ASM Nominations Chair Andrea Nichols announced she will take a month-long leave of absence and will receive a 20 percent pay cut for missing meetings.
Any ASM chair member who misses a meeting takes a pay cut. However, Nichols will retain her position as nominations chair and carry out any other duties designated by her title.
Nichols said she has cut the time she is requesting off to one month, from Sept. 29 until Oct. 29. She had previously requested off until Dec. 20.
After the month has passed, Nichols said she will make the decision to continue as the nominations chair or resign.
""If I still can't do it, then I obviously don't have enough time, so it's not fair for me to be on council and just not go,"" she said.
Some council members have spoken out against Nichols because they believe, as a paid council member, she should be present at meetings. The nominations chair receives a stipend of $3,500 per year.
Nichols said she realizes members may be concerned she is missing meetings because she needs to know what is happening in ASM.
ASM council member Matthew Manes said Nichols has done an ""excellent"" job as nominations chair, and he supports her decision to leave temporarily.
""She's done an amazing job in her position, and anything we can do so that she can continue that job and keep this organization running I'm in full support of,"" Manes said.
