The Student Union Executive Board confirmed five personnel changes for the spring semester, including the resignation of Vice President Adam Hughes '11; the appointment of Laura Cohen '09, currently the director of the Office of Student Rights and Advocacy, to the Executive Board; and the resignation of Ryan McElhaney '10 from the post of the director of community development at a Senate meeting that took place last Sunday.Andrew Brooks '09, who was elected as the new executive senator last semester, will now be the acting vice president as per the Senate constitution, according to Hughes. Student Union President Jason Gray '10 also confirmed in an interview with the Justice that McElhaney announced his resignation at the end of last semester.

Hughes revealed to the Justice that he was diagnosed with a learning disability over winter break. Because of this, he has decided to take the semester off. "I [have chosen] to take the semester off to make sure [that] when I return, I can take full advantage of the academic and extracurricular opportunities available at school," he said.

"[Hughes] did a wonderful job for first semester, and he led the Senate in a way that was fair and balanced and thoughtful. He was an invaluable contributor and I wish [Hughes] the best," Gray said.

In an e-mail sent to the student body immediately following the Jan. 18 Senate meeting, Student Union Secretary Tia Chatterjee '09 wrote that candidates must sign up for the position of vice president by Jan. 26. The sign-ups for the positions of associate justice of Union Judiciary, senator for the Class of 2010, senator for Village Quad and senator for Ridgewood Quad have all been extended to the above deadline so that elections for all positions can take place at the same time, according to Brooks.

Brooks explained in an interview that the executive senator acts as a liaison between the Executive Board and the Senate to help facilitate mutual projects. "The executive senator works with the vice president as a team player, and both work together on Senate-related issues. Now that the vice president has chosen to resign, part of my [new] role as acting vice president includes chairing all the meetings till the election of the new vice president," Brooks said.

"My role as soon as a new person is elected will be to work with whoever has been elected on common procedures, like how to lead Senate minutes," Brooks said. He added, "After I considered running for vice president, I have decided to remain executive senator in order to provide stable leadership during this transition and will work with whoever is elected in leading the Senate."

McElhaney's resignation occurred due to "personal reasons," revealed Gray in an interview. In an e-mail to the Justice, McElhaney wrote, "I have no comment."

"[McElhaney] is going to be working at the Office of Student Rights and Advocacy, and he will continue to advise me on rights-related issues," Gray said.

Gray explained that a newly created post of the director of community advocacy has been created in place of the previous position of the director of community development. The new post will encompass McElhaney's former responsibilities of overseeing community development, such as collaboration between clubs and community engagement like supporting clubs who work to address global issues. In addition, the director of community advocacy will also cater to campus life advocacy such as the fire safety concerns. The director of community advocacy will be a member of the Executive Board; applications for this post are currently being reviewed, Gray said.

Cohen was nominated for appointment to the Executive Board at Gray's discretion as per the Senate constitution. After being elected by the Senate into the Executive Board last Sunday, Cohen retained her position as Director of OSRA and will now spearhead the commitment to addressing issues related to the Student Bill of Rights that used to be upheld by the Director of Community Development, Gray said. "[Gray] thought that by including me into the Executive Board it would be easier for me to communicate and share ideas with [the administration and Union officials]," Cohen said.

Cohen has been working on producing magnet versions of the Student Bill of Rights in her capacity as the Director of OSRA. She elaborated that her additional responsibilities as a result of being elected into the Executive Board will include overseeing the advocacy of the Student Bill of Rights. "I will be working with [Gray, Union Director of Executive Affairs Jess Blumberg '09] and [Dean of Student Life] Rick Saywer on negotiations on advocating the Bill of Rights. [The] majority of the stuff in the Bill of Rights is fine, but others need to be teased out," she said.

Gray said, "[A director of OSRA on the Executive Board] will institutionalize [the Student Bill of Rights], streamline communication [with administration] and emphasize the importance of OSRA."

"We've got more changes now than we've had historically because we're reacting to things that need to be improved," Gray said. "This year is about advocating changes for students."

In response to the number of resignations that the Union has seen at the beginning of this semester, Gray commented, "It is what it is. The show must go on.