BREAKING: No mo’ Mo? Senior Class President resigns

By Will Bodendorfer,
Multimedia Editor-in-Chief–

UPDATE: An earlier version of this article stated that Zheng is not being considered for the position of Senior Class Vice President. Zheng is being considered, although he is ineligible for the role according to the terms of the ASB Constitution. 

Senior Class President Mo Zheng stepped down Tuesday after only five days in office, relinquishing his position to Senior Class Vice President Morgan Metler. After winning the election for the presidency last February, Zheng said that he found himself disagreeing with several key aspects of Student Government and decided to drop out of the class.

“I decided that there were certain parts of the class that I didn’t agree with and I decided to change my plan and resign,” Zheng said. “The class itself is somewhat limiting in how much decision making is given to the students and I also don’t agree with their construction of the Constitution.”

Zheng was quick to dispel a rumor that he had in fact dropped Student Government because the class wasn’t weighted and was bringing his GPA down.

After stepping down from the presidency, Zheng said he had planned to become the vice president, but was shot down by the Student Government Executive Board.

“I think it’s somewhat inconsiderate that the Executive Board refused my planned resignation to assume the position of vice president, as I was one of the hardest-working members of the Board. I think they should reconsider the possibility of me being part of the Board without being part of the class,” Zheng said.

ASB President Teddy Knox is the head of the Executive Board, and said that Zheng is actually still being considered for the vice presidential position. 

“The Executive Board began discussion of VP appointment at our meeting last Monday night, but we tabled it so that we could have time to invite nominations from the Student Government class. Those nominations are coming, and we will resume discussion of the tabled topic at our meeting next Tuesday at lunch in N-1A,” Knox said.

By the terms of the ASB Constitution, however, Zheng is ineligible to serve as Senior Class Vice President because he is no longer enrolled in Student Government.

“I’m sad to lose Mo–he had a lot of vision for the senior class and he demonstrated his competency by putting on a great Senior Sunrise. However, I also have great faith in now-Senior Class President Morgan Metler; she is smart, hard-working and very dedicated to DHS student activities,” Knox said.

Metler will attempt to fill Zheng’s shoes immediately, and is confident things will run just as smoothly as they did before.

“Mo and I shared a similar vision, which is why we ran as a team initially. What I really want to work on this year is giving seniors more privilege,” Metler said. “There’s a lot of things that people always talk about doing for Senior Prom or Homecoming or for any senior event, and if people have ideas that are doable and neat, I want to make them happen.”

Some students, however, are disappointed that the president they voted for won’t be serving them.

“I’m sure Morgan will be a fantastic president but I voted for Mo for a reason, so it’s kind of a bummer for him to leave on the second week,” senior Brady Corcoran said.

Zheng understands that some students will be disappointed with his decision, but he says it won’t stop him from making a positive difference around campus.

“I’m sorry if those who put their vote in for me will be let down, but I hope that they enjoyed the sunrise, and know that if they want to see me still help out around the school I’ll be glad to do so as long as something can be worked out with the ASB and me,” he said.

While no vice president has been named yet, Metler says students can expect the spot to be filled within the next couple of weeks.