Victor Mweu made the decision to step down from his position as SGA president effective this semester.
In a letter to the student body, Mweu attributed his resignation to an offer to work in the 121st session of the Indiana state senate. He declined to answer further questions.
Liam Crays, former SGA vice president, has taken over following Mweu’s resignation.
“Since the transition, I have received nothing but love and support,” said Crays. “It was a big surprise and a challenge to me, but part of the job of vice president is adapting to these types of situations. I never would have thought I would be in this spot, but I look at challenges like they’re opportunities, and I’m up for the task.”
Crays says “the transition could not have been easier” into the presidency due to the flexibility of the SGA staff.
“Although we had discussed the possibility of Victor leaving for an internship at the end of the semester, the reality of it was still an adjustment,” he said. “With each of us playing slightly different roles, we have had to rely on and help each other with our new tasks moving forward.”
SGA is tasked with getting their bouldering wall project back on track. SGA’s proposed bouldering wall was met with heavy criticism from the student body and has been subject to scrutiny among the student senate.
Last semester SGA pledged to donate $3,500 of their budget to the construction of a bouldering wall in the Kardatzke Wellness Center. Now, Crays explains that before the project can move forward, the judicial branch must review the constitutionality of the proposed budget.
“SGA is awaiting a decision from the judicial branch on the interpretation of a certain section in the SGA Constitution to ensure that the portion of SGA funds that had been pledged can be officially transferred to the project,” he said. “As of now, we want to put the project on hold until the judicial branch makes a decision.”
If the budget is approved by the judicial branch, SGA will need an additional $6,500 to complete the construction of the bouldering wall. SGA would rely on donations from donors, faculty, staff and students to cover the additional $6,500.
Crays believes the resistance is a healthy part of transition and is concerned with ensuring that the AU student body is receiving the best.
“I don’t think I would categorize the last semester of student government affairs as conflict, rather checks and balances,” he said. “As many know, the bouldering wall is a project we are passionate about. With that comes healthy pushback and opposition.
“We wanted to bring positive change to AU. Not every person is going to agree with what we do. We saw this with the intro of chapel scanners and even QR codes. Pushback is a healthy part of change.”