At the April 8 meeting of the student senate, Student Body President Cole Rotondo announced that Senate Finance Committee Chairman Thomas Spurgeon is his nomination for student body treasurer. This follows one week after the resignation of Ashley Reynolds during her second term as treasurer.
Rotondo said he and an advisory committee interviewed six candidates: Spurgeon, Daniel Violette, Preston Kunkle, Ava Bryson, Meg Deuty and Mayra Santiago Cedillo. According to Rotondo, the Student Government codes strongly suggested interviewing Spurgeon due to his position as finance committee chair and Violette because he is the current chief of staff to the treasurer.
Under the Student Government codes, Rotondo was not required to have a committee in the selection process, but he said he felt it was necessary to have one to ensure fairness.
“I created (the advisory committee) so that we could have the most representative group possible to advise me on this because I'm basically picking for the student body,” Rotondo said.
The candidates were asked standardized questions and asked to come prepared with an action plan detailing their priorities and vision for the treasurer’s branch, according to Rotondo.
Rotondo said the committee found each candidate to be highly qualified for the role, which made the decision difficult. He said there was a two-hour deliberation where the committee determined that Spurgeon would be the best candidate for student body treasurer.
“Tommy came to do his interview extremely prepared, and he was able to answer our questions and articulate the reasoning behind the contents of his detailed action plan,” Rotondo said. “His experience as senate finance chairman allows him to hit the ground running as treasurer and to elevate this branch to new heights.”
Spurgeon must still be confirmed by the student senate and will have interviews with the finance committee, judiciary committee, and powers and responsibilities committee.
The resignations of student senators J.C. Vaught and Maura Hamilton were received by the senate.
The senate did not pass any legislation, but it will vote on a recommendation to allow students limited possession of pepper spray for self-defense purposes at its next meeting.
The student senate will meet again on April 15 in the Russell House Theater.