When Haig Hovsepian stepped into the shoes of the external vice
president of the graduate student government Wednesday, he
didn’t know that another leadership position he already
filled would cause any conflicts.
Hovsepian is currently both the EVP of the Graduate Student
Association and the vice chairman of the Communications Board,
which oversees all of UCLA Student Media. His affiliation with both
entities may be in violation with the Communications Board’s
constitution ““ a policy he was completely unaware of until
the the document was presented to him Thursday.
Hovsepian ran for the vacant EVP position when Laura Sanchez
resigned for personal reasons.
Because of Hovsepian’s new position as a GSA officer, he
will most likely have to resign his title as vice chairman due to
the Communications Board constitution.
According to the policy, no Communications Board member
“shall be an official of the Graduate Student Association
(GSA) or of the Undergraduate Students Association Council (USAC)
elected campus-wide.”
It is still unclear whether the term “campus-wide”
refers to his situation. Hovsepian was elected by departmental
representatives and not the entire graduate student body in
accordance with GSA bylaws.
But if he finds out he is violating the Communications Board
constitution, he said he will step down from his position on the
board.
“Should this be the case, I will leave the Communications
Board because the GSA election process is more drawn out …
whereas the process for replacing a graduate student representative
(on the Communications Board) is a simple matter of an
appointment,” Hovsepian said.
Student Media Director Arvli Ward said he was initially unaware
that Hovsepian had obtained the EVP position and said he believes
Hovsepian is in violation of the constitution. He also said
resignations happen occasionally and Hovsepian’s potential
resignation should not cause any problems within the Communications
Board.
Hovsepian said he had mentioned the possibility to Ward two
weeks ago.
During the election process, Hovsepian mentioned to both GSA and
the Communications Board his current position on the board and his
possible affiliation with GSA, but both sides did not formally say
it would be an issue, Hovsepian said, so he did not foresee a
conflict.
Previous experience, like serving as the neuroscience programmer
to the biological sciences council, along with familiarity with the
issues to be addressed by GSA prompted Hovsepian to run for his new
position.
“I wanted to do this because I know the job and I know the
issues,” Hovsepian said.
Though only in his second day as EVP, Hovsepian said he has been
working closely with GSA President Hanish Rathod in developing
legislative efforts, which he hopes to see in effect next
month.
“This will provide development of public advocacy for
graduate students that will engage graduate students
themselves,” Hovsepian said.
Laura Sanchez, the former EVP of GSA, resigned on Nov. 19 due to
personal reasons and the high demands of the job.
“It was not an easy decision by any means, but it was the
best decision for me,” Sanchez said.