A change in SGA leadership two weeks ago concerning social media control caused confusion and prompted a discussion of the bylaws among members and spectators.
The marketing chair was named as Brenda Karna during an SGA meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 2, following the withdrawal of Erik Cochrane, the current SGA treasurer.
The position entails running SGA’s social media and managing the presence of the organization on said platforms, a responsibility specifically laid out in the student government bylaws. The marketing chair also fills in for the Senate Education and Outreach Coordinator if they are absent.
Cochrane was selected to fill-in as marketing chair over the summer of 2024 after the previous chair, Brea Hatten, resigned due to other commitments. President Brea Belville said Cochrane was chosen to fill the position based on his availability and familiarity with the executive team.
Within the organization, there are a number of bodies and committees. Like most governing bodies, SGA is made up of three branches: executive, which houses the presidents and their cabinet; legislative, composed of the senators; and judicial.
Positions like treasurer and marketing chair are part of the senate executive board. Essentially, these titles hold higher power than senators but are still part of the legislative branch.
Also within these bodies, committees exist. A standing committee is an official group that meets often to keep operations moving within SGA. Waller described these standing committees as “one which has been officially established by the governing documents of the organization.” The bylaws suggest that standing committees include the finance, campus life, judiciary and marketing committees; however the SGA is not limited to having just these committees.
At the beginning of the semester, Cochrane was nominated to be elected for the marketing chair position. He accepted this nomination.
However, according to SGA’s bylaws, Cochrane could not hold both positions – each of which are without financial compensation – simultaneously.
“No senator may hold more than one (1) elected office in the same session,” the document reads.
Cochrane said that he misunderstood the bylaws and that as soon as he understood them, he withdrew this nomination.
“There was that misunderstanding in my mind, ‘Was marketing a standing committee?’ and then during that, the bylaws were read, and immediately after I withdrew my nomination,” Cochrane said. “It’s unfortunate that all this has happened, and I’ve got roped into it.”
“I’m not here to play politics,” he went on to say. “I’m not here for an agenda. I just want to help people.”
He said he withdrew his nomination during the first meeting of the semester, and by the Sept. 2 meeting, he was no longer in the running for the position.
During the Sept. 2 meeting, senator Brenda Karna was nominated by another member of SGA. Since there was no opposition, it was motioned to have the election during the meeting. This resulted in Karna being named as the chair.
Karna said that she plans to link the organization’s social media together, as well as implement other content ideas to keep the student body informed.
Vice President Connor Waller said that originally, there was a push to postpone electing a marketing chair due to concerns over the bylaws and equal representation from all branches on the matter. He also explained that, from his understanding, the attempt to postpone the election was rumored as an unconstitutional act.
However, the election did not end up being postponed, leading Karna to earn the position when she was elected on Sept. 2.
Waller also agreed that Cochrane’s misunderstanding was likely due to vague wording within the bylaws.
“Erik accepted the nomination not knowing that the constitution said that you couldn’t serve both,” Waller said. “He didn’t know the marketing committee was a standing committee because the wording is not very clear.”
Waller expressed that the wording was written years ago and draws confusion since the marketing chair has been a position for only a few years, while also explaining that the Sept. 2 meeting was not handled appropriately.
Waller also said that although rumors of attempting to “fix the election” were spread, there was no intention of doing that.
“I know there were accusations that it was an unconstitutional act and that there was an attempt to fix the election, but it was really just a big misunderstanding and a lack of communication,” he said.
“My personal opinion is no, there was no attempt at unconstitutionality,” Waller went on to say.
Going forward, Belville and Waller said that communication is key.
“I wouldn’t let one miscommunication undermine the rest of the good work that we’re doing,” Belville said.
Waller addressed the effects of the situation and how they plan on moving forward.
“We’re working hard and, at times, there may be a couple of members that try to construe something in a way it’s not,” he said, “and don’t let that tarnish your whole image of an organization.”
“When you take a misunderstanding and run with it and then almost make it look like an act of political theater, like trying to throw someone under the bus when there’s nobody to throw under the bus,” Waller went on to say, “that’s not good for an organization.”
He also said that a committee to examine the constitution and bylaws has been made, in junction to clear up the vague wording.
“It was already approved to have a bylaw committee and a constitution committee to look at both documents and make sure they’re in good shape,” Waller said.
SGA meetings are open to all students, as are their official documents, including the constitution and bylaws.
Caden Adkins can be contacted at [email protected], and Sarah Davis can be contacted at [email protected].
