As the semester begins, all Student Government Association members are unable to speak to SGA President Dylan Andrews after a no contact order sent on Dec. 7.
The no contact order was sent from Dean of Student Life Lina Blair to members of SGA and outlined the restriction members can have with Andrews. These include the stop of visiting, speaking, phone calls, texts and social media contact. The email also addressed that members who received the no contact order could not use third parties to maintain contact with Andrews. They could, however, reach out to local law enforcement in order to legally investigate the matter, without fear of repercussions by the university.
In addition to the no-contact order, an email was sent out Jan. 6 from Administrative Assistant Sarah Youngs to SGA members cancelling the first meeting of the year.
“We will not be meeting this upcoming Tuesday for our Student Government meeting on 1/9/24 ,” the email read.
As of Tuesday, Jan. 9, there is no available information for when the SGA will again meet.
After reaching out to SGA student leadership and members, the Torch received no comments. SGA’s administrative advisors, Vice President of Student Affairs Jeanine Ward-Roof and Executive Assistant to the Vice President of Student Affairs Angie Hollister, were also unavailable for comment.
Vice President for Marketing and Communications Dave Murray emailed the Torch a statement about the events.
“The safety of our students is a top priority,” Murray wrote. “Ferris State takes seriously any concerns raised by students and follows a process to fairly and thoroughly look into those concerns. This process is ongoing, and it would be inappropriate for us to discuss it at this time.”
This comes after President Andrews and fellow executive board members passed a SGA bill allocating funds to the group’s president and vice president. Andrews previously explained that the bill was passed with the intention of matching other universities’ payment systems and encouraging SGA membership. The groups current membership stands at less than 10 students.