Sen. Jessica Roy is in shock. In a matter of minutes Friday morning she went from Student Senate parliamentarian and executive board member to an e-board outcast and trod-upon member of the Senate.
“No one told me I was doing a bad job,” she said. “If these things are not brought to my attention then it’s not going to get better.”
In an unprecedented move, Roy was removed before the vote of confidence of the rest of the executive board. Roy and others noted this “backwards” series of events. This in itself added to the abrupt and shocking nature of the removal from office.
Roy also said the complaints were not related to her job performance but to personality conflicts within the Senate.
“I had absolutely zero forewarning. No one criticized my job and approachability is not one iota of my job description. Yet, no one wanted to reflect on that.”
Roy said that although this demotion was definitely a shock, “I don’t care what they [the Senate] think of me, but I still care what the student body and the administration think.”
“I’m fairly sure this will not change their opinions of me,” she said of University administration. “They all know my work ethic, my personality.”
Roy plans now to continue with her goal of student involvement on campus. Without her weekly stipend, she plans to pursue a work-study position with Chris O’Connor, assistant to the Dean of Student Life, working on her student involvement mission.
She said this had been her main goal on the Senate; however, the internal fighting often got in the way of this and other objectives of hers. “All I’ve ever wanted to do on the Senate is see something happen. All that ever happens is internal squabble.”
Roy feels very strongly about the Senate, particularly with the factions within that have formed over the last semester. “No matter what they say, this year is even worse [with cliques within the Senate]. Everyone has their agenda.”
“These are the people who talk about getting stuff done, and all the stuff they get done is getting me booted off,” she said. “I question whether this body has any place in this University.”
Elise Adams can be contacted at [email protected]