PSGA Blog Number Four: Dealing with Resignations of PSGA President and Finance Coordinator

            On Wednesday, Oct. 15, the PSGA met for an informal business meeting. Senate members and attendees spoke freely about this week’s events, which included the resignations of former PSGA President Steven Neamonitakis and former Finance Coordinator Max Isaacs a day prior.

            On Monday, at the end of executive board meeting, Isaacs made a motion to veto the impeachment charges against him according to Chair of the Senate Caitlin Christian-Lamb. No one at the meeting seconded his motion so it died there, but all present were taken aback. “It caused a lot of issues amongst the executives,” she said.

            Even if someone had seconded the motion, Christian-Lamb said it would have been an empty veto. Isaacs still would have had a hearing with the judicial board.

            General Programming Coordinator Becky Sellinger said that what happened at the meeting was “totally disgusting.”

            “Everyone on the executive board was in support of Max except for one person,” she said.

            Sellinger also said that people were “threatened and intimidated into having opinions” and that senators were probably misinformed about the situation. She said she also felt that the executive board was being hushed.

            Kevin Collymore, head of CoCOaS, said he wouldn’t have felt comfortable vetoing a decision made by the senate and the student body. Major Events Coordinator Jeff Levin agreed, saying he would never go against the senate.

            Both Christian-Lamb and PSGA parliamentarian Russell Zambito said they had considered resigning over the past few weeks. Zambito said it’s been hard to “keep my faith for a job I don’t get paid for.”

            After the events on Oct. 14, they decided not to.

            But, Zambito added that what happened was “petty bullshit.”

            Senator of the New Aiyana Knauer said that it might have been a conflict of interest having Humanities Senator Jess Goodwin present when the PSGA voted to move Isaacs’ charges forward. But since there is no conflict of interest policy as of now, that was not enforced.

            Senator of the Olde Tim Quackenbush stressed what Sellinger said in a letter addressed to the senate earlier in the meeting: that they need to move on and move forward.

            “Grow up a little bit, be adults, and realize we represent the students, a lot of money, and everything that’s good about Purchase,” he said. “You took this job and you’ve got to stick with it.”

            A campus-wide e-mail will be sent out to find a new finance coordinator. In the mean time, Collymore is interim signatory for the position. He was appointed today at the end of the meeting. An elections committee meeting will be held, elections packets will be sent out, and there will be voting in two weeks for the new PSGA President.