An ASU administrator notified the Graduate Student Government on Jan. 16 that its operations are frozen as a result of a leadership vacancy and failure to comply with University policies.
Emails and documents sent to The State Press by a GSG member show GSG President Bhagvan Reddy Vemula resigned amid conflict with the GSG Assembly, creating a vacancy in a leadership position.
Lara Klinkner, the assistant director of Student Connection and Community, told GSG leadership in a letter that "student organizations must maintain all required officer positions to remain active and in good standing," according to the 2025-26 Student Organization/Club Handbook.
Klinkner also said GSG failed to obtain the approval of its oversight committee for updated governing documents and for requiring conflict-of-interest disclosure forms, which are mandated by a Student Rights and Responsibilities letter sent to GSG on Aug. 20.
A conflict-of-interest disclosure form ensures the member, who signed the form, is benefiting the organization rather than benefiting for their own interest.
Klinkner did not respond to a request for comment. Tempe Dean of Students Lance Harrop referred The State Press to ASU media relations, which did not comment.
"We are approaching this constructively and positively, focusing on restoring full operations quickly and continuing the important work of serving graduate students," GSG Chief of Staff Tharun Goud Dasugari said in an email to the organization's officers that a GSG member shared separately with The State Press.
This is GSG's second freeze in less than a year. Over Summer 2025, graduate students were unable to access funding opportunities because the organization's operations were paused.
READ MORE: BREAKING: University suspends GSG, potentially pausing student funding
Records from the organization's meetings sent to The State Press show the former GSG President vetoed Assembly Bill 24-06, the "GSG Ethical Governance and Appointment Transparency Act," which required all executive and any legislative officers and Assembly members involved in hiring vice presidents, directors and student workers to submit conflict-of-interest disclosure forms.
The veto of AB 24-06 was overridden by a unanimous Assembly vote on Jan. 9., according to an emailed record of the vote.
The bill also set a fixed amount for executive officers' scholarships for the Fall 2025 semester based on the amount of time they served.
In a Dec. 26 statement sent to the Assembly and shared separately with The State Press, Reddy Vemula said that the bill was selectively applied to executive officers, posed privacy concerns and "retroactively constrains scholarship disbursements that were already calculated and distributed in accordance with uniformly applied proration logic."
On Jan. 11, GSG Assembly Speaker Cole Cloyd sent Assembly members a petition for impeachment against Reddy Vemula that was also shared with The State Press. The petition accused the GSG President of abusing his office to financially favor some executive officers, failing to exercise his duties, providing false information to the Assembly and the public and exploiting procedures to undermine the Assembly's authority.
The petition also alleged the GSG president had "actively solicited insubordination" from executive officers, whom he urged to delay submitting the disclosure forms.
Reddy Vemula resigned shortly after the impeachment petition was released against him.
Neither Reddy Vemula nor GSG advisers Cassandra Aska and Shari Gustafson responded to requests for comment.
READ MORE: University investigation alleges misuse of funds, hostile culture in GSG
Cloyd said he could not comment on the impeachment petition or GSG's ongoing business as a result of the freeze.
According to the Jan. 16 letter, GSG must confirm a new president in accordance with its succession protocols.
The organization must also submit compliant versions of the GSG governing documents for oversight committee approval. GSG leaders must meet with that committee to "discuss and evaluate the process implemented regarding the conflict‐of‐interest disclosure."
Executive and legislative leaders must meet with the GSG advisers during the freeze to address each of the corrective actions. If GSG fails to abide by these conditions, it will result in "continued frozen status or further administrative action as permitted under university policy."
Edited by Carsten Oyer, Senna James, Sophia Braccio and Pippa Fung.
Reach the reporter at msweador@asu.edu and follow @miasweador on X.
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