An appointment act for one of the Student Government Association executive cabinet directors failed in front of the Undergraduate Student Congress during its Feb. 22 meeting.
SGA President Zack Lissau presented four acts, seeking to appoint directors for the Lissau-Akuffo administration’s communications, exterior, interior and inclusivity departments to replace Caroline Sparks, Rickey Hewitt, Angelora Castellano and Mahak Merchant from the Farzaneh-Gray administration.
Parliamentarian Abby Halsey-Kraus said all departmental directors are required to be appointed with the advice and consent of the Graduate Student Senate, which had already seen and passed all four appointment acts on Feb. 13, and the Undergraduate Student Congress.
Lissau nominated Paige Chandler for the director for the Department of the Interior. He said her dedication to leadership and prior philanthropic, academic and extracurricular activities makes up for her lack of executive experience.
“She believes in the power of students,” Lissau said. “She’s in many experiences on-campus and this unique position would allow her to further her goals and make sure that every voice is heard.”
Chandler served as the philanthropy chair for Kappa Kappa Gamma and has previous experience with the Campus Activities Council, the fourth branch of SGA, through events such as the 2020 OU Dance Marathon, previously named Soonerthon.
Several representatives found issue with Chandler’s appointment after her questions-and-answers section, entering the body into a debate.
Those opposed took no issue with Chandler’s character or her lack of prior experience, but with how she lacked “tangible answers” for what she wished to do as director and seemed to only follow plans outlined in the Lissau-Akuffo CARE platform.
“A lot of (our debate) circled back to (Chandler’s answers of) ‘I want to listen, I want to advocate, I want to listen,’” Human Diversity Committee Chair Caitlyn Harman said. “I respect that, but I want to know your tangible efforts into what you’re going to be doing for students.”
Harman said many of Chandler’s mentioned safety measures — such as defense training — were reactive, not proactive. Reactive measures, she said, could endanger students due to their racial, gender or sexual identity.
Campus Outreach Safety and Concerns Chair Bailey Trautman said she also didn’t believe Chandler would be a good fit because the nominee spoke incorrectly at several points, specifically on the campus blue light system and what the “Light Walk” is for, which Trautman said she could have been consulted on but never was.
“If you’re going to speak on things such as blue lights, you need to know what you're speaking about,” Trautman said. “It’s not okay to inform members of the OU community that blue lights do not work when they, in fact, do. That is scary, and that is a stressful situation. If they need to come up, they (need to) know that (the blue lights) work.”
Associate Shrey Kathuria said he believes Chandler would be a good fit because she will do a great job of “fighting for the people’s agenda” and collaborating with congress members.
“(She) said that she’s willing to help me on all of my legislative goals within this body,” Kathuria said. “Just hearing her say that means a lot to me personally because I’m somebody who needs help to get stuff done.”
Representative Tamera Nealy and Associate Beth Felkner said Chandler’s resume spoke for itself, and her thousands of community service hours shouldn’t go ignored over her answers being “misunderstood.”
“Paige … coordinates anywhere from 25 to 50 people … and makes a comprehensive show (for Scandals),” Felkner said. “It is a very difficult job that requires bringing a lot of different types of students together, working effectively with a lot of different types of students, listening to a lot of different students ideas, synthesizing a lot of different students ideas, and I think those are all skills that would translate very well into this position.”
The act failed with a vote of 12-16-0. This was the first failed appointment in over a year since former SGA President Tavana Farzaneh nominated Joy Nath for spring 2021 election commissioner in February 2021.
Lissau also appointed Easton Holloway for director of the Department of Communications.
He said Holloway’s vision is to transform the communications department with more press releases, which is key in the Lissau-Akuffo communications plan, and increased interaction with student media groups, including The Daily.
“I think we can work together to create a good relationship on, ‘Hey, here's a statement from President Lissau (or) Vice President Akuffo,’ to create a better working relationship,” Holloway said. “The OU Daily is their own entity. They’re allowed to publish whatever they want, and I have no kind of plans to step on that.”
The act was passed unanimously, appointing Holloway as director of the Department of Communications.
Jayke Flaggert was nominated for director of the Department of the Exterior. Flaggert previously served in congress as chairman of the External Affairs Committee, and resigned and stepped down effective Nov. 2, 2021. His appointment also passed unanimously.
Lissau appointed Emelie Schultz for the director of the Department of Inclusivity. An international student, Schultz said she wanted to enhance equity as a part of the CARE platform, and collaborate on diversity, equity and inclusion projects with the legislative branch.
The act passed with a vote of 26-1-0.
Representative Amelia Landry spoke on her bill seeking to have the congress recognize and commend the work of the OU Food Pantry and the people who assist in its operation. It also outlines a food drive that congress will hold.
Her bill passed unanimously. This was Landry’s first piece of legislation.
Congress also saw an auxiliary bill which allocates SGA funds to nine OU organizations and associations. This bill also passed unanimously and moves to GSS for further consideration.
The organizations listed were the Chemical Engineering Graduate Student Society, the Miracle Mindset College Access Program, Afrobeatz Dance, the Arab Student Association, the East African Alliance, the Biology Graduate Student Association, the Latin Dance Club, the American Indian Student Association and the Music Composition Club.
