Following Emory University’s 59th Student Government Association’s (SGA) inaugural meeting on March 31, members sat down with The Emory Wheel to reflect on the meeting’s proceedings. During the meeting, some SGA members voiced concerns about the appointments and selection process for vice president of finance and assistant vice president of finance. After former members of SGA raised questions surrounding SGA President Tyler Martinez’s (26C) executive cabinet appointees, SGA moved to a closed session, requiring people outside of the 59th SGA to leave the room.
Former SGA Assistant Vice President of Finance Jess Malvin (24Ox, 26B), who had hoped to become vice president of finance, said others wrongly disparaged her character instead of focusing on the work that she and former Vice President of Finance Michael Cao (23Ox, 25C) had done in the previous SGA term.
“My character was called into question, and what should have been a professional discussion about the work and finance workings of SGA, not a discussion around baseless claims of my character,” Malvin said.
Former College Council Assistant Vice President of Audits Elijah Robuck (26C), who was nominated but not yet confirmed for SGA Chief of Staff, said there was “frustration” during the meeting. Robuck said he was “embarrassed” and regretted the role he played in the discourse as he brought up alleged student complaints regarding Malvin and Cao. Robuck said that previously, there was poor communication between the SGA finance committee and College Council.
According to Malvin, the role of assistant vice president of finance prepares the individual to take on the position of vice president of finance. Previously, Martinez wrote a statement to the Wheel, expressing that some students ran into issues with Malvin and Cao. Malvin said some students may have had “not so great experiences” due to funding constraints.
“We can’t give everybody all the money that they want, and so sometimes people can be left upset or underwhelmed by the funding that they do receive,” Malvin said. “We do our best to give everybody as much as we possibly can, while abiding directly by the rules of the finance code.”
Previously, former College Council Vice President of Finance Ben Damon (23Ox, 25C) said there was a lack of transparency regarding information regarding changes to the finance code, which occurred earlier this year.
Malvin said that Student Involvement, Leadership, and Transitions hired an external lawyer to review their governing documents last summer, including SGA’s Finance Code changes, to address student concerns and ensure clarity and structure in the code. One of the main changes, according to Malvin, was a revision to the finance code that created a 25% funding cap for Emory club’s off-campus events.
Cao said he was surprised to hear that Martinez thought that some students felt that he and Malvin did not address their concerns with “care and equity.”
Malvin said the SGA finance committee shared the finance code changes with College Council’s finance committee as soon as they were able.
“We actually had multiple meetings with them also before even it was approved, where, while we weren’t able to share the finance code because it didn’t exist yet, it had to be approved, we did tell them what we were planning to change,” Malvin said.
Malvin said that every decision that she and Cao made was based on the finance code.
“Neither the SGA VP of Finance, nor any division executive agency or any other entity within SGA may withhold approval, delay funding or otherwise prevent the allocations of funds to a student group, except for reasons provided under this finance code or other applicable rules,” Malvin read from the finance code.
Damon said that he believed the decision for SGA vice president of finance could have gone “either way” based on Malvin and new SGA Vice President of Finance Grant Lichtman’s (26B) merits.
The 59th SGA confirmed Lichtman during the March 31 SGA meeting.
“I know Tyler and I know Zoe, and these are thoughtful, reasonable people,” Damon said. “I have no doubt that they looked at what Jessica can bring and the tradition that SGA has and her own changes, and they looked at Grant and what he’s done these past couple years in the clubs he’s worked with.”
Damon said he thought Malvin was “very qualified” despite his concerns about the finance committee’s transparency. He added that Malvin was “more than capable” of serving as assistant vice president of finance. Damon and Malvin worked together on the Oxford Student Government Association’s finance committee previously.
The Office of Student Conduct suspended SGA and College Council operations, placing both groups on an indefinite “pause” due to alleged discriminatory harassment on April 14. The Emory Wheel was not able to confirm if this situation factored into the University’s decision to suspend SGA’s operations.
Martinez, former Vice President of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging Sophia Rubinstein (26C), former SGA President Abigail Dubinski (25B) and former SGA Vice President Pranay Mamileti (26C) did not respond to the Wheel’s request for comment by press time. SGA Vice President Zoe Grotjan (24Ox, 26B) declined to comment.
Lauren Yee (she/her) (24Ox, 27C) is a managing editor at The Emory Wheel. She is from Hong Kong, majoring in religion and minoring in German. Outside of the Wheel, Yee is the president of the Hong Kong Student Association and the managing editor for In Via, Emory's Christian thought journal. In her free time, you can find her playing the saxophone, watching musicals, listening to Taylor Swift or enjoying an iced oat milk coffee!
