Wright, Saleeby, Supil aim to help new leaders with smooth transition
Former Student Body Vice President Katie Thompson resigned in August after details emerged about her involvement in the fraternity rush scandal. Thompson claimed — in leading the fraternities in their quest to audit the Office of Greek Life — she'd been acting on behalf of SG, though Wright had announced SG would take no official position on the controversy. The Greek Reform Committee, cited by a letter Thompson drafted on SG's behalf, didn't exist, and she'd replaced the SG Greek Affairs secretary's phone number in the letter with her own.
Wright, who will graduate in May, said dealing with the situation and its aftermath was the biggest trial of his presidency.
"The Greek Life thing was probably the toughest," he said. "I was the person going between the two groups (the fraternities and the administration) behind doors when the Inter-Fraternity Council was dissolved. I had to support the student body and also help them understand the concerns of the administration."
Thompson's resignation resulted in then-Senate President Pro Tempore Emily Saleeby being appointed to student body vice president. Saleeby said the experience of having to take the reins, as well as her loss to Student Body President-elect Kenny Tracy in last month's election, taught her to widen her horizons.
"Be prepared," Saleeby said she'd tell her successor, Student Body Vice President-elect Chase Mizzell. "Don't take anything for granted. Be open to change and to new ideas. Don't let a set of guidelines determine what the position is."
Saleeby, who has requested to be Tracy's head of staff next year, said she'll spend her remaining days as vice president "soaking it up" and helping train Mizzell on the job.
"I didn't exactly have a smooth transition," she said. "I want it to be a smooth transition so Chase doesn't have to worry about the paperwork. I'd like to have everything ready to go so he can focus on the senators."
But Student Body Treasurer Emily Supil disagreed with Saleeby's characterization of the VP switch; she called it "impeccable."
"Katie gracefully stepped down," Supil said. "I commend her for that. She trained Emily a little bit and Emily brought a fresh perspective."
For Supil, the biggest event of the year was Wright's unprecedented — and eventually overruled — veto of the allocations bill. She said it brought about a monumental change — a challenge to the senate finance committee to look more closely at student organizations' historical spending when allocating funds.
Supil, who also graduates in May, credited Wright with increased communication and training within SG.
"The very first thing he did was have a mixer and even the comptrollers came to it," Supil said. "There are a lot of new people in Student Government this year and he capitalized on it."
Wright echoed Saleeby's sentiments; he's enjoying his last few days in office, but knows his work isn't finished.
"The burden's not completely off me," he said. "I'm helping Kenny so he can be ready to lead, and having transition meetings is important. My predecessor didn't really do that with me, so I had a strong learning curve coming in. I don't want Kenny to have that."
And, as tumultuously as the year began, Wright pointed out all the programs he's seen passed under his leadership — including the Carolina Cab program, Flex meal plans, Thomas Cooper Library iPad program, impending student ticketing transition and a spring speaker series that brought Jon Huntsman, South Carolina Treasurer Curtis Loftis and the cast of MTV's "The Buried Life" to campus.
"It's bittersweet," Wright said. "I've done a lot for the university. It's taught me a lot about myself and how important this institution is. I'm excited to move forward to the next chapter of my life. I've done everything I set out to do."