SGB approves 2020-21 board and committee members at final meeting of semester

President Zechariah Brown began the final Student Government Board public meeting of the school year by warning members not to take a screenshot if he started to cry.

“If I start to ugly cry, I’m hoping no one takes a screenshot of that,” Brown said.

Each board member and committee chair exchanged sentiments on Zoom about their SGB experiences in place of their regular board and committee update reports.

Brown recalled his first day as president and the surprisingly routine start of his unpredictable journey — walking around his new office, introducing himself to everyone and learning to adjust to his unfamiliar role.

He went on to thank SGB for helping him realize his potential as a leader and expressed excitement to witness the new board’s work in the coming year.

Additionally, Brown included a tribute to the current seniors who are a part of SGB, stating that although this moment may not have been their ideal version of the end of the year, it was still a meaningful experience.

“To all my seniors who are missing out on a lot of lasts — last Bigelow Bash, last formal, last in-person public meeting — I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge how this ending must feel for you and for us,” Brown said.

Anaïs Peterson, executive vice president, shared Brown’s sentiments, mentioning that although the University was sometimes slow to respond to the board’s initiatives, the board did its best to continue advocating on important issues.

“As a queer Asian American organizer, it has been a joy and an honor to represent you all,” Peterson said, concluding their remarks to the board.

Board member Eric Macadangdang said he is looking forward to serving as SGB’s president next year and hopes to also display the same level of leadership he believes the current board has demonstrated.

“When I first found the Student Government Board I didn’t find just an organization, I found a community,” Macadangdang said.

Some committee chairs introduced their successors. Macadangdang introduced Preeti Venkat as the new academic affairs chair, Ryan Murphy as the new community and governmental relations chair, Steven Mitrzyk as the new facilities, technology and transportation chair, Danielle Floyd as the new wellness chair, Olivia Bartholomew as the new elections chair and Beatrice Fadrigon as the new diversity and inclusion chair. Stephen Jacobus will continue in his role as judicial chair.

Brown concluded the meeting by saying that over the years, Pitt has become more of a home to him than just an institution. He thanked the board for impacting both his life and the lives of Pitt’s 18,000 undergraduate students.

“This has truly been one of the best years of my life,” said Brown.