Student Government saw two more resignations prior to its March 21 meeting, bringing the total number of resignations this semester to six and the cumulative number of vacancies to 12.
Virginia Sacotingo ’25, who chaired two committees, resigned shortly after losing the race for inclusivity officer by a single vote. She had served in Student Government since last February.
Dashawn Sheffield ’27 was the second resignation – he joined Student Government in January.
Sacotingo declined to comment. Sheffield did not respond to requests for comment.
Rep. Luna Garces ‘27 was appointed to fill Sheffield’s seat from the Student Government waitlist “within two hours and 15 minutes,” according to Student Government President Thania Hernandez ’25. Garces joined the Equity & Inclusion Committee where Sheffield had served. Inclusivity Officer Sasha Carter quickly took over Sheffield’s Pard Pantry duties with Rep. Selina Zhu ‘27.
No replacement has been found for Sacotingo – there are now three vacancies in the class of 2025 delegation – but Rep. Alex Darrah ‘25 was elected to the Student Life Committee chairmanship, filling the void left by Sacotingo.
“Apart from advertising the applications online on Instagram, we have been trying to talk face to face with some juniors, asking them to take on a representative position on Student Government,” Hernandez said. “Unfortunately, we haven’t been super successful with that.”
Hernandez said that former Rep. Anna Fenkel ‘25 and former President Olivia Puzio ‘25, both of whom are currently studying abroad, will return as class of 2025 representatives next semester.
“Because they’re ex officios, we could just appoint them,” Hernandez said of the returners. “But in all fairness to anyone else that may apply for next semester … I will be asking them to reapply just to keep it fair for everybody.”
An amendment to the Student Government Constitution yet to be approved states that Fenkel and Puzio, as members who left to study abroad, “may be seated as non-voting Ex-Officio Delegates upon their return.” This amendment is set to be voted upon by the board of trustees in May, according to Elle Lansing ’26, the Student Government communications officer, meaning that the former Student Government members are not ex-officio delegates.
According to the Student Government Bylaws, former Student Government members may not be unilaterally appointed to a voting representative seat in the event of a vacancy; they must apply and be voted upon by the Student Government executive board.
Correction 4/5/2024: A previous version of this article incorrectly cited the Student Government Constitution and Bylaws.
Correction 4/5/2024: A previous version of this article stated that Rep. Alex Brown ’26, not Rep. Alex Darrah ’25, was elevated to the Student Life Committee chairmanship.
