Former CAB president frustrated with group

Former+CAB+president+frustrated+with+group

by Jasmynne Sloan

Former Campus Activities Board president, junior Kim Lamon, resigned recently due to her dissatisfaction with several aspects of the organization.

“I’m frustrated because we have so much potential, and it’s just not being realized,” said Lamon. “I was having trouble keeping the people in CAB motivated, how was I supposed to motivate other people to come to our events?”

“There isn’t a specific policy regarding resignation,” said assistant dean of students and CAB advisor Rich Ramos. “If someone’s really unhappy or something comes up, they’re free to go.”

“I had been thinking about resigning this summer because I knew I was going to be encountering a much heavier class load,” said Lamon. “I didn’t quit due to one specific event, I just looked back on what my experience in CAB had been and what it could potentially be.”

While president of CAB, Lamon worked to improve the internal structure of the group. The organization revised its constitution last year and established new executive offices.

“We rewrote the constitution so that students would have a lot more leadership and control in CAB,” said Lamon.

Other members of CAB felt that the changes were helping the organization.

“The new constitution gives more responsibility to those who want it, and it gives some incentive for CAB members to be more enthusiastic,” said former events chair, junior Sara Neppl.

However, Lamon does not believe students are really in charge of what CAB does.

“Once we’ve made a decision about something, it’s taken out of our hands,” she said. “We sit there waiting when we should be contacting people and making phone calls.”

Recently appointed CAB president, sophomore Andrew Merrill, sees things differently. “Students have just about all the control in CAB,” he said. “We vote on what we want to do and then Rich Ramos tells us if it’s possible.”

“Our advisor needs to take a step back, tell us what needs to be done and then let us go do it,” said Lamon.

“The students make all the decisions,” said Ramos. “I just do the paperwork and negotiate prices and dates.”

Another area that Lamon said needs improvement is CAB’s involvement with student government. The presidents of CAB and Religious Life Council are allowed to sit in on the meetings where student government’s funds are allocated to different organizations on campus.

“It’s ridiculous that the two largest budgeted groups get to be there to defend their proposals while the smaller ones aren’t able to. In order to make it a more level playing field, everyone should be allowed to be there,” said Lamon.

“CAB and RLC’s presidents get to be at those meetings because they are student body officers. They are members of the cabinet. In a way, they serve as a kind student body vice president,” said Jake Abel, student body president.

“We’re on the right track,” said membership chair, sophomore Nicole Molt. “There are always things that can be improved on because the student body is always changing, and we try to change with them.”

Ramos is not worried about the future of CAB. “This organization will continue to do what needs done. Fortunate or not, business must go on,” he said.

“CAB is already set up and running well, and I don’t plan on making any major changes in that,” said Merrill. “What will help us the most is getting more people involved in our activities and more suggestions from the student body.”

Despite her experiences with CAB, Lamon still wants to help the organization.

“I still would like to be involved in CAB, but I know its going to take a lot of time and effort. We all need to be a part of the process of changing CAB and making it better,” said Lamon.

“I hope my resignation creates the opportunity for people to reflect on what’s going on in CAB,” said Lamon. “I hope it makes them think about the direction they see the organization heading.”