Simar Kalkat formally resigned as Ohio University’s Student Senate treasurer Monday, effective immediately.
On Feb. 16, voting members of Senate elected to remove Kalkat as treasurer following a vote of no confidence. In that vote, Senate’s voting members were asked if Kalkat’s conduct and performance were such that she should be removed from office. Kalkat received 11 “yea” votes and four “nay” votes, which met the threshold for removal.
However, on Feb. 23, Kalkat was reinstated as treasurer following the reading of a letter from Senate stating the vote was void, according to a previous Post report.
In her resignation email, Kalkat said she started experiencing issues within Senate beginning in August 2021. However, she said February 2022 was the “cherry on top” of the problems she experienced in Senate.
Prior to the vote of no confidence in February, former Chief Justice Hannah Fleming read an anonymous statement submitted by a member of Senate regarding the use of Kalkat’s university purchasing card, according to a previous Post report. The statement expressed concerns that Kalkat had used the card to buy a plane ticket to Austin, Texas, which was later proven incorrect. Kalkat said the vote of no confidence may have been influenced by that statement.
Kalkat added in her resignation that she was further upset by Senate's actions following the reading of the anonymous statement, which she said she feels has not had adequate consequences.
Kalkat said she believes the executive officer positions, graduate advisor position, Judicial Panel and Senate as a whole need to be reevaluated.
“I'm just trying to share with students that if you have a strong conviction for something, hell yeah, fight for what you need to fight for, but at the end of the day, also have so much self respect that you can just leave from a position that isn't serving you, that doesn't respect you, that doesn't value you,” Kalkat said.
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