Chief of Staff PJ Alampi resigned from his position in the Student Association Wednesday, citing discontent with leadership within the organization.

“The time that I have spent with the Student Association has given me some of the most rewarding moments in my college career,” Alampi wrote in a one-page resignation letter. “Unfortunately with the current state of the organization and leadership, I can no longer properly support its endeavors.”

Alampi’s resignation comes after an eventful week for the Student Association that has included an emergency cabinet meeting, a call for the president’s resignation and investigations into the conduct of four cabinet members, including Alampi. Though the recently unfolding events factored into Alampi’s decision to step down, he said he considered resigning weeks earlier.

Having cycled through three years worth of presidencies and initiatives, Alampi said the organization he entered is not the organization it is today. He has seen SA evolve into a robust group of more than 50 representatives. But he also expressed dissatisfaction that the organization has focused more on developing processes internally instead of serving as an advocate for students.

“The current state of the organization focuses a lot on creating our own concepts, instead of taking advantage of what our student organizations have already provided,” he said. “I’m not looking to recreate the wheel. I’m looking to enhance the wheel.”

Simply, Alampi said, he wanted to move on and allow newcomers to have the experiences he has enjoyed.

Prior to assuming the chief of staff role, Alampi served as the chair of the association’s Board of Membership and Election and Student Life committees. He finished second to Curtis in the fall presidential election.

Due to his concerns regarding leadership in the organization, Alampi first considered resigning weeks before the March 28 emergency cabinet meeting in which Curtis was asked to step down by a 7-2 vote. Declining to resign, Curtis managed to stave off impeachment following a six-hour executive session during Monday’s meeting in Maxwell Auditorium.

The resolution requesting Curtis’ resignation claimed she knowingly permitted Colin Crowley, former public relations director, to serve in an official capacity in the organization without being enrolled as a student.

As chief of staff, Alampi maintains he advised Curtis to request Crowley’s resignation during multiple points in the semester. Alampi took responsibility for withholding information that Crowley was a non-matriculated student and for not being more insistent with Curtis in pressing for his resignation.

“It’s definitely a loss to the university and to the organization,” Curtis said of Alampi’s resignation. “I know he’s going to be doing great things in other capacities.”

She added that she has a replacement for chief of staff in mind, but declined to name the person.

Beyond the Student Association, Alampi plans on working to address restrictions on campus gender-inclusive housing and will continue serving in his roles as Syracuse University Alumni Board representative for the class of 2014 and as student representative on the university’s chancellor search committee.

In regard to the criticism students have dealt SA about their handling of all that has unfolded in the last week, Alampi requested they bear in mind that SA members are students too.

“For everything that SA has been through, take it easy on them,” he said. “They’re students trying to work for you and trying to make a change on this campus.”

Published on April 4, 2013 at 1:03 am

Contact Debbie: dbtruong@syr.edu | @debbietruong