Post Graduate Students’ Society VP External Ryan Hughes resigned this past Friday due to “ethical issues” that surfaced in a recent executive committee meeting.
Hughes stated that legal obligations restrict him from disclosing information pertaining to his resignation.
“The reason is I have ethical issues,” he said. “The disclosure of my resignation wouldn’t be…good for the PGSS. My resignation…still stands, but I can’t go beyond that point”
Hughes said he had told other PGSS executives that he was considering resignation, but officially resigned Friday.
“I had a conversation with the President [Alexandra Bishop] and I had a conversation with some of the staff at the PGSS, and I just made the decision that I don’t want to continue on with it,” said Hughes.
“Basically now it’s just extricating myself from the PGSS,” he added.
Bishop said Hughes was resigning because he didn’t agree with one of the motions passed at the PGSS Executive Committee meeting yesterday. She added that the executive is reconsidering the motion because they feel they did not have enough information at the time to make an informed decision on the issue.
According to Bishop the decision to reconsider was not related to Hughes decision.
“We are currently reconsidering it, I don’t know what effect that will have on Ryan’s position,” she said.
“I’m hoping that because we are reconsidering this motion, and taking it very seriously, that we can work things out, because I’d rather have a strong executive the rest of the year, but obviously his faith has been damaged. There’s not much that can be done,” she continued.
One PGSS executive has already resigned this year. There has been an executive resignation every year for the past four years.
PGSS VP Finance and Daily columnist Adrian Kaats said Hughes’ resignation could be more tied to burn-out than opposition to the executive committee motion.
“He said he had a problem with the motion that we passed. We undid the motion, but he is maintaining that he doesn’t want to finish his term,” said Kaats.
“So far he doesn’t seem to be changing his mind,” he continued. “He’s sticking to his guns, which indicates to a lot of us that it really doesn’t have much to do with the motion per say. It’s more just that he’s exhausted.”
“I do hope we will have open communication and resolve the issue,” she said.