A little less than two months after moving into the student body president’s office, Matthew Williams is preparing to pack his things and make way for a successor who, as of this morning, has not been chosen.
Williams sent an email to the Student Government list serve Thursday morning, announcing his resignation, effective immediately. In the email, Williams cited his concern about the time commitment associated with the job as the main reason he will not fulfill his role as student body president this fall.
“I will not be able to focus on my academics and devote the amount of time the position warrants to be an effective voice for the student body,” Williams stated in the email.
Williams said that though his decision to resign seemed sudden, it was actually two weeks in the making and stemmed from a promise he made to his mother.
“I promised my mom I would graduate in five years, and if I had taken this job and done it to the best of my ability, that wouldn’t happen.”
Williams, who is currently enrolled in classes during both summer sessions to stay on a four-year graduation track, said that the amount of work associated with the student body presidency would have required him to lighten his course load in the fall—a decision Williams claimed could add as much as a year to his expected graduation date.
“I’ll openly admit I didn’t do my due diligence in actually looking at the classes I had to take,” Williams said.
Though Williams said he “always puts other people first,” he had to think of himself before others when making this decision.
“The decision was something that you don’t really want to do, but you have to do,” Williams said. “But honestly, for lack of better words, I felt like crap,” William said.
After receiving Williams’ resignation, several members of the administration met with Student Senate President, Alex Parker, and former Student Body Presidents Chandler Thompson and Andy Walsh to discuss who will fill Williams’ shoes.
Student Government statutes state the student senate president is next in line for the presidency if the current student body president resigns. However, according to Parker, the statutes leave room for interpretation.
“We basically have two options now,” Parker said. “I can take the role, or we can hold a special election this fall.”
Parker, who is currently weighing his options, said he will announce his decision via HOWL email alert by 5 p.m. tonight. Parker is currently the acting student body president, and if he choses to decline the presidency, he will continue to serve as such until the special election, which he says will likely be held in late September or early October. If however, Parker choses to take the job, his decision will be effective immediately.
