Board selects two new allocations members

The Student Government selected two students to fill the empty seats left on the Allocations Committee.

Student Government Board President Mike Nites, Allocations Committee Chair Nasreen Harun and Allocations Committee Vice Chair Robyn Weiner appointed two freshmen, Max Kneis and Seth Erlanger, to fill two vacant positions on the Allocations Committee. 

Kneis and Erlanger will attend the committee’s private meetings on Thursdays at 8:30 p.m. and deliberate the requests made by student groups asking for money from the Student Activities Fund. 

The Board chose from 35 candidates who applied for the positions. After Nites, Harun and Weiner reviewed the candidates’ applications, they selected 12 finalists to advance to private interviews. 

The interviews began Sunday at 6:15 p.m., and Harun said each of the interviews lasted about 15 minutes. 

Harun, Nites and Weiner gave the candidates a mock allocations request to review for five minutes before the interviews. During the interview, the three asked the candidates how they would handle the request and what decisions they would make concerning the request.

Harun, Nites and Weiner spent about an hour deliberating before they agreed on Kneis and Erlanger, according to Harun. 

Harun said the two “demonstrated a lot of knowledge of the Allocations Manual.”

“They definitely proved that they are ready to jump into the role,” Harun said. 

Nites and Weiner agreed.

“The interviews showed us that [Kneis and Erlanger] took the time to familiarize themselves with the allocations process,” Weiner said. “I could really tell that these two knew their stuff.”

The pair will replace the two Allocations Committee members Ashley McCray and Michele Buono, who recently resigned.  

Harun asked McCray to resign from her position on the committee last Wednesday because McCray’s class schedule conflicted with the weekly meeting time. Former committee member Buono resigned on Aug. 15 to pursue a co-op with Volvo. 

Erlanger, a finance major, said he read the Allocations Manual multiple times to prepare for his interview.

“I marked [the Manual] up like a literary novel,” Erlanger said. 

Erlanger said he plans to continue on with Student Government after he serves on the Committee, adding that Allocations is currently his main focus. 

Kneis, who plans to major in finance and accouting, said he’s optimistic about his new position and hopes to be a fair judge and honest liaison to student groups.

“I definitely plan to seek a position again on the committee in the spring term,” Kneis said. “[I] look forward to working with SGB over the next four years.”

Nites said he thinks Kneis, Erlanger and the other new arrivals to the Board this semester will bring a “fresh perspective” to Student Government.

“We’re disappointed to see some of the previous people have to go,” Nites said. “But, at the same time, we’re extremely excited to welcome in the new members and work with great new people.”