Editor’s note: this story was updated on Nov. 22 to reflect that finance director Aaron Lewis will not be on the selection committee, as he is running for the VP position.
Following the recent resignation of the former ASUO executive branch vice president Odalis Aguilar-Aguilar, ASUO is in the process of choosing a replacement.
ASUO put out a statement about the vacancy on Instagram on Nov. 19.
“Vice-President Odalis has stepped away from her role to focus her ‘capacity in other projects around campus and my larger community where my experience and qualifications are valued and heard,’” it read.
Aguilar-Aguilar said ASUO asked her if she wanted to include anything in the statement, and she responded that she didn’t have anything to add beyond what she shared with ASUO president Isaiah Boyd. ASUO’s statement used a quote from an email Aguilar-Aguilar sent the ASUO executive and senate, she said.
“The quote that was used, I didn’t approve of,” she said. She said she was unaware the statement would include her quotes from the email.
Aguilar-Aguilar said a lack of communication between her and president Boyd led to her resignation. “I can’t help you if you don’t tell me about the things you are working on and how I can help you,” she said.
Aguilar-Aguilar plans to submit an op-ed to the Daily Emerald toward the end of this week explaining why she decided to step down as vice president.
In the Instagram statement, ASUO said it respects Aguilar-Aguilar’s decision to step down and thanked her for her time as vice president.
Boyd said the vice president’s schedule and day-to-day responsibilities go hand in hand with the president’s. “We try to run the executive branch in tandem with one another,” he said.
A document highlighting the ASUO officer position descriptions can be found on the ASUO website.
The president and vice president’s responsibilities include representing ASUO student government with the community and ASUO members, advocating on behalf of student interests and overseeing student organizations recognized under ASUO.
Boyd said the executive branch is collecting and reviewing applications. “The idea is to find someone who really has a compassion for the student body,” he said.
ASUO communications director Sam Simonett said he is disseminating the application and information about the role to different departments and different clubs across the university.
Simonett said this includes clubs and organizations that have expressed interest in ASUO and departments where a lot of students have an interest in student government, like the political science department.
ASUO has also put out a post on its Instagram with details on how to apply. The application deadline is Nov. 28.
Boyd said Aguilar-Aguilar’s initiatives and goals were really inspirational and would like her replacement to continue her work while being able to fit into the new position smoothly.
Before resigning, Aguilar-Aguilar was working with ASUO policy director Maya Ward on a bill institutionalizing the student government that Boyd said he wants to continue moving forward.
“Right now the student government doesn’t have a law that recognizes us. It says that the university will recognize us, but it poses a threat to our legitimacy,” Boyd said. The bill would prevent the university from recognizing another institution as the student government.
When looking at applications, Boyd said he is looking for what applicants are hoping to achieve as vice president. “I’m hoping to find someone that carries those same ambitions of ‘Hey, look, these are things I want to change,’” he said. “‘This is what gets me up in the morning. This is what I want to do if I’m going to be in this position.’”
Boyd said there will be a section on the new vice president in ASUO’s newsletter at the start of winter term. “We’re definitely going to try and get in communication with the student body and make sure they’re aware,” he said. “Like, ‘Hey the old VP resigned; here’s the new VP; here’s how to reach them; here’s who they are.’”
ASUO director of recruitment and HR Michael Yoo said the replacement process for the vice president will be extensive because the position lies within the core team of the executive branch.
Yoo said he, Boyd and ASUO chiefs of staff Nathaniel Leof and Stephanie Villaneva will conduct the interviews.
After the interviews are finished, Yoo said a committee consisting of five directors on the executive branch will review the applicants. Those directors include Simonett, Ward, internal director Vanessa Taylor and himself.
Once Boyd has picked his candidate, he said, the senate will take a vote on whether they agree on the candidate, in line with a 2019 amendment to the ASUO constitution.
“All of our directors have a different perspective and different leadership styles, which is really beneficial,” Boyd said. “I’m not ideal for every single situation, so that’s where that VP position comes in as my complimentary half.”
