PSGA Senate Preemptively Impeaches Coordinator of Finance
- Jennifer Ward
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
By Jennifer Ward and Arlenis Marmolejos
The Purchase Student Government Association (PSGA) Senate preemptively impeached Coordinator of Finance Neena Govea on April 30 from her upcoming fall semester term, following her resignation earlier this semester.
In a vote of five to two, the Senate voted to impeach Govea. The resolution stated that Govea failed to fulfill responsibilities associated with the position, violated PSGA bylaws, delayed reimbursements, reports of financial discrepancies, and lacked responsiveness from clubs and services – including the Purchase Phoenix – participation in multiple human resources (HR) meetings and failure to take accountability.
Including the Executive board (E-Board), senators and administration, there were 25 people in attendance in the Presidential Conference Room inside the Student Services Building. The impeachment proceeding ran for about an hour.
The resolution was personally signed by PSGA President Sophia Pallozzi, Vice President (VP) Rachael Girsang, Coordinator of Clubs and Organizations (CoCos) Madison Valdez, Chair of Senate Orion Morgan and Student Activities Director Harley Colletti.
Govea resigned from her position on March 24. According to Govea, she was given an ultimatum by the current E-Board to either improve at the job, step down from the position or be impeached.
However, Govea was reelected for the 2025-2026 semester, announced on March 16 in a blast email from the Coordinator of Public Affairs, Sedajah Lance-Stewart.
According to emails presented as evidence between Govea and Girsang, Govea asked Girsang on March 23 if she would still hold the role of coordinator of finance for the upcoming year if she stepped down, in which Girsang confirmed Govea would still hold the position.
“After seeing the decisions that have been made, I realize I was never truly given a fair chance or choice,” wrote Govea to Grisang.
However, the decision to impeach Govea for the upcoming semester came after it was discovered that an estimated $6,300 was missing in the Culture Shock budget, according to the resolution. According to Valdez, the budget was incorrect, which led to the questioning of the budget for other organizations, services and clubs on campus.
“It [the discrepancy with the Culture Shock budget] still shouldn’t have been something that happened in the first place because it was a lot of money that was shown, and when I was actually given the proper amount, that money was taken away in a sense,” said Major Event Coordinator (MEC) Mitchell Barcus.
In the resolution to impeach Govea, it was written that Students of Caribbean Ancestry, Hillel of Westchester, Afrodisiac, Latine Unidos and Organization of African People in the Americas were affected by alleged incorrect budgets made by Govea.
The only E-Board member besides the coordinator of finance missing from the signatures on the resolution was Lance-Stewart.
“The reason I didn’t sign the letter is just because I think that when we made the promise to somebody, we should keep it,” said Lance-Stewart during the meeting, regarding the confirmation Govea received that she could keep her position in the upcoming year. “I can definitely see that Neena is trying, and that’s what makes me believe that next year she can definitely do better.”
At the beginning of the meeting, Govea stated that she didn’t believe she neglected communication with the E-Board, but she felt uncomfortable speaking with them and found the environment unwelcoming.
“All of us have said that we are there for you, and that may not be as friends because we’re not friends, but as coworkers,” said Girsang in response during the meeting. “When someone else does something wrong in their position, it affects all of us, and we all have to pick up the slack and figure out how to move forward past that.”
During the meeting, members highlighted Govea’s communication issues with both the E-Board and the finance committee, which she attributed to her hectic schedule. She expressed confidence that a lighter workload next semester would enable her to improve, provided she was not impeached.
Valdez responded, although Govea plans to work on her communication, that was a main concern. “I’m not really sure how I can see it improving if even your own finance committee can’t rely on communication with you.”
Colletti stated that while working in the PSGA is stressful and overwhelming, “When we become too overwhelmed, it is our responsibility to do what's right for the student body: even if that means stepping down.” Colletti also highlighted the fact that the impeachment was not personal.
Govea also stated that the current E-Board should have “no right” to bring forward this resolution, as everyone on the current E-Board is not returning for the fall E-Board. Girsang, however, stated that they brought this forward due to concerns being brought to them by the upcoming E-Board as well.
Nellie Duggan-Haas, the PSGA president-elect for the next academic year, expressed regret over how events unfolded but emphasized the importance of accountability.
“It’s unfortunate Neena was initially told she’d retain the position, only for that to change,” she said. Duggan-Haas noted the lack of candidates for key roles like finance and stressed the need for higher performance standards.
“We can’t let empathy guide every decision,” she said, adding that despite good intentions, Govea had been previously warned about her job performance. “Impeachments in the PSGA suck,” she admitted, “but we have to prioritize smooth operations moving forward.”
