College junior and Undergraduate Assembly Representative Nikolai Zapertov tendered a resignation from the Undergraduate Assembly on Saturday. He will be replaced by College freshman and former UA representative Varun Menon.
Zapertov announced his decision to leave in a letter to the UA speaker, College sophomore Joshua Chilcote, as per Nominations and Elections Committee guidelines. In the letter, he said that he will still stick around and work with the UA as an associate member.
Zapertov cited disillusion with the way the UA worked in the past year as a reason for leaving. “There was much disrespect, much backroom deals made; all of this made me feel very dejected,” he said in the email on Saturday.
His resignation letter, read at the end of the UA’s Sunday night meeting, points to many flaws in intergovernmental relations, UA relationships and productivity. These complaints have been repeated many times in the past few months in the UA, as when 10 eligible sitting representatives chose to not run for re-election.
The resignation letter also points out improvements Zapertov feels could be made, and expresses hope for the body’s future.
He said in the original email that “I felt that Varun could use the seat and get more marginal utility from it … I, as a senior, am experienced enough to reach out to administrators and instigate projects on my own, and can continue to serve the student body in another capacity.”
In accordance with NEC guidelines, Menon was appointed to his new position by having won the most votes after those who were originally elected in the March student government elections. He had won the 18th most votes in a race for 17 seats.
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