Editor’s Note: this story was updated at 2:43 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 17 to include a comment from ASUO President Sabinna Pierre.
In a surprising turn of events during an ASUO senate meeting on Wednesday night, Nyla Jamison was sworn in as ASUO vice president during the meeting after a 30-minute discussion about Jamison’s appointment.
“I believe that Nyla will do a phenomenal job as Vice President. She is dedicated and has the capacity to take on this role. She holds great integratery (sic) and truly cares about students. She shares similar goals around fair student pay, mental health, tuition engagement, and ensuring UO is a safe space for all students. She cares about the student experience and want to ensure all students have the tools to succeed. She is a stupendous asset to ASUO,” ASUO President Sabinna Pierre said about Jamison.
This move comes after the previous vice president, Montse Mendez, stepped down from her position, citing a “hostile work environment.” ASUO Chief of Staff Hibo Abtidon also resigned her position about a week ago, citing her hopes to focus on academics.
Pierre has not answered questions about Mendez’s resignation.
During the discussion, senators brought up the issue of Jamison’s involvement in finding a potential candidate for Vice President. After a question posed by Senator Brian Sun, Jamison revealed that she did not send in an application for the position of vice president. The decision was made by ASUO advisor Becky Girvan to allow Jamison’s application for the internal director position to also serve as a vice president application.
In the meeting, Jamison herself brought up the fact that another candidate before her had been considered by Pierre. However, Pierre followed up by stating that the candidate later withdrew after saying they were not prepared to take on the role of vice president.
Pierre and Jamison did not mention the previous candidate by name during the meeting and were not available for comment at the time.
According to Jamison, she was not aware that she was being considered for the position while she was helping search for a new vice president.
“For certain positions like senators and controllers, they need to go through an approval process,” Senate President Isaiah Boyd said on the appointment of Jamison. “For [the vice president] position, it’s a little unique in where it doesn’t have to go through that approval process.”
Boyd only heard of the appointment the day before the swearing in.
“I was previously unaware of [Nyla’s involvement with hiring a new vice president], but I have confidence that the Executive branch has a vested interest in the student body as a whole,” Boyd said on the controversy that seemed to cause concern among senators.
According to Boyd, Jamison and Pierre did not have to show up in front of the Senate during the meeting. The appearance was a decision made by the two in an attempt to maintain transparency from the executive branch.
The Emerald will continue to update this story as it develops.
