SU executive Benton, VP of public relations, resigns

| Editor-in-Chief

Brian Benton, Student Union vice president of public relations, has resigned his post effective immediately, SU announced in a press release Tuesday morning.

Benton, a junior, tendered his resignation in a letter on Monday, citing personal reasons. According to SU’s press release, Benton “determined that his time could be more effectively used elsewhere.”

Benton was elected to SU’s Executive Board last spring as part of the Elevate! slate, alongside now-seniors Emma Tyler, Vivek Biswas and Nick Palermo and now-junior Laura Roettges. In his tenure as VP of public relations, Benton focused on redesigning the Student Union website and working to increase SU’s communications with the student body.

“It has been my privilege to serve the school and work with this dedicated group of co-officers,” Benton wrote in a portion of the resignation letter released by SU. “I am grateful for all the experiences and the skills I have developed, and I take pride in our accomplishments.”

According to Student Life archives, Benton is the first SU Exec member to resign from his position since fall 2009, when two Exec members resigned—one for personal reasons and one out of frustration with SU’s bureaucratic structure.

In its schoolwide SUp This Week email on Tuesday morning, the Elevate! administration announced the open position and asked interested students to apply, marking Friday, Jan. 30 as the application deadline. The Exec board hopes to choose a replacement, who will then need to be confirmed by SU Senate and Treasury, within the next two weeks, according to its press release.

In the meantime, Biswas, the vice president of administration, will be handling PR communication duties.

Check Thursday’s issue of Student Life for more information and a full story.

Editor’s note: Benton is also a photographer for Student Life.

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