Govea also stated she felt unprepared for the role and that she was not trained properly. However, both Girsang and Valdez stated that none of the E-Board members were trained for their position and emphasized reaching out and helping each other when learning the role.
There were also multiple instances in which budget discrepancies were mentioned, including confusion on who approved certain budget requests, although it was recorded as approved by Govea.
It was also mentioned that Govea was involved in multiple HR meetings this semester regarding budget concerns.
“In the real world, they don’t do that,” said Girsang regarding the number of HR meetings held with Govea. “They don’t have more than two HR meetings explaining what you need to work on.”
Many people brought up concerns about the number of impeachments throughout the academic year, with Govea’s being the fourth. This includes former MEC Bernie Manzolillo, former PSGA President Me’ilani Nelson, and former General Programming Coordinator Emani Blakney-Perryman.
Duggan-Haas criticized the impeachment process as overly punitive, saying, “They’ve become public humiliation trials, often with subjective and personal feelings involved.”
The PSGA Senate’s decision to impeach Govea was supported by PSGA Advisor Jessica Bullock, who described the outcome as unfortunate but necessary. “It doesn’t make anybody feel good,” she said, noting that impeachment has taken on a negative, public tone.
Bullock has acknowledged the current interim finance coordinator and incoming CoCos, Victor Vyssotski, and the work he has done over the last few weeks since Govea’s resignation.
“I do support the facts of the case, and I do think that [Vyssotski] has been doing an amazing job just in the last couple of weeks that he stepped into the role," said Bullock. "I just think it will be what’s best for the PSGA for next year.”
“The impeachment was a difficult situation to go through, and I empathize with everyone who is affected,” said Vyssotski in a statement to The Phoenix.
Incoming VP and current PSGA graphic designer, Jason Berry, stated that although he did not work with Govea directly, he was familiar with numerous issues raised. “Of course, it's unfortunate that we have had so many impeachments this year, and I wish it weren’t so, however, I think it's more crucial that we have people that are equipped for such important roles like PSGA E-Board,” he wrote in a statement to The Phoenix. “The mistakes that were made this year can't be swept under the rug or brought into this new year.”
“I honestly hope that there doesn’t need to be any more impeachments [next year.] I think they are very draining, and especially when it’s from the E-Board, it’s not fun,” said Valdez to The Phoenix after the meeting. “There are two sides to it, but at the end of the day, nobody wants to do that. I don’t want to have to sit there and say you’re not doing your job. So I just hope whoever fills that position, and all the positions, honestly, for the E-Board next year, lock in.”
Regardless, many highlighted how they feel this impeachment showed the consequences of the importance of fulfilling your job outside of a college campus environment.
“The lack of accountability baffles me. In the real world, you don’t have this many chances to keep your position, especially if you have repeatedly failed to show any progress,” wrote Girsang in a statement to The Phoenix.
“Don’t do a job that you can’t do,” said Barcus in a statement to The Phoenix. “I think [Govea] just made a lot of mistakes this year that could not be looked over. Of course, you don’t want to see somebody not have a job, but at the same time, certain things genuinely need to happen. People are genuinely replaceable.”
The Vice President for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management, Patty Bice, voiced support for the Senate’s decision, emphasizing the care taken in reaching their conclusion. “It’s unfortunate, but I support the senators and their decision,” Bice said.
“I think they were very mature and thoughtful in their reasoning.” She added that her conversation with the senators reflected the seriousness with which they approached the matter.
Morgan stated how he supported the Senate’s vote, and although the E-Board tried to avoid an impeachment, they felt as though they had no choice.
“It was a tense environment because chairing a meeting like this is important to get everyone’s point of view and having everyone feel heard,” said Morgan after the meeting.
Govea left during the vote and was present when the results were announced. She wrote in a statement to The Phoenix how she was disappointed, but believes that something better will be coming her way.
“I joined PSGA with the intention of doing good and making a positive difference under the PSGA name,” wrote Govea. “However, not feeling welcomed and often feeling unwanted by others is what led me to step down in the first place.”
Govea stated that she hopes the incoming E-Board will do better with the treatment of members and professionalism.
“It’s important to remember that we are all college students, not professionals, and I don’t want to sound too callous…but we can’t let empathy make every decision for us,” wrote Duggan-Haas in a statement to The Phoenix. She hopes to move forward with understanding and empathy.
Govea wrote, “I hope the current E-Board is satisfied with the decision they’ve made regarding me.”