USG Vice President resigns to take leave of absence

In an email to undergraduates on Sept. 13, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Vice President Andres Larrieu, now a member of the Class of 2023, announced he was taking a leave of absence and had resigned from his position, effective immediately.

“I had the pleasure of working with an amazing team of inspiring fellow students, who truly sought for ways to make your experience at Princeton better especially with all of the changes brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Larrieu wrote.

He then wrote that a new vice president, to serve until the start of the spring semester, would be chosen through a special election.

Less than two hours later, USG announced that no such election would take place. In an unsigned email to all undergraduates, USG wrote, “As a clarification to the earlier announcement regarding the Special Vice Presidential Election, in the case of a resignation, the Vice President will be chosen by a USG Selection Committee as dictated by the USG Senate Constitution.”

“We apologize for any confusion this mishap in communication may have caused,” the email read.

Under the process mandated by the Senate Constitution, candidates must submit an application and collect 50–55 virtual signatures by Thursday, Sept. 17, at noon EDT in order to qualify. Any questions are to be forwarded to USG Elections Manager Lehman Montgomery ’22.

Two weeks into the semester, USG has otherwise resumed its normal operations. On Sunday evening, the Senate held its second meeting of the semester, where it approved Task Forces and student-proposed clubs.

The Mental Health, Transparency, and Town Hall Task Forces will continue their work in the upcoming year, while three task forces — Virtual Community Building, Sexual Misconduct, and Friends of FLI (First-Generation, Low-Income) — were newly approved for this year.

U-Councilor Sarah Elkordy ’21 proposed an ad hoc COVID-19 Equity Committee that “can address issues of inequity that have surfaced for disadvantaged students as a result of the pandemic.”

The Senate also approved all new student clubs that were proposed.

The meeting was held via Zoom at 9:30 p.m. EDT.