By: Mira Costello

Editor-in-Chief

At the conclusion of their Feb. 28 meeting, the Student Government Association saw a public resignation by former senator Mariem Boussaha. 

Other SGA members were not aware of Boussaha’s plan to resign at the meeting, and conflict occurred when she raised issues with the SGA’s leadership and organizational practices, using inflammatory language. Vice President David Saleh asked Boussaha to leave the room a few times. Before eventually stepping out, Boussaha said she resigned publicly because she felt the traditional channels had failed to let her concerns be heard.

One of Boussaha’s primary issues with the SGA related to the organization’s treatment of student funding requests. On Feb. 21, after complex discussion, the SGA voted not to provide funding for the Student Nurses Association to attend a national conference, a decision that Boussaha disagreed with. (Note: on March 7, the SGA revisited the request with a new motion and approved $3,500, about one third of the SNA’s original request.)

In an interview, Boussaha expressed dismay that the SGA was reluctant to fund the SNA despite approving other large requests, which she felt was hypocritical. During discussion on the SNA conference, some senators noted that the SNA was requesting the full cost of the conference from the SGA and did not have other sources or engage in fundraising. While Boussaha said she endorses fundraising, she doesn’t think a lack of other funding sources should count against student groups requesting support, especially if they may not be equipped with leadership training to organize a fundraiser.

“We all pay for the student activity fee, so we should all get some of it,” she said. 

Senator Caleb Rice attended the Feb. 28 meeting and said he witnessed an “impassioned rebuke of the senate at large” by Boussaha, which he interpreted as being primarily focused on the senate’s decision not to fund the SNA. 

Rice acknowledged that the funding request was difficult, with the senate taking two meetings to discuss it before voting.

“You can be flexible and try to work continuously on these things, and sometimes you have to be comfortable with the fact that people you are friends with will vote differently than you,” he said. 

Rice said that while he didn’t think Boussaha’s approach was appropriate, he still had respect for her as an SGA member.

“She was a very vocal proponent of the student causes that she attached herself to,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into being a senator, but being able to fulfill that role as a student advocate – that’s one of the most important things you can do. I think everyone in the senate knew she was a leader in that way.”

Saleh expressed a similar sentiment, saying that he called Boussaha out of order “only because of parliamentary procedure and the way we run our meetings.”

In a recording of the meeting, after Boussaha exits, Saleh can be heard speaking to the senate.

“I respect her; I respect her opinion,” he said. “However, there are certain ways we have to do this. Try to reflect on the good stuff that we’ve done in our meetings. We have followed a fair process. Feelings do get hurt, and at the end of the day, remaining true to who we are…that’s more important.”

After that meeting, as well as after their March 7 meeting, SGA members stayed longer at the advice of adviser Scott Strittmatter to debrief about the situation. Rice, who was present for both conversations, said that the SGA’s priority was refocusing on their goals of advancing student engagement and empowerment, reminding members that “the roles we have are bigger than us as individuals.”

He cited achievements like the Open Educational Resource initiative, dining services collaborations and tabling. 

Rice said that during their debrief, Strittmatter expressed that he believes everyone in the SGA is committed to advocating for students, but shared some concerns about “cliquiness” in the group. Rice said he generally disagrees with that sentiment and feels that the group is mostly able to treat everyone with respect. He said he thinks conflict is bound to arise in any organization, but that “there has been a concerted effort to address that” in the SGA, such as with group bonding events and training summits. 

However, Strittmatter’s concern does highlight another element of Boussaha’s criticism of the SGA: interpersonal conflict and poor communication. Boussaha claims that boundaries were sometimes crossed in discussion about members’ personal lives and that other senators told her they did not always feel comfortable approaching the executives, which she said created a poor communication climate and a disconnect between the senate and the executive branch.

Despite wanting to “turn over a new leaf” as they entered the spring semester, Boussaha said she continued to feel targeted and disrespected in her communication with the executives.

In the Feb. 28 meeting and in her interview with The Preface, Boussaha claimed that interpersonal and communication issues contributed at least partly to the resignation of multiple other members before her. Saleh denied this and said the resignations were based on other factors like scheduling conflicts, transfers and personal emergencies. He added that one person resigned after feeling “bullied out of the SGA.”

Rice said that he has a good relationship with Saleh and President Chloe Garner that has made communication more productive, but acknowledged that other senators might have a different experience.

“I think probably some senators find it easier than others to take their issues toward the executives. I think there’s been efforts made by the executives to try to reach out more to the senators, but that doesn’t always mean that that’s going to land or be something that people find easy to bring forward,” he said. “I’ve always felt that their door was open. I’ve had moments where I had shortcomings as a senator […] and it’s never been a combative thing. We’ve worked things out.”

Boussaha said she still endorses her statements from the meeting regarding a lack of professionalism from the executives and feels that she was pushed out of the organization.

The SGA will continue to hold weekly meetings through the end of the semester and is still preparing to hold elections March 25. Rice, who is graduating after this semester, said he hopes this can help refocus the SGA on student advocacy.

“Don’t let this one event blind you from what our goal is,” he said. “We do so much more than this, and there’s so much more to the student government.”