USUAA president resigns

Facing impeachment, Luis Sanchez-Ulloa — president of the Union of Students at the University of Alaska Anchorage (USUAA) — resigned at the organization’s general meeting on Friday, Nov. 8, officially stepping down the following Monday, Nov. 11.

The decision to impeach Sanchez-Ulloa came after members of the USUAA assembly became frustrated with his conduct as president. According to the drafted articles of impeachment that were set to be filed, Sanchez-Ulloa was reportedly in violation of various USUAA rules for membership. Among those violations include “tardiness,” “dress code,” “a case from resident life,” “setting a bad image for USUAA” and “not providing leadership.”

Former USUAA Vice President Eisa Chang — having now stepped into the role of president — gave insight into the alleged dysfunction during Sanchez-Ulloa's time in office. The pair set many goals during their campaign, including expansion of the Seawolf Shuttle service, increased communication between the student body and USUAA and increasing investments in Disability Support Services.

Chang said that once elected, Sanchez-Ulloa was largely unable to deliver on his campaign promises and struggled to meet the demands of his position. “There was a lack of communication between the executive and the members … that was not my responsibility, but President Sanchez-Ulloa's,” said Chang.

Chang said Sanchez-Ulloa had an inability to complete tasks required of the president, despite repeated attempts to “help him fit in the role and adjust to the role.”

In an interview with The Northern Light, Sanchez-Ulloa admitted that there were problems during his time as president. Sanchez-Ulloa said these issues ranged from conflicts within USUAA to issues he was facing in his personal life.

Sanchez-Ulloa explained that his car was stolen on Sept. 8, “that was about two weeks worth of looking through every single street, every single other way in Anchorage, trying to find it. And I did find it, but it was at an awkward time; it was right during our USUAA retreat, and that was one of my absences throughout the semester.” Sanchez-Ulloa said that was his “only real absence” from the organization this semester.

Sanchez-Ulloa said he had another absence in September for a debate tournament.

“Then from late September to around early October, I was still trying to get the hang of the role,” said Sanchez-Ulloa. “I was figuring out how to write emails or how to CC, BCC, forwarding, all that stuff because I hadn't known how that works. I should have asked for more help and feedback early on.”

Sanchez-Ulloa also had issues with his phone this semester that caused trouble communicating with other USUAA members. He said he tried for approximately a month to fix his phone, and had to begin memorizing people’s phone numbers out of fear that his phone wouldn’t keep his contacts saved.

Sanchez-Ulloa said he reflected on his misfortunes and realized too many events had happened this semester. This reflection caused him to quit his job as an Uber driver.

Two days after deciding to quit his job, Sanchez-Ulloa said he began to “hear rumors of the word ‘impeachment’.”

Sanchez-Ulloa said he began to ask fellow USUAA members for feedback. He said, “in general, I was met with, ‘oh, I don't wanna talk about it.’ ‘Oh, I'm just gonna head out.’”

Chang told The Northern Light that this behavior was because USUAA members were mentally preparing themselves for the impeachment process in which they would potentially have to perform public testimony against him. “Why would you put in effort or attention on this person that you were going to contest as incompetent?”

Sanchez-Ulloa also said that there was a Residence Life case against him. “I was doing something that was not really a normal thing, rebuilding an automobile engine in my own dorm,” he said. The engine was found during a fire drill when a residence housing employee opened the door to Sanchez-Ulloa's room and found a "massive" engine.

Sanchez-Ulloa said a case was also under investigation by Residence Life for a physical altercation that occurred near campus. He said that he was walking to the Taco Bell on Tudor Road when he received a call from a friend about a fight at the northeast corner of Tudor and Elmore. “I see the fight, I stop it … and I felt like I did something, you know … no one was stopping these guys. They were just hurting each other. I stepped in and stopped it,” said Sanchez-Ulloa. “But that wasn't the end of it, because someone got mad that I stopped the fight or whatever, and then that's when they started kicking me.”

Sanchez-Ulloa said he was not seriously injured during the altercation.

Sanchez-Ulloa said, “It felt weird that they're (USUAA) using that (the altercation) against me, especially something that has nothing to do with this.”

Chang said that Sanchez-Ulloa’s vigilante activities put the organization’s image at risk while also unnecessarily putting himself in harm’s way. “I had known he got himself involved in this kind of vigilante situation many times, and I asked him to protect himself. And I asked him to protect the reputation of USUAA many times and he did not listen.”

Sanchez-Ulloa said that resigning was a hard choice and it took him several days to finally decide on doing so. He said he wanted an extra chance and that he was not given one.

Sanchez-Ulloa said he also made his decision based on how he was treated once the articles of impeachment became more well-known. “No one had talked to me the whole week … and every time I'd asked for feedback or advice, I was mocked or disrespected. People would mock my voice,” he said.

When asked if she knew of mockery aimed at Sanchez-Ulloa, Chang said that, to her knowledge, he was not mocked by members of USUAA in the lead-up to his resignation. 

Sanchez-Ulloa said, “I think people had made their own opinions about me and then one person had the thought of impeachment and then (the thought) spread. I don't have too much evidence to support this, but this is just what it feels like, because this whole past semester, it felt like everyone was in good spirits, you know, everyone was willing to work in USUAA pretty well. So it hit me like a truck seeing that, suddenly, a lot of members wanted me to be gone.”

Sanchez-Ulloa told The Northern Light that, ultimately, he felt betrayed by the organization.

“The last two weeks of me being in USUAA was just filled with so much negativity. It was pretty outrageous. So that's ultimately what made me resign is just … too much negativity,” said Sanchez-Ulloa.

Sanchez-Ulloa said that he was called a “bitch” by Chang during an executive meeting in the lead up to his resignation. USUAA Advisor Zac Clark, who was present at the meeting, confirmed with TNL that this occurred. Clark is also the administrative advisor to The Northern Light.

Chang told The Northern Light that she did use the expletive against Sanchez-Ulloa. She said that, while it might not have been the appropriate term to use, it was justified because of the built up tension in the meeting that had resulted from Sanchez-Ulloa’s failure to set the agenda and lead.

“I think it's fair because for me to wipe your ass, to take on your responsibility and to basically do this meeting where you're literally sitting and just doing whatever and you just jump into the conversation where you think it's somehow appropriate … I think, in that moment, was it appropriate to use the term? It was not. Was it justified? Absolutely, yes,” said Chang.

Near the conclusion of the interview with Chang, she highlighted how big of a step impeachment is. “Within the office, there were discussions on the idea of impeachment, but to actually act on it, it's a really formal process.” She also said “he's going through a lot in his life, but student government has given him warning and due process. We shouldn't have to threaten a person to do their job.”

“He may promise that he's going to do better, but if he could have done better, four or five or six months in, I wouldn't have had to go through all the stress of managing both his side and the delegates and senators,” said Chang. 

Going forward, Eisa Chang will serve as the president of USUAA and, at the time of writing, is looking for someone to assume the role of vice president.

Chang said the organization has passed a resolution to increase dining accessibility for people with dietary restrictions and is actively working on another that will provide free access to menstrual products in campus bathrooms. These resolutions had been put together by senators and delegates throughout Sanchez-Ulloa's time in office and were in wait of executive action.

Chang is also working to make USUAA more accessible to advocacy from the student body, a promise from last year's candidate debate that she said she intends to follow through on in her new position.