Last Tuesday, Nikhil Srinidhi was appointed as another one of two student senators representing the Engineering Undergraduate Society (EUS) following the resignation of the previous senator, Edward Chiang, on Oct. 3.

Chiang resigned because his internship this semester at Research in Motion in Ottawa made it difficult for him to attend EUS and Senate meetings. Haley Dinel, Vice-President University Affairs for the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU), said she and Chiang had attempted to work around his schedule throughout September.

“I worked out a plan with [Chiang], during the summer months …  to [arrange] a feasible schedule, with the understanding that he would be on probation during September,” Dinel said.  “During that month, I consulted with EUS [executives] and council, as well as Senate caucus—which informed my decision to ask for his resignation.”

Chiang agreed with the decision and is appreciative of Dinel’s and EUS’s cooperation throughout the process.

“Not being physically on campus was becoming an issue,” Chiang said. “I tried to Skype in on the first EUS council, but it was hard to communicate properly. It was impossible for me to travel to Montreal from Ottawa twice a week. The general consensus from EUS [was] that I simply [could not] fulfill my role effectively.”

According to Dinel, the resignation of senators has occurred frequently in the past. Although faculty representatives to Senate are usually elected, the SSMU bylaws mandate that, in the case of a resignation, a new senator is chosen through an application process. SSMU senators interview candidates, and then select someone for the position by a majority vote.

Srinidhi said he looks forward to working on the Senate, and that his goals include improving the classroom experience of engineering students.

“I believe this will be the perfect way for me to work with like-minded colleagues at the helm of the student body,” he said. “I want to be a voice for the students at McGill—a voice through which they can see their concerns being addressed in a sincere yet effective way.”