The UC Santa Barbara Associated Students Senate swore in third-year economics and communication double major Sydney Kupsh as internal vice president during its Feb. 15 meeting.
She won the race for Associated Students (A.S.) internal vice president (IVP) in the winter quarter special election against third-year political science major Coleton Cristiani and third-year communication major Gabrielle Diaz. Voting in the election closed on Feb. 4, and results were released on Feb 10.
Kupsh did not respond to multiple requests for comment on her term.
Kupsh was sworn in by former interim IVP and current External Vice President of Local Affairs (EVPLA) Hailey Stankiewicz and A.S. President Gurleen Pabla.
“I, Sydney Kupsh, hereby affirm that I will fulfill the duties of the internal vice president for the 2022-23 academic year to the best of my ability,” Kupsh read out during her swearing in. “I will seek to facilitate the Associated Students and the University Community in a manner that is consistent with the ideals of an academic community.”
With the IVP position filled, Stankiewicz returns as EVPLA and takes over from EVPLA Chief of Staff and former interim External Vice President Billy Wu, he confirmed in a statement to the Nexus.
Stankiewicz declined to provide comment.
Pabla called for the special election through an executive order issued in Fall Quarter 2022. The order deemed the IVP position vacant following former IVP Bee Schaefer’s weeks-long strike of her position citing anti-Black harassment within A.S. Schaefer maintains she has not resigned.
Election results were placed under injunction pending the resolution of an A.S. Judicial Council case challenging the election’s legitimacy. The plaintiff in Kalia v. Stankiewicz argued that the election was not constitutional because the Senate did not deem the IVP position vacant — a requirement for holding special elections.
The Judicial Council ruled on Feb. 9 in favor of the respondent, finding no fault with the election and stating the executive order was necessary because “without the Internal Vice President formally convening meetings, the Senate could not declare the vacancy by traditional means.”