Student Senate removes Class of 2024 senator, delays another

The Student Senate unanimously voted to remove Class of 2024 Senator Michael Mendez from his position. The motion to remove Class of 2024 Senator Gabriel Tambellini was delayed until October 26.

In the previous Senate meeting on October 12, the Senate voted to impeach Mendez and Tambellini for “continued absences and failures to respond to messages.” According to the Student Senate bylaws, a senator has “good cause for removal” if they have two or more unexcused absences from Senate meetings. In 2018, the Student Senate removed Independent Senator Anthony Dai ’20 for similar reasons.

During the motion to remove Tambellini, Grand Marshal Cait Bennett ’22G mentioned Tambellini was still interested in serving as a senator but wasn’t able to make this week’s Senate meeting. Tambellini currently has five unexcused absences.

Undergraduate President Ria Massoni ’24 clarified that a class senator can excuse an absence by telling their class president or vice president that they are unable to attend a meeting.

Vice Grand Marshal Alexander Patterson ’23 expressed reservations over removing Tambellini. “Impeachment and removal is an extremely, extremely strong tool for us to use to remove somebody,” he said. Patterson added that if Tambellini is just a poor communicator, “it may be possible for him to come back and be a very productive senator.” Patterson then recommended postponing the removal for at least a week.

Class of 2024 Senator Austin Jefferson asked if the Class of 2024 Council had the power to impeach senators. Massoni replied that they do as long as they reach quorum requirements. Currently, the Class of 2024 Council does not meet quorum requirements due to the continued absence of Mendez and Tambellini. Class of 2025 Senator Phillip Paterson motioned to table Tambellini’s removal until October 26, which passed unanimously.

Earlier in the meeting, Massoni presented bylaw changes to the Undergraduate Council. Changes include maintaining a record of all motion votes, UC-related items and procedures, and detailing what happens when the undergraduate president or class president position are vacant.

There was a brief discussion on the Undergraduate President overseeing and advising undergraduate class councils. Community Relations Committee chairperson Talulah Patch ’24 asked why this duty was added to the bylaws if the Undergraduate President already followed it. Massoni responded that the amendment holds future Undergraduate Presidents accountable and formalized the responsibility. Bennett additionally remarked that if an Undergraduate President failed to uphold a duty not mentioned in the bylaws, there would be no repercussions. The motion to amend the bylaws passed unanimously.

The Senate also appointed Raven Levitt ’26 to Senate-Executive Board Liaison.

The Student Senate also heard Executive Board appointments, all of which passed. Noah Bennett ’26 was appointed to Class of 2026 Representative, while Kassandra Le ’26, Riya Menon ’26, Vicky Guo ’26, and Colette Minor ’26 were appointed to Club and Organization Representative.

This Student Senate meeting was held on October 20. The next Student Senate meeting is Wednesday at 7 pm in the Student Government Suite.