At 7:59 am Tuesday, Student Government Vice President William Namen resigned in an email to Student Government President Carlo Fassi. The email is reposted in its entirety below.
Carlo,
I joined student government almost four years ago. And from day one, I have dedicated everything to what I believed to be an amazing organization. In my time here, I have served the students as Senator, Budget and Allocations Chairman, Student Body Treasurer, and now Student Body Vice President. Needless to say, I have given this organization my heart and soul because I believe that sacrifice and integrity is an important characteristic of any truly successful government organization.
After careful thought and consideration, I have determined that my core values and morals are not aligned with the dysfunctional organizational culture and lack of morals and trust within student government.
This letter is to officially inform you that I resign from my position as Student Body Vice President, effective immediately. This letter also serves as my exit interview.
The reason why I joined student government is simple, my desire “to make a difference”, which I had successfully accomplished within all my previous positions. When we first discussed running together, you asked me what we needed to be successful in completing our initiatives. I replied, “Clear direction and trust.”
You have provided me with neither.
Originally, I believed the biggest challenge of our term would stem from a lack of external awareness and understanding of the purpose of student government. However, I quickly realized that inflated egos, office politics, and incompetence would prove to be bigger obstacles. These dynamics are not conducive to innovation and productivity, and truly inhibited me from seeing my desire “to make a difference” come to fruition.
Fortunately for me, I know my worth and I am very well aware of the value I bring to a team. I refuse to settle for any form of disrespect or maltreatment, particularly from individuals whose only credibility resides in their job title as opposed to demonstrated excellence and leadership. I refuse to work for an organization that has lost sight of its one, true purpose, “to serve the students”. But most importantly, I refuse to compromise my integrity, morals, and ethics for political gain and power.
I’m positive my experience isn’t an isolated one. The turnover rates and lack of student engagement and satisfaction are further evidence of student government’s inability to attract, develop and retain talent.
I had a goal to brand student government as an organization of leadership in our community. Unfortunately, it became abundantly clear to me that my integrity would perish to attempt to attract students to such a toxic and dysfunctional work place, let alone work there.
I could share more for the purposes of an “exit interview” but I have little faith that information gathered would be used for the benefit of student government or the students it “serves”.
Regards,
William Namen
Fassi issued this statement regarding Namen’s resignation:
I replied to William’s email accepting his resignation. We are already considering replacements for the vice president position, but we are sad to see him leave Student Government. William devoted three years of his time at UNF to SG, and we, along with the student body, benefited greatly from his service. Student Government has not stopped moving and we still have some exciting, large projects to accomplish before the end of the semester. This will not deter our initiatives, and it has not diminished our ability to serve students and their needs. I’ll be elaborating more in my interview with the Spinnaker at 2:30 p.m.
