This post has been updated
Update 06/28/2019: Added a comment from Nair stating that “No complaint has ever been lodged against me regarding my conduct with either the Title IX office or the Office of Student Conduct.”
Update 07/03/2019: Added a comment from university administration confirming Nair’s statement.
GUSA President Sahil Nair (SFS ’19) resigned on Tuesday morning, effective immediately. His resignation was announced on GUSA’s Facebook page, and follows that of GUSA Vice President Naba Rahman (SFS ’19) and the entire senior staff earlier in the day.
Nair did not release a statement regarding his resignation at the time of the initial publication of this story.
Nair wrote in a June 28, 2019 email to the Voice that, “No complaint has ever been lodged against me regarding my conduct with either the Title IX office or the Office of Student Conduct.”
A university administrator confirmed Nair’s statement in a July 3, 2019 email to the Voice. “Sahil Nair has not been the subject of any complaints nor found responsible for any violations of the university’s Code of Student Conduct,” the email read.
Rahman issued a statement stating that “The Vice President no longer feels she can continue to effectively serve in her role given the present environment within the organization.” Rahman did not elaborate on her statement.
The senior staff members also issued a statement “in affirmation” of the vice president. “Should a change of leadership occur, we would gladly remain in our positions within the organization to continue its important work,” statement read.
The resignations of Rahman and senior staff are expected to take effect Friday morning
Nair and Rahman were elected in February and took office in March.
Both were also on the Voice’s masthead during the 2015-2016 academic year.
This article will be updated with more information.
Update 9/11/2018 12:30 p.m.
A statement from GUSA Chief of Staff Aaron Bennett (COL ’19) was released on the GUSA Facebook page rescinding the resignations of Rahman and the senior staff members who had announced their intent to resign earlier in the day.
“GUSA is entering a period of deep introspection and soul-searching. We plan on releasing a longer statement to provide the student body further explanation, clarity and direction as soon as we possibly can,” the statement read. “Until then, we ask the student body to offer us patience in the short-term to wade through extraordinarily sensitive issues and decide on a path forward.”
Update 9/12/2018 12:35 a.m.
The GUSA Senate held an emergency meeting following the resignation of the GUSA President on Tuesday night. Questions were asked about how the resignations and upheaval might affect upcoming senate elections, the line of succession, and the possibility of leaving top executive positions vacant for a prolonged period. The Senate passed a resolution calling on the resignation of all of the senior staff members of the GUSA Executive. All senators voted in favor of the resolution, with Kamakshi Bhargava (SFS ‘19) and transition chair Juan Martinez (SFS ‘20) abstaining.
