USC's Student Body Treasurer Jacob Vaught announced his resignation at student senate's weekly meeting on Wednesday. The senate also passed legislation regarding Student Government codes and a recommendation on E-waste recycling, along with several other measures. Additionally, three new nominees were sworn in as senators.
Treasurer announces resignation
Vaught said that his resignation has been in the works for a little over a month. He said he's been working on his transition documents since he did not have one coming in, and he wants to ensure the next treasurer has a lot more guidance.
"I care a lot about Student Government so this was not something I wanted to do," he said. "But with some stuff that's gone on my life, I've got to take a step back. I don't think that I can best serve the student body, I don't have the time to best commit to this role. I think I'm going to step aside and let someone who has more time and more ability to actually put some effort into this."
Speaker of the Student Senate Maura Hamilton said that senators will have a large say in who will be the next student body treasurer.
Hamilton said that Student Body President Patton Byars' branch will nominate a candidate who must then be confirmed by the Senate. The nominee will be reviewed by three committees — finance, judiciary and powers — and must receive approval from all three to proceed. If approved, the nomination will return to the senate, where a two-thirds majority is required for final approval.
Reese Lycan, Byars' chief-of-staff, said the search for a new treasurer will start immediately.
“After 5 p.m. next Wednesday, Patton will temporarily fulfill the treasurer’s role, he will oversee the staff to ensure that work does not stop for students,” Lycan said. “We will support him in this endeavor and make sure that the transition is as smooth as possible.”
Vaught still has one more senate session with the 116th student senate as his resignation will not go into effect until Nov. 6.
Various legislation passes
Seven pieces of legislation were passed during the meeting.
One piece of legislation passed, introduced by the Chairman of the Judiciary Committee Camden Kaye, was a bill amending chapter three of the Student Government codes to establish a Student Government undergraduate organizational budget.
The bills aims to guarantee that Student Government will have funding for student organizations during both the fall and spring semester.
Another bill passed, also introduced by Kaye, looked to amend chapter three of the Student Government codes to increase the executive fund.
Kaye said the bill aims to adjust the internal budget structure. He said that the current internal budget includes two to three technical funds, which were recently reallocated by both executives and senate members to enhance efficiency. Previously, funds sat unused until the very end of the year, but recent reallocation allowed for better use of the funds throughout the semester and the academic year, he said.
Kaye said the reallocation technically violated Student Government codes by creating a fund that exceeded its original capacity. The bill aims to retroactively correct that issue by increasing the executive fund allocation from below 5% to approximately 10%, preventing a potential constitutional conflict and ensuring more effective budget use.
Another piece of legislation passed, introduced by Sen. Tori Koerner, was a recommendation to encourage the university to prioritize the sustainability of electronic recycling and student education on resources.
"This is just to show the university that there is a wanting from the students to get involved with electronic recycling. Higher education institutions such as ourselves are one of the number one contributors to E-waste nationally. Last year, we averaged 132 tons of e-waste," Koerner said. "We want to get students involved and learn how to like properly dispose of electronics and potentially create different avenues like donations and repurposing."
Koerner said the sustainability committee thought it was very important to get a hold on this topic and educate students about electronic recycling as it is a global issue.
Other passed pieces of legislation include amendments to chapters four and five of the Student Government Codes to make the codes clearer, a recommendation to the university to include more details about study locations on campus and an approval for the finance committee to allocate $24,512.52 out of the $54,135.31 requested funds.
New senators hope to create change on campus
Second-year sports management student Chiara D’Apolito, second-year electrical engineering student Landen Pollock and second-year finance student Nicolas Gauvin-Arriaga were sworn into the 116th student senate.
Pollock joined senate to get more connected to USC and help other students feel connected as well, he said.
"Last year I was at Coastal Carolina, and I just didn't feel that connected there," Pollock said. "I feel way better here, and I want to help share that with other students."
During his time in senate, Pollock said he would like to get murals around the school in areas that are less decorated. He said it would be nice if students could paint blank walls and express their school spirit.
Gauvin-Arriaga joined senate to effect change on campus. One of the big issues he hopes to address is textbook prices, he said.
Gauvin-Arriaga said textbook costs are a significant concern for students who come to college expecting to save on items like books and rent. Students are often hit with unexpected costs when it comes to items needed for class, adding up to hundreds of dollars, Gauvin-Arriaga said. He believes that greater transparency around these expenses would help students budget more effectively.
"I think our school does a lot of things well, but we can always do things better," Gauvin-Arriaga said.