After several days of uncertainty, the SA’s game of thrones seems to be coming to an end. Late this evening, sources close to the Student Assembly provided the Review with documents indicating that Patrick Kuehl ‘24 has received the backing of a majority of Assembly members to become the next president.
Over the past several days, Kuehl and incoming SA Executive Vice President Claire Ting ‘25 have contested the now-vacant presidency of the Student Assembly. This evening, nine of the SA’s seventeen members have signed a memorandum endorsing Kuehl. The controversy arose from confusion about whether the SA’s bylaws or charter—which seemingly detail contradictory processes for filling a presidential vacancy—should be observed.
The document obtained by the Review reads in part: “there exists no reasonable room for interpretation of the governing documents that would result in an outcome where Patrick Kuehl is not President of the Assembly.”
This development follows radio silence from the University, which was asked to intercede and resolve the matter. Ting has not responded to a request for comment. Kuehl, when contacted, told the Review that this ordeal is an internal SA matter and as such, he would not opine until it has been resolved.
Though Ting has not responded to requests for comment, some former members of the Assembly have voiced their support for her cause. They claim that the bylaws and charter do not conflict on process, and that due to the President simply being a title given to an undesignated at-large representative, the relevant section of the charter—Article IV Section 6—does not apply.
“All vacancies will be filled by seating the highest ranked non-winning candidate in the last election from the same constituency.”
The SA has yet to schedule a meeting to finally appoint its next president. The document signed by nine members and its accompanying email suggest “that the Assembly should meet at the earliest possible convenience to affirm Patrick Kuehl’s succession.”
As the Review has previously covered, the gravity of this year’s SA composition is compounded by the upcoming budgeting cycle, in which the assembly will distribute several million dollars of student money.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated as more details become available.
