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*Editor’s Note—Statement of Recusal: Emmett Adam is the Trustee Representative and an Executive Board member on the Saint John’s Senate. To avoid the perception of a conflict of interest, he has recused himself from writing this Our View column. Adam voted “Nay” against the motion to fund the Senate Leadership Series speaker.*

As reported in this week’s Joint Senate report, the St. Ben’s and St. John’s Senates voted to allocate $16,000 for Sharon McMahon to serve as this year’s Senate Leadership Series (SLS) speaker. McMahon is a former high school government and law teacher who promotes non-partisan facts about politics on her podcast, “Here’s Where It Gets Interesting,” and to her more than one million Instagram followers via her account, @sharonsaysso. McMahon is a recent winner of the S. Roger Horchow Award for Outstanding Public Service by a Private Citizen. She is also the mother of St. John’s Senator Cullen McMahon.

To be clear, this editorial is in no way intended to disparage Sen. McMahon. He was not a part of the process that selected his mom as a potential speaker, and he did the right and responsible thing by abstaining from the final vote to select his mom as the SLS speaker. In addition, this editorial is in no way intended to discredit Sharon McMahon’s qualifications. She is an accomplished speaker and advocate with impressive notoriety. However, this Editorial Board takes issue with several elements of the decision to pay a current Senator’s mom $16,000 to speak at the school.

First, the obvious: it’s unethical to hire the mother of a current CSB or SJU senator, regardless of how much that senator participated in the hiring process. It’s even more distasteful to hire an immediate family member to the tune of $16,000. For that cost, the Senates could fund countless school or club initiatives, support student travel to academic conferences to present research or give all 2,831 CSB+SJU students $5.65 each. McMahon will be facilitating three sessions with students during her visit. Overestimating $1,000 for housing, transportation and food, McMahon will pocket $3,000 an hour for roughly five hours of student-interaction time.

Perhaps more significantly, the CSB and SJU Presidents and Vice Presidents spearhead the selection of the SLS speaker. SJU Senate President Durran Thompson is Cullen McMahon’s roommate. This Editorial Board is not accusing Thompson of a quid pro quo (a favor or advantage granted in return for something), but the close personal connection cannot be overlooked. Also, at the Joint Senate meeting on Monday, CSB Senate President Andrenique Rolle said very little during the SLS speaker presentation and question-and-answer time. This event is a marquee event of the year for the Senates, and one that both the CSB and SJU Presidents should be dually ecstatic about. Rolle’s lack of participation in such a key Senate matter calls into question whether the decision to hire Sharon McMahon is truly a cooperative decision of both Senates, and one that both Senate Presidents are invested in.

Second, it is incomprehensible that the Senates did not find a speaker other than someone directly connected to the SJU Senate and its president. There are a number of qualified, accomplished people across the country that could speak on leadership, and we’re positive many would accept for $16,000. In selecting McMahon, the Senates appear lazy, and it undermines the prestige of the Senate Leadership Series, which has welcomed the likes of Ibram X. Kendi and Andrea Jenkins in recent years. For their speaker’s fee, Kendi received $20,000 to speak, while Jenkins was paid $13,000.

Third, we question the applicability of McMahon’s experience to our college campus. There is no doubt that she is well-known and respected, having been named Communicator of the Year by PRWeek in 2022. However, it doesn’t seem like someone who markets herself as “America’s Government Teacher” is the best person to spend $16,000 to talk at an event with a theme of “Building a Growth Mindset: Overcoming Challenges and Embracing Opportunities.” While McMahon may have personal experiences to contribute on the subject, her career focus on government and politics doesn’t make this event easily marketable to all students.

Here’s the bottom line: the CSB and SJU Senates should have conducted a more thorough process when selecting the Senate Leadership Series speaker, and by not doing so, reflect poorly to the CSB+SJU students that they are charged with representing. As of right now, Sharon McMahon is set to visit our campuses in April, and we wish her and the events well. Hopefully, her contributions to the CSB+SJU student body are representative of the investment that the Senates have made in her. We also believe that the Senates can do better in the future. They represent two campuses of students that deserve to reap the full benefits of Senate money.

Giving $16,000 to the immediate family member of a current Senator is ethically questionable and sets a dangerous precedent of nepotism, even if it is indirect.