c/o Sam Hilton, Features Editor
The Wesleyan Student Assembly (WSA) passed “Amendment 13.44: Appointing Senior Class Officers” by a vote of 31 in favor, 0 abstaining, 0 against at the meeting of the General Assembly (GA) on Sunday, April 30. The amendment will allow the sitting senior class officers to appoint individuals to fill empty positions in their ranks, in conjunction with the Office of Student Involvement (OSI).
This amendment comes after only two of the four senior class officer positions were filled in this spring’s election, with Melanie Lim ’24 being elected senior class president and Miles Allen ’24 being elected senior class secretary. No candidates ran to be senior class vice president or senior class treasurer.
The senior class officers, as outlined in the WSA bylaws, are responsible for organizing and coordinating events for the senior class alongside OSI, all culminating in senior week. The amendment notes that the planning of senior week is a large responsibility and that an insufficient number of senior class officers would be detrimental not only to the senior class, but also to the sitting position holders who have to pick up the slack for empty seats.
“Historically, there hasn’t been 100% participation in elections and we’ve seen some interest this year from people who want to be appointed,” Senior Class President Isha Jha ’23 said in the GA meeting. “It might not be an issue in the future, but it was an issue this year and it’s going to be an issue for the class of 2024. So we’re obviously not saying it’s going to be an issue forever, but given that it has come up, it would be good to address it.”
Jha, who was the amendment’s primary sponsor, also asked the GA to rush the vote on her proposal. The WSA agreed unanimously, waiving the usual one-week waiting period it observes between the presentation of an amendment and its passage.
Under the newly adopted bylaws, the sitting senior class officers would be able to work with OSI to fill any vacancies left after the election cycle.
Sam Hilton can be reached at shilton@wesleyan.edu.