In a unanimous vote, Riley Mahon was elected president pro-tempore (PPT) of SGA during its legislative body meeting on Monday.
Mahon, a junior political science major, was the only member of the legislature to apply for the position. This year marks his third as an active senator.
The main responsibility of the PPT is heading the Student Innovations Committee, which concerns student-focused improvements to campus life.
“My really biggest priority is to make sure that this [Student Innovations] Committee survives,” Mahon said, “and is able to be productive.”
Three resolutions to the legislature were deliberated over prior to Mahon’s election.
A resolution banning students graduating in the fall semester from running for president or vice president was introduced. It later passed by a close vote of 4-2.
One of the resolution’s detractors, Senator Samantha Laureys, said she thought its goal was extreme.
“You don’t have to actually put it on paper to strongly disapprove of someone doing it,” Laureys said.
Senator Jay Biagini supported the resolution, arguing it prevented an issue which could derail SGA for a full semester.
“Having a president or vice president that’s only [serving] a semester-long [term], you’d have to have two different elections,” Biagini said. “And I just think it can be a little messy.”
Another, equally controversial resolution did not make it through the legislature. This one meant to further clarify SGA’s election process by requiring a run-off if two presidential candidates have a difference of 10 or less votes.
Because the legislature doesn’t yet have a defined process for conducting a run-off election — and because PPT Mahon proposed ranked-choice voting in a different, future resolution — SGA unanimously voted to kill it.
The final resolution passed this week bars anyone removed from SGA from being elected president or vice president.
Parliamentarian Sienna Wraith, who introduced the resolution, said it was meant as a measure of preemptive damage control.
“If you got removed, it shows that you weren’t doing your job,” Wraith said. “If there was something else going on, you should probably not be allowed to hold the two highest positions in [SGA].”
The resolution was unanimously approved.
Emergency funding was also on the agenda for this week. The PRSSA and staff at The Fix magazine requested additional funding, which was granted in part.
PRSSA got about $50 extra for meeting supplies, and The Fix got $110 for a trip to New York City.
It was noted early in this week’s meeting that a debate between candidates for president and vice president will be held next Monday from 7 to 8 p.m. Applications for president and vice presidential candidates close this Friday.
At the onset of this week’s meeting, university CFO Tracy Claybaugh, who was brought on to the president’s cabinet in December, addressed the legislature.
She offered to hear any of the senator and executive’s grievances with departments she oversees, namely IT and Physical Plant.
Senators discussed having issues of poor communication with Physical Plant, which Claybaugh said she would bring up in her upcoming meeting with the department’s head, Chris Hill. Senators also discussed ongoing issues with Internet connection, which Claybaugh was also sympathetic to.
