WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY’S STUDENT NEWS SOURCE SINCE 1896 www.thesunflower.com
Sept. 7, 2023
Volume 128 Issue 3
Okere administration impeachment petition circulates on campus, SGA president responds BY COURTNEY BROWN newsprojects@thesunflower.com
Less than a week after a former Student Government Association senator asked the president and vice president to resign, posters appeared in various buildings around campus on Tuesday, calling for the Okere administration’s impeachment. Vishnu Avva, a former at-large senator, spoke at the Student Government Association (SGA) meeting last Wednesday, calling for the resignation of Student Body President Iris Okere and Vice President Sophie Martins. He spoke on the need to address “corruption happening behind the scenes by the student body president.” Avva said he was denied an interview after applying to be the legislative and policy affairs director under the Okere administration, which he said impacts Okere’s ability to determine who is most qualified
for the role. Avva also said that many others, including six members of the president’s cabinet, did not apply for their nominated positions and were held to a different standard than other applicants. The posters stating “Impeach the Okere Administration” echo Avva’s sentiments, listing the following reasons the administration should be impeached: • “for corruption & defrauding of the student body” • “violating their oath of office and the constitution of the Student Government” • “hiring friends and romantic partners who are paid with tens of thousands of dollars of your student fee money.” Another version of the posters states that “the Okere administration should resign,” listing the same reasons as above. Both versions of posters also feature a QR code, where students can sign a petition to impeach
“ These illegitimate appointments are making decisions that affect the student body, and they should be stopped. VISHNU AVVA Former at-large SGA senator
Okere and share their reasons for doing so. In May, there were concerns about Okere appointing Martins’ partner Kyan Caudillo to the position of director of health and wellness. According to Gabriel Fonseca, who helps advise SGA, all leadership positions that hold office hours are compensated by the association. On Tuesday, Avva posted on the Wichita State Class of 2024’s public Snapchat a picture of one of the impeachment posters hanging in Lindquist. In a message to The Sunflower, Avva said he did not create posters or petitions, but he
thought they were “awesome” and decided to share them. “When you’re defrauding the student body by going against the rules of SGA, you need to be held accountable,” Avva said. “Choosing your friends for positions they never even applied for is disgusting,” Avva said.”These illegitimate appointments are making decisions that affect the student body, and they should be stopped.” At the SGA meeting on Aug. 30, Okere left shortly after Avva’s call for her resignation, and Martins didn’t comment, stating that she and Okere needed to meet with Amy Nguyen, their public relations director.
RESPONSE FROM OKERE Okere responded to the calls for her impeachment at the State of the Student Body, calling them “accusations of falsehoods” and “manipulation by disgruntled individuals.” She said she initially
GOING FOR A STROLL The National Pan-Hellenic Council showed off their organizations at the Yard Show on Aug. 31. The event was meant to showcase “talent, history, and tradition.”
Jayden Johnson strolls with a smile at the National Pan-Hellenic Council Yard Show on Aug. 31. Johnson serves as the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity vice president at Wichita State. | Photos by Jocelynn Cavender / The Sunflower
Members of Delta Sigma Theta show off their skills at the National PanHellenic Council Yard Show.
Tamia Trotter and Ananda Smith show their skills at the National PanHellenic Council Yard Show. The two were a part of the Sigma Gamma Rho sorority.
didn’t want to respond and “give attention to the political and nasty games that people wanted to play in my name.” “(The accusations are) based on false information created by individuals who believe that they know what is best,” Okere said. “They’re painting a picture of someone that I’m not.” Okere said she stands by every decision she has made, stating they were all “thoughtful and honest,” and that she will not stand for attacks on her character. “For far too long, this negative dark cloud was surrounding SGA because vulgar disagreements are because of deceptions that have been made up by people,” Okere said. Okere said she does not plan to spend any more time responding to the allegations and will continue to serve the student body. “I represent 70,000 Shockers, and a few will not deter me from accomplishing the commitment,” Okere said.
Student body president addresses organizations’ budget cuts, announces upcoming projects BY COURTNEY BROWN newsprojects@thesunflower.com
Leaders in the Student Government Association (SGA) discussed their goals and priorities for this academic year at the State of the Student Body on Wednesday evening. Student Body President Iris Okere touched on how the funding committee allocated funding to recognized student organizations. Out of the requested total of $722,000, SGA could originally only allocate $165,000; $15,000 was later added from SGA’s reserves, for a total of $180,000. The funding committee underwent three rounds of assigning appropriations. Several organizations spoke at the SGA meeting on Aug. 23 to share how their severe funding cuts would impact them, with some stating their organizations were at risk. The organizations in the College of Engineering said that the college provides them space but no funding. “This is a call for help from the college deans to contribute to the success of these imperative organizations under their stature,” Okere said. During the third round on Aug. 30, the Indian Student Association had the largest budget cut, which was originally allocated $10,000 but was reduced to $6,900. Four other organizations lost over $2,000. According to Okere, 13 underserved groups were defunded between the second and third rounds “to support larger initiatives.” Okere announced the Appropriations Relief Act, her newly authored funding bill, which would request $33,000 from SGA’s contingency fund to help alleviate the affected organizations’ budget cuts and raise the funding back to “the initial allocation from round one of the process.” “I was and continue to be very disappointed with the appropriations allocations. It doesn’t sit right with me,” Okere said. “Several of these organizations tend to always get looked past.” Okere called on the Senate to swiftly pass the bill and issued an order for the Student Senate to meet on Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. to discuss the bill. Read the rest at thesunflower.com