Article and Photo by Jackson Chadwick
Last week’s Student Government Association meeting was jam-packed with debate and discussion. One of the first orders of business was the consideration of amending the election by-laws. Stephen Rykola, Senator for the Class of 2022, introduced an amendment to Article 1 of the SGA election by-laws that proposed the following:
“1. The Chair of the Elections Committee shall be the current Vice President of the SGA. If the current Vice President is running in the present election, the current Vice-Chair of the Student Judicial Review Board (SJRB) shall serve as the Elections Chair. If the current Vice-Chair of the SJRB is running in the present election or otherwise unable to serve as the Chair of the Elections Committee, the current President of the SGA shall nominate a Suffolk University undergraduate student to serve as the Chair of the Elections Committee.
“2. Both the Elections Chair and Executive Board members not running for re-election must abstain from endorsing any candidates for a position within the organization physically, verbally, or on social media platforms.
Multiple Senators, including Logan Casey, Tara Maltese, and Meagan Dyer rose in objection, arguing that the amendment would limit free speech and expression.
Other Senators, however, argued otherwise. Sen. Stephen Merrick said the amendment would “ensure the impartiality of elections.” Sen. Kostas Loukos echoed Merrick’s statement, saying that it “ensures fair and safer processes in our elections.” Sen. Marissa Kearney also asserted that the amendment would “help uphold the integrity” of the E-Board.
Despite the differences, the amendment to the election by-laws was passed with more than a simple majority.
Afterward, seven candidates were nominated by their peers to run for SGA E-Board in the upcoming election. Senators Logan Casey, Marissa Kearney, Mason Sawyer Lafferty, and current Treasurer Angela El Jazzar were nominated for President.
Sen. Stephen Rykola was nominated for Vice President; Sen. Melissa Contover was nominated for Secretary; and Sen. Evan Weston was nominated for Treasurer.
Also at the meeting, Suffolk student Samantha Imber was nominated by Vice President Lukas Phipps to serve on the Election Committee. Her nomination was approved unanimously and comes after several other nominations to the Election Committee were approved the prior week.