Student Council President Jequeatta Upton announced the resignation of Okey Udumaga, Council vice president for administration, at the Council meeting last night.
Upton read a letter from Udumaga, written Sunday, in which he stated, "While I have thoroughly enjoyed my time serving as a member of Student Council this past academic year, I have come to realize that I have spread myself too thin and am unable to meet the demands of my position."
Udumaga said in a phone interview after the meeting that he plans to run for the same position for the 2006-2007 academic year, despite having resigned, since he anticipates his fall schedule will be less demanding.
"My schedule for next semester will be much lighter, since I'm finishing my major this year," Udumaga said. "My [extracurricular] organizational responsibilities will be a little less next year."
Chris Jones, vice-chair of the University Board of Elections, confirmed that Udumaga is eligible to run for the VPA position, despite having resigned.
Council Executive Vice President Darius Nabors introduced a bylaw amendment which would create a temporary deputy chief of staff who would assume the VPA responsibilities, including the oversight of admissions, Safe Ride and publications committees, among others. The measure will likely be voted on next week, Nabors said.
"When Okey resigned, we needed to have someone control the committees," Nabors said. "This would be temporary until a new VPA" is selected.
Following the meeting, Nabors explained that Council transitions its members at the end of the year, so the deputy would serve through the spring semester, after which the new VPA would take charge. The deputy would be chosen through an application process rather than election this year, Nabors said.
"We're assuming that someone that currently works on one of those committees will apply, and they will know a lot about it already," Nabors added.
Upton said the current vacancy will not cause any immediate problems for Council.
"Right now, the current chairs are very competent," Upton said. "Everyone is dividing the work equally."
Udumaga said he thinks that if he is reelected, the transition will be smooth since he is already familiar with the position.
"I know my responsibilities," Udamaga said. "I know what the job entails. I believe I have something to offer next year."
Udumaga said he and members of the executive board agreed it would be best for him to not be present at the meeting last night.
"I thought it was best so it wouldn't create such an awkward situation," Udumaga said. "We didn't want to take any extra time to dwell on my resignation and have questions come in."
Udumaga added that he could not attend the meeting because of a prior commitment to the Honor Committee.
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