The Student Government Association election is underway, and students get to take a look at who could be representing them in the upcoming 2021-22 school year for the 92nd administration.
The usual competitive and anticipated positions look a bit different this year. For a few positions, only one applicant applied and for others, less than the required number of applicants applied, meaning the applicant(s) will automatically fill the positions following the election — barring they meet all qualifications — and others will remain vacant going into the new administration.
According to Article 9C of the SGA Election Code, “When only one candidate is seeking a position, their name will still appear on the ballot, however, they will automatically be elected to their position.”
The candidates must meet all of the following requirements to be listed on the ballot.
Requirements:
- Meeting the minimum GPA requirement for the respective position
- Determination of being in “good standing” with the University per a disciplinary check with the Dean of Students office
- Completion of the mandatory candidate orientation session on iCollege
- For Perimeter campus candidates only, they are also required to have an introductory meeting with the campus advisor for the campus at which they are running for a position.
The election will be held all day online through PIN from April 13-15.
The Signal’s annual debate will look different this year as SGA’s uncontested candidates come together on April 13 at 6 p.m. for a live stream of The Signal’s Political Showcase. Until then, check in on The Signal’s website for the most current updates throughout the season.
Provided by SGA, take a look at the 92nd 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: Brianna Bailey
Speaker
Atlanta: Queen Mufty-Raini
Newton: Demari Freeman
Atlanta Senators
Byrdine School of Nursing & Health Professions: Emerald Gibbs
College of Arts & Sciences: Jocelyn Aguirre, Saadh Ahmed, Ira Livnat, Diana Mejia, Saher Pirmohammed, Rodrigo Ruiz-Tello, Myla Williams
- Mack Robinson College of Business: Matthew Adjin-Tettey, Bethany McCullough, Jenelle Ryan, Frederick Severtson
“If there are anticipated vacancies which will exist at the conclusion of the election due to a shortage of candidates for any position, applications will be accepted via Panther Involvement Network, but no action will be taken on them until the conclusion of the Spring ballot election,” Article 9A of the SGA Election Code states.
With the number of vacancies expected at the spring ballot’s close, the SGA vacancy application form will be available earlier than usual. The link to the 2021-22 SGA vacancy application form is available at https://pin.gsu.edu/submitter/form/start/479325.
Vacancies expected at the close of the election include:
Executive Vice President – Atlanta, Clarkston, Dunwoody, Alpharetta, Decatur and Newton
Speaker – Clarkston, Dunwoody, Alpharetta and Decatur
University-wide Senator Seats –
- College of the Arts – 3
- College of Arts & Sciences – 9
- Robinson College of Business – 4
- College of Education & Human Development – 2
- College of Nursing & Health Professions – 1
- Andrew Young School of Policy Studies – 2
- School of Public Health – 2
- Perimeter College – Alpharetta campus – 2
- Perimeter College – Clarkston campus – 2
- Perimeter College – Decatur campus – 2
- Perimeter College – Dunwoody campus – 2
- Perimeter College – Newton campus – 2
According to Atlanta SGA Advisor Gail Sutton, “Each of the Perimeter campuses plans to fill six senator seats in each of their campus senates, however, only two per campus will be voting members of the University-wide senate.”
The change in the number of voting members from the Perimeter campuses results from students switching to online learning.
The vacancy application form will remain open between April 7 and May 6.
The following candidates were removed from the ballot because they withdrew or failed to complete the mandatory orientation session as listed in the requirements.
Sophia Logan – candidate for Atlanta EVP
Michelle Martinez – candidate for Dunwoody EVP
Kaylee Avila – candidate for Arts & Sciences senator
Tam Le – candidate for Dunwoody senator
