The AMS has hired Matthew Ma Renzitti as interim Vice-President Student Life after the position had been vacant for a month.
Nobody ran for the position in this year’s AMS elections. At the time, then-President Riley Huntley said holding a by-election — which the student union would normally be required to do — so close to the end of the school year would be challenging, which led the AMS to open hiring for an interim VPSL on March 23.
According to executive committee minutes from April 7, a hiring committee was formed, consisting of Huntley, then VP Administration and now President Dylan Evans, then Arts Councillor and now AUS President Alex Kim, and former Commerce Councillor and CUS President Luke Parolin.
The Ubyssey was able to confirm that a candidate was approved by Council at its April 22 meeting. That candidate declined the AMS’s offer. Following the rejection, the AMS opted not to contact their second option and reopened for hiring — leaving the position still vacant on May 1 when all other newly-elected executives took office.
Almost a month after, on May 12, Evans told the executive committee that there had been no applicants for the position and that he would be “reaching out.”
During the meeting of Council on May 31, Renzitti was approved by Council in camera — he would go on to accept the position a day later.
The Ubyssey sent a request to the AMS for an interview with Renzitti. Evans said he would prefer to let Renzitti settle into the role and complete his orientation. We agreed to postpone the interview and asked Evans for comment on the delayed hiring process. He said an offer was made to a candidate the AMS was "excited about" but the person declined.
Evans said there was no back-up candidate and that the AMS was not confident moving forward with a different person, leading them to open a second round of hiring. He said Renzitti stood out for his experience in events and community building "reflect the kind of leadership this role asks for."
Finally, Evans claimed the AMS "handled the hiring with intention and care, and prioritized quality over speed" to guarantee a positive outcome for students. He added that as the VPSL portfolio continues "to grow and its impact becomes more visible, we hope that it will encourage even more interest from prospective candidates in the future."
Renzitti has taken office already and will be the interim VPSL until a by-election is held. The AMS bylaws give the society 31 days from the beginning of the school year to hold such a by-election. Renzitti’s predecessor, Kevin Heieis, also began as interim VPSL during the summer and was later elected in an ultimately uncontested by-election after the other candidate dropped out.
Renzitti is a sixth-year political science student. He has worked as director of operations for Drop the Puck — a fraternity-run mental health charity current VP Administration William Sparks presided over before joining the AMS (though their time at the organization didn’t overlap). Renzitti has experience in event planning, most recently as lead concert coordinator and events operations consultant for We Outside — where he worked for over a year.
Renzitti is also the musical artist known as Mizzy Mah with 100 monthly Spotify listeners, and tracks like “CITY GIRLS” or “BAD BITCH MUSIC.” On LinkedIn, Renzitti says, “affinity with music, performance and live events is my life.”
This article was updated on June 4, at 12:50 p.m to include Evans' comments.
