Key UA member resigns

Time commitment was too great for Tienou College senior Eric Tienou resigned from the Undergraduate Assembly yesterday, effective immediately. He will be replaced by College sophomore Katheryn Assadi, who came in second place for the College representative position in the spring UA elections. And College senior Miae Oh will be replacing Tienou as chairperson of the Facilities Committee on the UA. Tienou, who ran for the UA chairperson position in the spring, said last night that had the body elected him to the steering committee, he would have made a different decision. "By my not being chair it made my decision easier because I didn't have a major role on the UA," he said. But he said he made the decision to resign on Sunday because he felt he could no longer fulfill the time commitment the post requires. "I had a very good year last year in what I did, and I think I did a lot compared to other UA members," he said. "I felt that in order for this year to be a similar year I would have to do a lot in order to feel really good. "I couldn't see myself spending all of that time," Tienou added. And he said he put a lot of thought into the decision. "I don't think it was an easy decision to make," he said. "But I made it and I have to go on." Tienou informed University Council Steering Committee Representative Tal Golomb and UA Chairperson Lance Rogers of his resignation yesterday. Rogers said he did not anticipate Tienou's resignation, and would have appreciated prior notice. "I had noticed that Eric had become less involved with the UA, and certainly that was of concern to me," Rogers said. "I now understand why this was the case and accept his resignation." Tienou said he will be keeping in touch with the UA, adding that he is definitely going to the UA meeting on Sunday so that he can talk with Assadi. Rogers said he has a lot of confidence in Tienou's replacement. "I have heard nothing but great things about her," he said. "I feel she will do a great job as the College rep." Assadi was unavailable for comment yesterday. Tienou will remain chairperson of the First Amendment Task Force, which he said is approaching a critical point in its history and will require a lot of attention this semester. And he will continue to be the undergraduate liaison on the Board of Trustees Facilities and Campus Planning Committee. He added that he wants to concentrate on volunteer efforts and take a more active role in Connaissance. And he said he will continue working to improve the conditions in Hutchinson Gymnasium -- a project he was involved with last year. Golomb said he is glad Tienou realized he was too busy and is not wasting his seat on the body. He added that he hopes to continue working with Tienou.