Today, students got a look into who could be representing them in the upcoming 2020-21 school year as the Student Government Association election for the 91st administration is now underway.
While some positions will be highly competitive, others were nearly decided today. For several positions only the exact number of applicants required, or less, applied meaning some positions will be filled by the applicants — barring they meet all qualifications — and others will be left vacant going into the new administration.
According to the SGA Bylaws, there are graduate senator positions and undergraduate senator positions for each of the Atlanta campus colleges. If graduate seats remain vacant as of the start of fall classes, then those seats will become available for any eligible student in that respective college to apply, according to Gail Sutton, Atlanta SGA Advisor.
The candidates must meet all of the following requirements to be listed on the ballot or to be declared the de-facto winner when the official announcement is published after the election.
Requirements:
- Meet academic eligibility requirements for their specific position
- Meet the disciplinary “good standing” rule per the Code of Conduct
- Attend one of the mandatory orientation sessions that will occur next week on the Atlanta campus or for Perimeter students via iCollege (Feb. 10-14)
- Not incur too many election violations that would disqualify them from eligibility per the SGA Bylaws
- For Atlanta candidates, attend either the Senator Mix & Mingle on Monday, March 2 and the executive debates on Tuesday, March 3, depending on what position they are running for unless they have a documented valid excuse
- For Presidential candidates, participate in the Presidential Debate on Tuesday, March 3 unless they have a documented valid excuse
The election will be held all day online through PIN from March 10-12. But students can also look forward to The Signal’s annual SGA debate in Speakers Auditorium in Student Center East and the annual SGA issue on stands — both taking place on March 3. And between then, check-in on The Signal’s website for the most current updates throughout the season.
Provided by SGA, take a look at the 91st administration organization chart below:
THE CANDIDATES
The following positions have received applicants. Below are those students who are running for SGA offices.
President
- University-Wide: Carlos Porter, Nahom Taye, Kaelen Thomas, Nigel Walton
EVP
- Atlanta: Spencer DeHart, Takia Tinsley
- Alpharetta: Cole Greenwood
- Clarkston: Kyle Kath
- Decatur: Mariya Cummings
- Dunwoody: Michelle Martinez
Speaker
- Atlanta: Audrey Abraham, Brianna Bailey, Nia Cole, Peter Minetos
- Decatur: Dominique Whitehurst
Atlanta Senators
- Andrew Young School of Policy Studies: Hermela Assefa, Jake Conner, Chinelo Moneke
- College of Arts and Sciences: Saadh Ahmed, Mario Calcagno, Asheligh Cochran, Matthew Daniel, Shelby Horton, Morgan Ward
- J. Mack Robinson College of Business: Matthew Adjin-Tettey, John Le, Enrique Pujals, Sarah Saied
- College of Education and Human Development: Mackenzie Minter
- School of Public Health: Hewitt Mesfin
Perimeter Senators
- Dunwoody: Betenia Tuwe
- Newton: Noor Bakhatawar, Jimmy Davis, Lavendar Harris, Gabriel Pelayo
UPDATE Feb. 17
The following candidates were removed from the ballot because they missed the mandatory orientation session as listed in the requirements.
- Sarah Sepanik — Candidate for a graduate senator position for the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies
- Cody Thomas — Candidate for a sentor position for the Byrdine F. Lewis College of Nursing & Health Professions
- Benjamin Teman — Candidate for a senator position for the J. Mack Robinson College of Business
- Markeese Wise — Candidate for a senator position for the Decatur campus
The following canidadate withdrew their application as a candidate.
- Sirrus Darr — Candidate for a senator position for the J. Mack Robinson College of Business
UPDATE Feb. 18
The following canidadate withdrew their application as a candidate.
- Ndubuisi Onwumere — Candidate for a senator position for the College of Arts and Sciences
