Officials fill in for secretary

Student government officials are pulling together to fulfill the student body secretary's responsibilities after Bernard Holloway resigned from the position Sunday night.

One of Holloway's main responsibilities was to compile information for the October Report, which summarizes the administration's work during its first six months in office. The executive branch is scheduled to complete the progress report by Oct. 14.

"It is definitely going to be a joint effort by the officers, and there won't be just one person to handle it all," said Alexa Kleysteuber, student body vice president. "The remaining officers are going into overdrive right now."

Student officials also are getting support from executive assistants and their part-time office manager to help with the logistics of compiling the report.

"A couple of (Student Body President Matt) Calabria's executive assistants are stepping up to get the work done," said Chief of Staff Tre Jones. "But at this point we are all sharing the responsibility."

Officials are trying to get organized to ensure that everything is taken care of in Holloway's absence, Jones said.

"I have confidence we will be all right, because we have a very hardworking staff," Calabria said. "We have covered our bases, and everything that needs to be done will be done efficiently."

Jones said officials already have set deadlines for the report's submission so they can be ready to present it to Student Congress.

"Tre is going to have to be on top of the staff to make sure all the sections of the report are turned in on time," Kleysteuber said.

The executive branch decided not to declare an official interim secretary because it hopes to find a permanent replacement soon.

Officials have opened up the application process to anyone on campus, allowing all students to apply.

Applications are available online on the student government Web site.

"It's really important that we get the position filled as soon as possible," Calabria said.

Jones said the deadline was set for midnight Oct. 1 to allow enough time for all applications to be submitted.

Jones said a committee will be formed to review each application before names of candidates are submitted to Congress.

The committee will be headed by the Student Supreme Court. It also will include Speaker Charlie Anderson and students representing the student body president and vice president, as well as the Graduate and Professional Student Federation, Jones said.

The committee will submit a list of candidates to be reviewed by Congress' Rules and Judiciary Committee and then by the full body.

The application process is new to this administration, but Jones said it is trying to be fair to the student body.

"In the Student Code there are no specific guidelines," Jones said. "We are going to try to stay in the spirit of the code."

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.