Student Association President

Austin Urlab

The Student Association President is the executive officer of the SVSU Student Association. The current president is Austin Urlab.

## Office

The president directs the executive branch of the association and has the power to veto association action items. The president is an ex-officio member of the association, however the president may not cast a vote on legislative matters. The president is elected by the student body each spring to serve a one-year term, and students are limited to serving a maximum of two terms in the position.

The Student Association By-Laws state that the president serves as “the primary voice of the students,” however that language is not present in the Student Association Charter. The president represents the students to the SVSU Board of Control, sitting with the board during their meetings, however the president rarely speaks or contributes to the discussion and the president does not have the power to vote.

The president has the power to hire and fire all student employees of the association, such as the Executive Assistant to the Association. The president is also responsible for appointing and removing student representatives to and from external, university committees. Those appointments are subject to confirmation by the association. The president is required by the by-laws to serve as least 20 office hours per week throughout the fall and winter semesters.

The president and the Speaker of the Association, together, appoint the committee chairs, which are subject to confirmation by the association. The president and speaker also, together, schedule the association’s meetings.

In order to be eligible to run for president and while in office, the president must maintain at least 6 credits at SVSU as well as, at least, a 2.25 cumulative grade point average.

## Veto Power

The president has the power to veto action items passed by the association. He or she has the option to regularly sign legislation passed by the association, and if the president forgoes this option, the legislation is considered passed. Vetos are relatively a rare phenomenon within the association. Three-fourths of the association may vote to overrule a veto. In 2015, Student Association Parliamentarian Trevor Ward ruled in Parliamentary Opinion 14-05 that that the power of the president to issue a veto was not limited by time or occasion, answering the question of whether or not the president may veto an item at the end of his or her term, when the association doesn’t have a convenient chance to convene in order to overrule it.

## Succession

The charter provides that, in the event that the president is unable or unwilling to fulfill his or her duties, the speaker shall become president.

## Cabinet

The Student Association Charter gives the president the authority to establish a cabinet in Article II, Section 5. The structure and positions of the cabinet must be approved by the association, however the president has the power to name and remove cabinet members at his prerogative. Appointing cabinets has generally gone out of use, in recent years.

The by-laws mandate that cabinet members not have a salary and that the president inform the association of all cabinet appointments and dismissals at the next association meeting.