ASNMU President Cody Mayer is acting Treasurer after former ASNMU Treasurer and Student Finance Committee (SFC) Chairperson Norah Johnson was removed from her position by a vote of no confidence during the ASNMU General Assembly meeting on Monday, Oct. 15.
Acting within Article III, Section 3, Subsection D of the ASNMU Constitution, Vice-President Connor Loftus requested a vote of no confidence to the General Assembly after becoming aware of misconduct on Johnson’s behalf, Loftus said in a letter addressed to the ASNMU General Assembly.
The subsection states, “The Chairperson of the Assembly, Treasurer and Affairs Chairs may be removed by a three-fourths affirmative vote of no confidence by the Assembly, without the need of impeachment and review by the ASNMU Judiciary.”
“Ms. Johnson used her position of power in our organization to manipulate two junior representatives to go along with an unethical plan that would advance her own personal agenda,” Loftus said in the letter.
Loftus alleged Johnson of leading a plan to remove Simon Moesch, the standing Chair of Assembly, and replace him with herself or another selected assembly member.
“This plot is a slap in the face to all members past and present that have worked tirelessly to help build this organization,” Loftus said in the letter.
Loftus brought the issue to Mayer and they presented it to the General Assembly four days later. Johnson was officially removed after an affirmative three-fourths vote of no confidence.
A closed group session between Mayer and the SFC was held Wednesday evening to discuss the opening of the treasurer position. Applicants will be interviewed and a new treasurer will be chosen and appointed by Monday, Mayer said.
“We didn’t have any groups meeting with the SFC this week for any budgets or events. We made sure of that,” Mayer said. “I’m trying to do this in a quick and efficient manner so our students aren’t burdened by this. It will be a smooth transition.”
Johnson chose not to comment.
Beyond this transition in leadership, ASNMU is active in the student body and doing more to educate students on issues within the university and create programs to benefit students, Mayer said.
“[In past years] I have never seen ASNMU so active,” he said. “Staff and faculty have confirmed that for me, and cooperation with administration has been great.”
The recent SRA updates have sparked conversation among ASNMU members especially following the student forum. Students were given the opportunity for students to submit comments on the SRA documents and become part of the conversation, Mayer said.
ASNMU College of Arts and Sciences Representative Emma Drever, sophomore English and Spanish dual major will be hosting an SRA information booth from 4 to 8 p.m. on Tuesday Oct. 23, outside the Northern Lights Dining facility, Drever said.
“Our goals with the booth is to curb the misinformation about the SRA as well as give students the explicit opportunity to comment online,” Drever said. “Administration did open up [a comment period] for us and we are very grateful for that so we want to give that opportunity to as many students as possible.”
Students who choose to submit a comment at the booth will be eligible to win a free parking pass or reimbursement for an existing one, Drever said.
Members are working on sustaining and restoring existing programs on campus such as the bike share and the career closet to make them easier for students to use, Mayer said. He added that there are new events and programs in the works, and he is working on more public outreach to increase visibility in the Marquette community as a whole.
Improvements to campus wide services are being evaluated as well and the assembly has a diverse course of issues they’re working on, one of them being campus mental health, Mayer said.
Drever is drafting a survey to reach out to students to get the input on mental health services and how to improve them. She is also working on a proposal to create a “Zen Zone” in the library to promote mindfulness and self-care year-round rather than just around exam periods, Drever said.
“Our assembly is working very hard and doing great things,” Mayer said. “We have very passionate members.”
