O'Brien, one of Congress' key players, stepped down from his post because he recently moved out of the district he represented, an act in violation of the governing body's membership code, forcing him to relinquish his position.
The Student Code states that, "Members of Congress shall be a resident of the district he or she is representing by the semester following the regular election."
O'Brien was elected to office last February and moved out of his district earlier this month.
Candidates for O'Brien's position will be nominated, and the replacement will be elected at the next meeting of Congress, slated for Oct. 29.
O'Brien said he was unaware of this move when he took over the position. "I just found a one-bedroom apartment I wanted and moved," he said. "And now I'm out of district."
Speaker of Student Congress Tony Larson said O'Brien's voice will be missed in congressional meetings.
"I think O'Brien was one of the vocal members of Congress who had an opinion and participated in debates," Larson said. "We'll miss that."
Other than O'Brien's vocal presence, Larson said the change has no real impact because O'Brien agreed to assist his replacement in learning the responsibilities of the position.
As speaker pro tem, O'Brien was responsible for maintaining and updating the congressional Web site and the listserv, as well as other administrative duties.
