ASMSU is MSU’s undergraduate student government.

Branoff will remain chair until May 31, after which former Student Assembly Chairperson Kyle Dysarz will take over as interim chairperson from June 1 to Sept. 1, Branoff said. Dysarz was nominated unanimously by the assembly.
When fall semester begins, there will be a 10 class day period for undergraduates to apply for chairperson, Branoff said.

Thursday’s meeting was called specifically for the announcement, and some of the representatives present looked surprised when Branoff gave the news.

“It was shocking,” said Bobby Goldman, Student Assembly’s representative for the Jewish Student Union. “But he is a genuine guy and I don’t think he would do anything to hurt the assembly. But it is kind of upsetting because I thought he would have done a great job.”

Dysarz said he does not intend to initiate any programs that will run longer than the interim term.

“I intend to help them with business operations and organizational issues and make sure things are ready to go in the fall.”

Branoff said he found out he had received the Boren Scholarship April 23.

“It was one of those things where I was kind of caught off guard,” Branoff said. “At first I was like ‘this is awesome’ but then I had to make a tough decision.”

Boren Scholarships provide up to $20,000 to U.S. undergraduate students to study abroad in areas critical to U.S. interests and underrepresented in study abroad, according to the Boren Awards for International Study website.

In the end, Branoff said he chose the scholarship because it would allow him to accomplish his life goals at a much faster pace.

“When it came down to it, the scholarship was going to benefit me more,” Branoff said. “It is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If I turned it down, come December I might regret it.”