SMG president added to e-board

Mike Bodek has finally received the position he first sought last spring.

The senator from the Student Residences at 10 Buick St. was appointed as the vice president of financial affairs at last night’s Student Union Senate meeting after unsuccessfully running for the position last April as a member of ‘The Student Voice’ slate.

And while Bodek said he experienced disappointment when his slate came up short to the eventual winners, ‘True,’ he said he was not deterred from applying for a position this time.

‘I felt I had pretty good chances,’ Bodek said, in a phone interview prior to last night’s Senate meeting. ‘When you run as a slate, you run with eight people. When you run for a position, you run by yourself.’

Bodek, a School of Management senior and the president of his school’s student government, said he did not think he would have a conflict of interest while serving as a leader in both organizations.

‘This is something I went through last year [when running for e-board], but being the SMG president is not affiliated with [the Student Activities Office], so I can hold that position,’ Bodek said.

While Bodek can simultaneously be the president of the SMG student government and the VP of financial affairs, Bodek had to resign from his Senate seat, as no Union member may hold more than one position within the organization at any time. Bodek’s resignation leaves a vacant Senate seat from the Student Residences at 10 Buick St.

Union President Ethan Clay said he and Executive Vice President Joe Rollin received five applicants and decided Bodek’s credentials were unmatched.

‘Bo has unparalleled experience, a commitment to this school and a strong knowledge of finances,’ Clay said. ‘For these reasons, he’s the best.’

Clay said the fact Bodek opposed him during e-board elections last spring and now could come on to the e-board and help them this year made his decision even easier to make.

‘He was upstanding for the whole process, and I wish there was a place on the slate he could have been at the time,’ Clay said.

Clay said another reason he appointed Bodek to the position was he felt Bodek could maintain a ‘seamless transition’ through former EVP Vanessa Tebescheff’s resignation and Rollin’s appointment to EVP.

‘He’s already very active in the financial decisions, coming from the Financial Review Board,’ Clay said of Bodek. ‘We wanted to ensure stability within the e-board, and we know Bo will offer this stability.’

Bodek also said he planned to strengthen the connection between the different bodies of the Union, and as a former senator, he said he felt he would able to do that.

‘There should definitely be a connection between the Senate and the e-board,’ Bodek said. ‘Ethan has open dinners, everybody has office hours we’re here to serve the students; that’s what it’s all about.’