Breaking: Christopher Kalafatidis and Danielle Vandolder-Beaudin Resign From CSU Council

Resignations Sent to CSU Chair During Tense Council Meeting

NewsApril Tardif Levesque — Published August 27, 2020

CSU chair Caitlin Robinson has confirmed the resignations to the The Link.

The pair ran together as part of the Cut the Crap slate in the 2019 election. The team was disqualified due to evidence of illegal campaigning by Vandolder-Beaudin. The decision was mostly reversed by the Judicial Board, leaving only Vandolder-Beaudin off the executive team. Both Kalafatidis and Vandolder-Beaudin successfully ran in the 2020 election as councillors.

The motives behind the resignations are unknown.

The resignations came after the two left a tense special council meeting, at which Kalafatidis accused General Coordinator Isaiah Joyner, who is Black, of not wanting to denounce the Ku Klux Klan when Joyner expressed a preference for a wider anti-racism stance.

This suggestion sparked arguments amongst councillors, with Joyner proceeding to explain to Kalafatidis how hurtful this insinuation was.

The exchange happened during discussion of an anti-extremism motion presented by councillor Mathew Levitsky-Kaminski. Several councillors took issue with the wording of the motion, however no one objected to the intent.

Academic and Advocacy Coordinator Sarah Mazhero was describing council as a hostile environment that has been making her uncomfortable as a Black woman when Vandolder-Beaudin interrupted to demand the chair intervene and “keep this on track.”

The chair advised Vandolder-Beaudin that she will not stop a Black woman from speaking about her feelings regarding a racially hostile climate.

Vandolder-Beaudin and Kalafatidis subsequently left the meeting.

At 8:12 p.m., Vandolder-Beaudin tendered her resignation to the chair, effective immediately. Kalafatidis followed 10 minutes later at 8:22 p.m., with his resignation effective hours later at 11:59 p.m.

Additionally, Levitsky-Kaminski, responsible for many of the motions on the agenda, announced at the meeting that he is planning to resign in the coming days.

Correction: A previous version of this article misidentified Sarah Mazhero as a councillor. She serves on the executive as academic and advocacy coordinator. The Link regrets this error.