Yehuda Wexler is replacing Alfonso Di Rocco following his resignation as a University Student Senate delegate as part of Baruch College’s Undergraduate Student Government.

Wexler’s former position as a USS alternate is now being filled by the Vice President of Legislative Affairs Richard Reyes.

USS is comprised of student representatives from each CUNY college that meet to discuss the needs of students and voice these concerns to administrators.

The USS delegates of Baruch are required to attend all USS meetings, act as voting members and give monthly reports to USG. Their alternates are tasked with representing Baruch when the delegate is not present at the USS meetings.

Wexler was elected as a USS alternate last year with the Roaring Baruch party.

One of his past accomplishments is a resolution to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of anti-Semitism. It was passed by USG in December 2020.

He is bringing forward a similar resolution to USS, which will be put to a vote at the next meeting.

“What I want to accomplish is to really make Baruch a strong force advocating for CUNY and have us pull our weight,” Wexler said. “We are the top CUNY and with great power comes great responsibility. We want Baruch to be a driving force.”

He said his goals as the new USS delegate are to continue working with other delegates to stop tuition hikes, increase funding for CUNY and stop the firing of adjuncts and professors.

“I congratulate Yudi on becoming the new USS Delegate as he always keeps in touch with all the matters in USS as an alternate,” USG President Tony Chen said. “I have heard great reviews from other campus student representatives amazed by Yudi’s passion, so I hope he will be able to be extraordinary even as USS Delegate.”

In a statement given to The Ticker, Di Rocco explained the reason behind his resignation.

“My resignation was a decision I debated heavily,” he said. “During this pandemic, students need student leaders who will be there to represent them, grind the midnight oil and show up. I came to this decision because I felt I was and would be unable to fulfill this task. The responsibility of representation is no easy charge.”

Reyes joined USG as a freshman by being involved with the legislative, philanthropy and arts committees. He was elected and served as vice-chair of legislative affairs during the last school year.

“Congratulations to Richard,” Chen said. “Richard Reyes always has passion in matters across CUNY Campus. I hope he can enjoy his part and use the experience he acquired from being USS Alternate to serve the students at Baruch at higher levels.”

After being elected as the vice president of legislative affairs last fall, he helped organize the “National Voter Registration Day” event.

“It was probably the most attended USG event that we had,” he said. “It was great to see students still being so excited about elections and the possibility of learning more about voting processes and how to get registered and all these other different things.”

He also tackled the issue of proctoring by designing a survey and creating a testimony report that was sent to the Baruch administration and the CUNY chancellor.

Reyes’ involvement with USS began with the CR/NC policy resolution.

“I was able to collaborate with many of the members and delegates we had at the moment,” he said. “We were able to collaborate on the resolution that we pushed forward at the USS level, which fortunately was able to make it to the Chancellor’s level.”

Locally, he worked with Chair of Public Opinion Laiba Hussain to create a report about the CR/NC policy that was sent to the Baruch administration.

“Overall, I’ve been doing a lot of great work and I’ve always been involved with USS in one way or another, there’s a lot of intersections,” Reyes said. “I’m just happy to be on this journey, being there for students and advocating for their needs. I hope to do that in the current position of USS Alternate as best I can. I’ve been working a lot here locally for Baruch, but I think we can do so much more on the CUNY level.”