Associated Students of the University of Arizona Administrative Vice President Kaleb Nichols will be resigning from his role due to personal reasons.
Nichols’s resignation letter was received on Oct. 20 and Nichols’s resignation will be official on Nov. 1.
Current AVP Chief of Staff Lauryn White will temporarily take on all responsibilities with his role until an AVP is appointed by ASUA President Patrick Robles and voted in by the senate.
The resignation follows internal talks between ASUA members regarding a possible recall of Nichols, according to Robles.
ASUA received concerns from members of student groups on campus including, Feminists Organized to Resist, Create, and Empower and Pride Alliance.
“Myself and our executive team are working hard to mend relationships that have been damaged or that had been affected by some decisions that he made,” Robles said.
The concerns brought to the attention of members of ASUA included fears from FORCE and Pride Alliance of future defunding based on previous miscommunications.
In a letter from the Coalition of Black Students and Allies Instagram on Oct. 3, the group stated, “These events come on the heels of Kendal Washington White by way of Maribel Alvarez and the Associated Students of the University of Arizona informing Pride Alliance and FORCE that they would no longer receive funding because the university deemed these student organizations as expendable and non-revenue generating.”
Robles stated this was a miscommunication under Nichols’s watch.
“It was a critical moment in the work that we’ve all been doing collectively so far, that made us take an introspective look as to what we needed to do differently,” Robles said.
Following the COBA letter, Nichols met with both FORCE and Pride Alliance and assured them that there was no intent to defund the groups anytime in the near future.
Another incident that occurred was surrounding a UA Divest protest in September.
Founding member of Divest Kyle Kline was Nichols’s predecessor and according to current Divest President Samantha Wetherell, the group had a strong relationship with ASUA the past year.
“Coming into this new year we kind of expected a similar or the same relationship, but obviously, with changes in leadership, I think there was a shift in how we were treated,” Wetherell said.
Before the September Divest protest, a communication was sent to ASUA members asking them to refrain from wearing ASUA merchandise at the protest.
This communication arose from concerns from members of the ASUA executive board on the speculation that Divest was going to release quotes from UA Foundation members, according to Nichols.
“I think I was joined with most of my ASUA colleagues being concerned that this would destroy a relationship,” Nichols said.
Wetherell stated that the group planned on not releasing quotes from the UA Foundation and that Nichols was present for the meeting where this decision was made.
“[Nichols] was well aware of the fact via me, the president, that we had no intention of ever breaking off a relationship with the foundation,” Wetherell said.
Applications for AVP are open now on Handshake and applications are open until Nov. 1. Robles will review applications and appoint a person for the role, which will then be voted on by the ASUA Senate.
The ASUA AVP sits on the executive board and their roles and responsibilities include appointing directors of ASUA programs and services, adding new services and aiding the current president in their duties.
The programs under the AVP’s jurisdiction include Students for Sustainability, Pride Alliance, Campus Pantry and other student organizations that fall under ASUA.
“I do want to reiterate that I’m thankful for [Nichols] for his commitment to ASUA, but I believe that it’s in the best interests of ASUA that we go in the direction that we’re going in,” Robles said.
*El Inde Arizona is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.
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