The USG General Assembly on Feb. 27, 2019. USG elected Sarah Schmidt as Speaker of the General Assembly Wednesday night following the resignation of former Speaker Alex Poling. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Lantern File Photo
Ohio State’s Undergraduate Student Government elected Sarah Schmidt as Speaker of the General Assembly Wednesday night following the resignation of former Speaker Alex Poling.
Schmidt, a second-year in politics, philosophy, and economics, stepped down from her role as secretary to fill the speaker position. Mykenna Roy, a second-year in biology and public management, leadership, and policy, was elected shortly after the speakership election to fill the newly opened secretary vacancy. Poling did not offer a public explanation for the resignation.
Poling’s resignation marks the second departure for the 56th General Assembly this year, as former Speaker Aiden McLaughlin resigned over the summer in order to enlist in the National Guard.
“Being elected as the new Speaker of the General Assembly means being a mentor and example for senators and the student body,” Schmidt said. “Through being speaker, I can help senators advocate on behalf of their constituents and make changes here on campus. I can ensure that we are efficient and accurate during meetings while being an example of how to act both inside and out of the chamber.”
The actual process for how the role of the speakership is determined isn’t as simple as a normal popular vote. Instead, senators already elected to their positions by the Ohio State student body vote on a speaker in a session closed to the public.
USG President Bobby McAlpine, a fourth-year in regional planning and political science, likened the speakership election to the processes used in the U.S. House of Representatives for electing a Speaker of the House.
“Of course, all of the states and all of the districts elect people to the House, and within the House, they elect their own leadership,” McAlpine said. “Basically, people nominate themselves [for the role of speaker] and make a speech to the general assembly. After the speeches, individuals in the executive session have the chance to ask the candidates questions — the same questions for every single applicant — and everyone in the general assembly not running for the speakership deliberates before voting.”
McAlpine said voting in a closed session is standard procedure as spelled out in the USG bylaws for the general assembly. As of Feb. 29., the most up-to-date bylaws uploaded on the USG website are from 2011.
Schmidt’s term as Speaker of the General Assembly will conclude on Mar. 27 when the current USG semester comes to a close.
