ASUCI senators approved interim Internal Vice President (IVP) Spring Momeni’s executive adjunct on Oct. 28. Formerly the Biological Sciences senator, Momeni was appointed IVP during the Senate’s previous weekly meeting on Oct. 21. The position was vacant as the previous IVP-elect, Victory Ogbonnaya, was removed and barred from holding office for 18 months in June.
Over the summer, Momeni was appointed interim IVP after a confidential selection process by the Executive Cabinet. During the meeting in October, President Alondra Arevalo presented R61-25 to confirm the Executive Cabinet’s selection process and to confirm Momeni’s interim position.
Interim IVP Momeni’s executive adjunct — put forward by Senators Amelia Nguyen and Samantha Salazar as legislation R61-36 — focuses on establishing the core functions of the Office of the IVP. These functions include ensuring undergraduate student representation on campus advisory boards, providing equitable ASUCI funding for student organizations, enhancing campus sustainability through community gardens and onboarding new ASUCI staff.
The adjunct includes expanding outreach for advisory boards through quarterly information sessions, monthly town halls, a drive for increased student surveying and more events like workshops for the Student Programming Funding Board and ASUCI gardens.
According to the ASUCI Constitution, in the event of a vacancy in an elected executive officer’s position, the Executive Cabinet must select someone who will serve as the interim executive officer. If confirmed by the Senate by a two-thirds majority vote, the interim executive officer will serve until a special election for the vacant position is held.
“According to our governing documents, we [the Executive Cabinet] can just select [an interim] without interviewing anyone,” Arevalo told New University in later email correspondence on Momeni’s appointment. “However we wanted to create fairness for the people who reached out to us.”
During the summer, three individuals — all initially suggested by the Executive Cabinet — expressed interest in the position of interim IVP. The Executive Cabinet proceeded to send interview invitations to these three candidates, requesting that each candidate send their plans for policy, advocacy, staffing and budget plans in writing. Only Momeni responded to the request for documentation by the set deadline.When asked whether there were any plans to amend or clarify the Constitution’s language on appointments, Arevalo said that although amendments are typically the Senate’s responsibility, she plans to clarify the process in the ASUCI Constitution.
“I would like to see [the process] outlined how the process is conducted, as there was not much clarity on how we could do it,” Arevalo told New University via email.“I am planning on doing this through the Ad Hoc Bylaw Review Committee, where we are outlining a new set of bylaws to be in line with the new ASUCI Constitution that was confirmed by the student body last election cycle.”
Following 10 minutes of closed discussion, Momeni’s appointment was confirmed by the Senate in a 15-0 vote on Oct. 21. Momeni herself voted to abstain in her role as Biological Sciences Senator during the vote, as required by the ASUCI bylaws, resigning after the vote.
With the passage of the IVP adjunct, Momeni will fulfill her duties as interim IVP until a special election for the office is held, pending guidance from SGSM professional staff according to Arevalo.
Hugo Lai is a News Intern for the fall 2025 quarter. He can be reached at hlai7@uci.edu.