Former Slippery Rock Student Government Association (SRSGA) Senator Cavan Gable failed to garner enough support from senators following an extensive questioning period which ultimately led to the motion to approve him as an At-Large Senator failing at SRSGA’s first formal meeting of the 2025 spring semester.
Gable, who is currently the vice president of the Rugby Club, served as a College of Education senator for the entirety of the 2023-2024 academic year. Gable was ambitious when discussing his plans to address the parking situation on campus during the meeting.
“I’m a former senator. I took a semester off just to focus on things–start my company, and also at the recommendation of Wendy [Leitera].”
Wendy Leitera serves as an advisor to the SRSGA.
Questions began to get heated when College of Education Senator Ecklund asked about his character.
“Do you think yourself capable of putting aside personal sentiments in order to create a space that students feel comfortable speaking in, and is equitable to all people, including ones you may not personally agree with in hope to represent all students?”
“This is a professional setting,” Gable replied. “If there is a disagreement between me and a fellow senator, I will make plans to apologize or work to amend any past bridges that were burnt.”
Following a period of questioning, five members of the executive board abstained from voting, and several senators followed suit due to a conflict of interest. The abstentions caused Transfer Senator Beatty to offer a point of information.
“If a senator is here, and the motion is here, I’m assuming that means that–technically they meet all qualifications to be a senator, correct?” to which SRSGA President Ella Bloom agreed.
The final question was given by At-Large Senator Starkey, in which she questioned Gable’s ability to work efficiently with other senators.
“I just wanted to ask–Mr. Gable, you said that that you were ready to apologize for any actions that were done and rebuild bridges, and due to the abstaining of most of the E[Executive]-Board and multiple senators, do you feel that this is a achievable course of action that you’ll be able to…I mean, I don’t know anything, I’m just saying if you think that you would be able to make up for that and still be an effective senator, even if you have conflicts of interest with a certain senator.”
In the end, the motion to approve Cavan Gable as At-Large Senator failed. According to official meeting minutes approved by the SRSGA Senate on Feb. 10 the final vote count was 14-10 with nine abstentions. Motions pertaining to the approval of senators rarely fail.
A vote to approve a senator has not failed in at least the past two years, according to meeting minutes on SRSGA’s website.
SRSGA has kept online meeting minutes back to 2014 but meeting minutes for spring 2022 are unavailable, therefore a conclusion of votes during this period are unknown.
The last contentious vote was the recognition of Turning Point USA’s SRU Chapter last spring, where they were narrowly approved.
Senator applicant, SRSGA provide perspectives
In an interview with The Rocket, Gable expressed disappointment but acknowledged his loss.
“I really don’t mind it. I felt as though the new Senate body misinterpreted what the [executive] board and some of the older senators were doing by abstaining. It was more them letting the new senators make the decision since the older senators knew me more.” said Gable.
When asked what he thought was the main reason for his motion failing, Gable, following a long pause said, “I don’t know. I can’t speak for the senators and why they voted the way they voted. I can only make inferences off of my past experiences so I truthfully don’t know.”
The Rocket reached out to President Ella Bloom for comment and received a statement clarifying SRSGA’s official position:
“Applications presented on the senate floor fail for various reasons all throughout the academic year. Sometimes students are applying for the same position and there is only one spot available in the senate, which requires a vote to see which student the senate feels best upholds what is needed in an SRSGA member. It could also be the student does not meet the qualifications, or even the Senate does not feel the applicant is best suited to represent the student body based on the needs they see from the students they represent.”
Gable believes that senators should “probably be briefed that this is not a political organization, it is a non-profit corporation, and as in such they should reflect more of a corporate side instead of a political side.”
While SRSGA is strictly nonpartisan, members are either elected by the student body during the spring semester, or voted in by current senators and the everyday duties of SRSGA reflect that of any government organization.
When asked if senators were made aware of any possible reservations regarding Gable, President Bloom issued a statement:
“In the weekly email, sent on Sundays, by the Vice President of Internal Affairs, senators have the ability to review all applications that will be presented on the senate floor. Senators are encouraged to make their own judgments about applicants and read thoroughly over each application to make sure any student applying for a position in the SRSGA meets the standards expected by the student body”
When asked about any future plans, Gable indicated that he intended on pursuing a higher office in SRSGA.
“This spring, I plan on running for SGA President. I talked it over with Wendy [Leitera] and Patrick [Beswick], they said that I have a decent shot at getting it–they don’t really know of anyone else running at this current time or plan to.”
As per the SRSGA Constitution, the date of the SRSGA election is “on a date determined by the Senate, no later than its second meeting of the Spring Semester.” As of this article, no motion has been introduced in either of the spring 2025 or fall 2024 meetings to determine an official election date.
The Rocket will continue to investigate the situation.
Note from the Editor-in-Chief: Clarification was added for the following paragraph regarding SRSGA meeting minutes to help with context.
The passage originally read: “Meeting minutes for spring 2022 are unavailable, therefore a conclusion of votes past this point is unknown.”
The fact SRSGA has kept online records back to 2014 was added for context.
The passage now reads: “SRSGA has kept online meeting minutes back to 2014 but meeting minutes for spring 2022 are unavailable, therefore a conclusion of votes during this period are unknown.
