"Two Senators resign, Burgio to appoint successors"

Student Association President Anthony Burgio will appoint two new senators next week following the resignations of Mark Jacobs and F. Ali Khan from the SA Senate at the end of last semester.

Both Jacobs and Khan notified SA officials of their planned departures right before winter break. According to Burgio, he has still not received a formal letter of resignation from Khan, but both senators left on good terms. Jacobs, an on-campus senator, decided to take the semester off from school and Khan, an off-campus senator, was called to duty in Iraq.

Under SA rules, new Senate appointees must be approved by a vote in the SA Assembly before the Assembly's second meeting of the semester.

Burgio said it's impossible to tell whether he will have trouble passing his choices through the Assembly, but he doesn't foresee any problems.

"I don't think it'll be too much of a big deal," Burgio said. "Typically it isn't too much of a process, as long as the Assembly can determine (the candidates) are competent people for the positions."

To fill the off-campus position, Burgio said he will probably turn to Akruti Shastri, a business major who was the next highest vote-getter in last fall's elections.

That does not mean, however, that he will necessarily do the same for the on-campus slot.

"I feel like you have to pick the most qualified people," Burgio said, adding he would rather pick someone not already part of his SA staff. As an informal rule, a staff member on the SA payroll cannot be a senator, so any staff member Burgio chooses would have to resign from their position, which would then also need to be filled.

Burgio said he wants to avoid that hassle and has received interest from an array of different people.

"I have a couple of people in mind," Burgio said of the on-campus seat. "But I'm still conducting interviews."

Burgio added it's necessary that the new senators not be complete strangers to SA and campus politics. "You need someone who is at least somewhat familiar with the organization," he said.

With Jacobs and Khan departing, the SA Senate has lost two dedicated students, Burgio said. Burgio highlighted Jacobs' energy and passion for his work and called Khan a "quiet kid" who always contributed.

"They were both good, and I think they were among two of my favorite senators, so it will be a loss, but there are plenty of good people at the university," Burgio said.

As for how the loss will affect the dynamic of the Senate, Burgio said he doesn't think much will change. For one, the Senate's limited and specific duties don't leave much room for drastic changes in dynamic, said Burgio, who has been on the SA Senate for four years now.

Plus, this isn't the first time two senators have left between semesters.

"I wouldn't say it's common, but it still happens every year that one or two people leave," Burgio said.