On Feb. 1, the Student Government Association voted to appoint sophmore Kyle Keppler as treasurer. The position had previously been vacant since the beginning of the spring semester.
According to the official meeting minutes, Senator Jessica Pafumi questioned Keppler about his diligence and his responsibility with money. Keppler replied that “he gets things done quickly and likes to get things done right when they come in.”
James Dempsey, the president of the SGA, fully recommended Keppler to the Senators and encouraged them to vote for him. “Kyle seems like a bright student who wants to be involved and keep the SGA organized,” said Dempsey. “It was a plus that he is a business major and that he wants to keep close records with clubs.”
Director of Clubs Aidan Potter has known Keppler for two years from attending Dodgeball together and is excited about the appointment. “He is an extrovert. If I had to guess, I’d say his Myers-Briggs code is ESTJ,” Potter said. “He is very confident, smart, and knows his way around numbers.”
The official meeting minutes of the weekly SGA meeting, which occurs every Wednesday at 7p.m., stated that “things have been hectic with not having a treasurer.”
While the position remained empty, James Dempsey, the president of the SGA, took over the treasurer’s duties. “It put a lot of extra work on him,” Potter said.
Dempsey shared the load with Senator Kevin Kirk, who has a position on the Finance Committee. “It has been tougher without a treasurer; it has made us slower with regards to mini-grants, monetary requests, etc.,” said Dempsey. “The treasurer is in charge of tracking and maintaining our funds, without which we fly blind until someone takes charge in this category.”
Potter also felt the squeeze during the beginning of the semester. “My job is to help out with clubs in whatever way I can, but I don’t do anything with money,” Potter said. “But really the only thing that clubs need help with most of the time is money, so I couldn’t do anything.”
Clubs experienced financial difficulty even when there was a treasurer. Last semester, Jared Shaw, a member of the Johnson Men’s Rugby Club, purchased $85.38 worth of rugby equipment, but was denied reimbursement from club funds. “I did talk to a Senator before I went to get reimbursed to see if it was good to do it that way,” he said. “She told me I could bring her the receipt, she would file a request, and I could drop by and get reimbursed.” According to Shaw, the issue was never truly resolved due to poor communication and all parties involved simply being too busy to follow it through.
Pafumi suggested that Keppler would be assigned a total of four office hours per week, along with the scheduled weekly SGA meeting, which Keppler accepted. The vote to appoint Keppler as Treasurer tallied in at 6-0-1, or six in favor, none in opposition, and one abstention.
