Suffolk University’s Student Government Association discussed the recent resignation of Vice President Kayleigh Carey and restated its commitment to its values and for the first time hosted the Faculty Life Committee and a discussion with attendees during its March 5 meeting.
The meeting began with the announcement of the SGA election results, with senator results being read out by the class speaker for 2027, 2028 and 2029 respectively.
SGA President Charlie Reyna-Demes read former Vice President Kayleigh Carey’s letter of resignation. This resignation followed the recent resurfacing of a video in which Carey appeared to lip sync a racial slur.
“I want SGA to continue supporting students of color and fostering a community of respect and accountability. I understand there are consequences for my actions, and it is important to learn from my mistakes,” said Carey in her statement.
Expressing his disappointment with the actions of Carey, Reyna-Demes acknowledged the consequences of this incident on the image of the SGA.
“I think one of the bedrock ideas of a democratically elected government of any form is to make sure you’re supporting all of your people,” said Reyna-Demes. “It’s shameful that this is not just some person out there, but one of the highest ranking members of this body, the vice president, who was supposed to be a role symbolic of the structure and justice that we’re supposed to be espousing not only to our members, but to every club and organization of the school.”
Reyna-Demes also commented on attempts by SGA going forward to remedy the harm caused.
“This is not going to be something that we’re gonna be solving in a week,” said Reyna-Demes. “There was a lot of hurt that was caused by this. Even if some of the damage here is irreversible, it still doesn’t give us an excuse to not try the hardest to repair what we can and deliver our core promise to the student body.”
Class of 2028 senator Julianna Daluz appreciated the acknowledgement of the incident, but noted some disappointment with how the situation was handled and communicated.
“It wasn’t as swift as I would like,” said Daluz. “But I think, in general, the process was done smoothly through internal channels. I wish it was better communicated with the Senate, personally. I had to hear it through a lot of hearsay.”
Julia Karwacki, vice chair of the Student Judiciary Review Board, will serve as the interim vice president until a special election is held to fill the role after spring break. This election is mandated by the SGA Constitution. Karwacki expressed her commitment to continuing the efforts of the members thus far and a quick transition of leadership in the vice president report.
SGA Treasurer Frank Ezhan reported a $1,100 reimbursement to the Arab Union and a $510 reimbursement to the Muslim Student Association for their respective Iftar events as well as $2,400 allocated to Amplify for business cards.
Following the e-board reports, SGA welcomed Bobby Van Gilder of the Communications, Journalism and Media Department, Lacey Hilliard and Lance Swenson of the Psychology Department as representatives of Suffolk University’s Faculty Life Committee. The FLC consists of six elected members that serve two year terms. Their role is to make recommendations to the faculty assembly and the deans to advocate for and improve conditions for faculty.
Much of the discussion between attendees and the FLC representatives concerned the recent rounds of layoffs that took place in August and October of 2025. Class of 2028 Senator Hayden Johnson asked the representatives about how the layoffs have affected students. Swenson said the layoffs abruptly ended many relationships between faculty and students.
Housing and Facilities Committee Chair and class of 2028 Senator Sam Paranteu asked how students could support the faculty during this period of struggle with communication with the university’s administration. Van Gilder encouraged students to continue asking questions and engage with administration.
“At the end of the day, it’s your voice that matters to administration,” said Van Gilder.
As the discussion concluded, Secretary Stephanie Lima explained that Senator Sit-Downs are held weekly, giving students the ability to converse directly with their SGA representatives. This productive first conversation between the FLC and SGA has inspired collaboration between the two groups and may bring about more open communication in the future.
