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Having once worked to represent the student body, burnout, harassment, and discrimination concerns are being flagged by a former student leader.
Stephanie Sahadeo, ArtSci ’25, assumed the role of AMS Clubs Commissioner on May 1—come Feb. 10, she resigned from the position, leading to Vice-President (University Affairs) Ruth Osunde assuming the role’s duties for the remainder of the term. Sahadeo spoke with The Journal about her resignation, explaining how public student figures often face criticism that veers into the territory of harassment.
Leading the commission, Sahadeo saw an average of 30 to 90 club cases in a single week while managing over 300 AMS-ratified clubs. Cases included policy compliance concerns, club conflicts, grant applications, and other logistical operations.
Balancing the public demands of the role with her private life as a student was a challenge for Sahadeo.
“We’re in classes with the people that we work for and serve. At the same time, that kind of publicity can be very difficult to deal with,” she explained.
Tasked with maintaining open communication to keep students informed about club policy requirements, among other daily responsibilities, Sahadeo quickly encountered the challenge of managing a high volume of requests.
“It [managing requests] did take quite a toll sometimes, I’ll say. But this is only because I cared so much and I was so personally ionate about everything that I was doing,” she said.
While burnout was a considerable factor in Sahadeo leaving the role, experiencing harassment and racism from fellow students led to her resignation. Early in the winter term, Sahadeo was pushed to the ground off-campus and shouted at with discriminatory comments about her perceived race by a group who knew her name. She chose to not disclose what comments were specifically shouted due to privacy concerns.
“I was reeling for months after that incident. It became a struggle to do anything, especially because […] it became clear that they did know me by name somehow, and arguably the only way that they would have known that is through my [AMS] employment,” Sahadeo said.
“I had no idea how to proceed. I was scared to go to class. I was scared to go for a walk in public after work,” she said.
Two weeks after the event, Sahadeo experienced a second incident took place where verbal threats directly threatened her safety.
“I was so scared by this that I quit around a week later,” she said. “I have no confirmation as to whether or not this was related at all to my former position at the AMS. But even on a personal note […] that’s enough to rattle anybody.”
Sahadeo explained how before reg, she received from her colleagues at the AMS, but the Society was unable to address the incidents because they occurred off campus by unknown groups.
“My workplace was extremely ive of me needing reduced hours for time being, if I needed a couple of days off because I knew I wasn’t having a good mental day, things like that,” she said.
In an interview with The Journal, AMS President Owen Rocchi spoke to the nature of roles within the AMS being demanding and, in some instances, causing burnout and exhaustion. He highlighted the importance of communication for executives to help AMS employees.
“It’s really important as students—it’s the peer to peer-led mentorship. It’s really important to check on one another and listen when we do [check in]. It’s not always easy to be in these roles. We’re extremely privileged to have the autonomy and authority we do as young student leaders. But it’s always the managers and the executive’s job to ensure that they’re listening to their team and always looking for ways to better their team,” Rocchi said.
The Journal followed up with Rocchi, seeking comment on how experiences like Sahadeo’s, which led to her resignation, are addressed, and how the AMS ensures the safety and of its employees both on and off campus. However, AMS Communications Director Katarina Bojic said Rocchi had nothing further to comment on.
Despite the two incidents Sahadeo faced, she remains grateful for her time spent at the AMS and hopes the student body understands why the role underwent turnover.
“I really appreciated my time there, everything I was able to learn […] Just that feeling of filling someone else’s cup up for once is invaluable, and I will be grateful for the rest of my life that I had the opportunity to do that,” she said.
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the title is so misleading, makes it seem like the AMS harrased her into leaving when it was students on campus
in an article talking about how AMS employees face harassment from students, it’s ironic that this title is click-baity and could push students into harassing the current executive team for this situation.
also insane that the journal doesn’t address their role in situations like these, many student leaders and employees of student governments get harassed due to things the journal puts out, without regard that the student government on campus is a psudo-government and these are just students.
crazy to see this article after discussions at the last special assembly, journal remains ignorant as always.