, according to Dean of Student Life Elizabeth Negrete. However, due to his position, it will not be an automatic process.

“We are going to vote as a group on who should take the position,” Abundis said. “I don’t know yet if I want to be considered, but we’ll see.”

According to Article VII, Section 4C of the ASU Constitution, if the offices of both the president and vice president are vacant, the Executive Council will hold an emergency “Section 4C meeting.” It will be chaired by the parliamentarian, or the commissioner of political and external affairs if the former is also vacant, to appoint an interim vice president with an absolute majority vote needed for approval. There must also be a minimum of four voting members left in the executive council to have quorum.

In addition, a special election will be held for students to vote for the next president and vice president, along with any other vacancies.

This is the second time the position of ASU president has been vacated this semester. Former President Elijah Rodriguez, along with Treasurer Angelica Simityan and Commissioner of Student Life Maricela Garcia, all resigned at the beginning of the semester. Nargizyan, who was vice president at the time, then took over the duties and responsibilities of president, vice president and treasurer.

The next Executive Council meeting will be held on April 14 through Zoom and chaired by Abundis. The meeting will appoint the interim president and vote on suspending the rules for holding a special election.