Student Senate finds new Secretary

Student Senate announced the hiring of new Secretary Alex Oh at their meeting Wednesday, Jan. 21. Oh was a Senator on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee and gave up his position as Senator upon accepting the nomination to Secretary. He had served as Interim Secretary as well as Senator since the Secretary position became open before the 2003-2004 school year began.

Marta Matthews, former Secretary Appointee, formally resigned in a letter to Student Government Adviser Scott Saunders in a letter dated Sept. 20, 2003. According to Matthews, who started in the position July 1, 2003, payroll issues were the reason for her resignation. She cited problems with numerous paychecks, and lack of effort on the part of SCC to correct the problems, as factors leading up to her resignation. Matthews indicated she would be willing to serve in her position until a replacement could be found; for undisclosed reasons, Student Government opted to have an Interim Secretary serve in the position while searching for a more permanent replacement.

The first Secretary Hiring Committee, chaired by Legislative Director Sara Lundahl, formed shortly after Matthews’ resignation. That committee consisted of Senators Eric Goheen, Sandie Hazzard and Bev Watkins, Treasurer Carla Magee of the Executive Board, and former Treasurer George Jonson as the student-at-large.

The committee interviewed one candidate on Oct. 27, 2003, and was disbanded immediately following the interview. On Wednesday, Oct. 29, Student Government discussed the issue in a closed-door session immediately following the regular Senate meeting. Only members of Senate, Executive Board, and advisors to Student Government were permitted; all others were asked to leave the room.

Members of Student Government have been unwilling to discuss the situation with the Ebbtide, as it is a matter of personnel issues. Scott Saunders, adviser to Student Government, issued the following statement: “There were concerns expressed and those concerns were dealt with privately.” According to Saunders, changing the composition of the committee addressed the concerns and provided adequate remedy to the situation.

The second Secretary Hiring Committee was formed at the Nov. 3, 2003, meeting of the Senate. As part of the terms under which the committee disbanded, none of the previous committee members were eligible to be on the second committee. At the time, only two Senators were eligible when the committee was formed: Senators Elliot Newlin and Jillian Saban began the committee and were later joined by new Senator Leo Jackson. Adviser Scott Saunders was chairperson.

In the beginning of the hiring process, three eligible applicants had applied for the Secretary position; two of them dropped out at some point during the four months that the hiring process went on.

After the process was complete and the new committee had been trained, Senator Oh was the only candidate left in the running.

Legislative Director Sara Lundahl recommended to the Senate at its Jan. 21 meeting that the hiring process be closed and then reopened to give all students the opportunity to apply for the position.

Treasurer Carla Magee agreed with Lundahl’s recommendation. Magee reasoned that there would be a fresh pool of potential applicants: the hiring process the first time occurred in the beginning of fall quarter.

Because applicants must have spent at least one quarter at SCC, the second hiring, if reopened, would give all students who started at the college in Fall quarter the opportunity to apply. She also pointed out that other applicants were unlikely to have been able to wait four months for a definitive answer on their pending applications.

Thus, she suggested, it would be in the best interests of the school and the Student Government to reopen the hiring.

The Senate disagreed, stating it would be unfair to the remaining candidate to reopen the hiring. Thus, the Senate went forward with one applicant.

After the second committee deemed Oh fit to serve as Secretary, they recommended his hire at the next Senate meeting, on Jan. 21.

Hiring for Student Government is not yet finished for the year. Because Oh was a Senator, his position opened when he accepted the Secretary nomination.

This is the second time this year Student Government has hired a Senator; Leo Jackson was hired to fill another spot earlier this year.

Applications for the Senate position are available in the Student Government office, Room 950. Applications will be accepted until 5 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 6.