Christian Hill, the former SGA presidential candidate who was disqualified for unstated reasons, has been removed from his current position as Vice President of Student Services, according to SGA adviser Darryl Holloman.
According to the tally of votes, Hill won the Presidential race though his name was missing when SGA published the results on their website.
Holloman said Hill was disqualified though he would not go into specifics about the reasons for his disqualification.
“Any questions regarding Christian Hill will need to be asked of him directly. I am not at liberty to speak on his behalf,” Holloman said in an email.
Hill’s running mate, Ashley Epperson has assumed the position of president-elect.
However, many students are questioning Epperson’s assumed position as president-elect.
“The runner-up for president should be picked, immediately.” Sophomore Mohammed Awad said. “Not the former vice-president.”
Sebhastien Gibosse, one of the executive vice presidential candidates who ran with presidential candidate Andrew Whyte, said he doesn’t believe the outcome “was an accurate representation of who the students voted for.”
“The vice-president should assume charge only for the time being,” sophomore John Bui said.
President-elect Ashley Epperson will be picking a new executive vice president this week to fill her old seat.
She released a statement yesterday to The Signal in regards to Christian Hill, saying she was not at liberty to comment on Hill’s disqualifications, but that she respects an individual’s “private and personal matters.”
In charge of checking each candidate’s academic and disciplinary records, Holloman said there were no reasons prior to the election process for Christian Hill or any of the other candidates to have been removed.
Frank D. Lomonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center, said the release of the details of Hill’s disqualification for presidency and removal from the student services vice president position depends on if the issue is one of academics or a violation of the Student Code of Conduct.
If it is an academic issue, then Hill’s grades are allowed to be withheld under The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), because the act mandates that student academic records be prohibited to the public.
If Hill violated the Student Code of Conduct, then information is not protected by FERPA and should be open to the public.
Appears that he was removed from his senator position to possibly “to get around” the bylaws. Both the President and VP are required to have a 3.0 GPA. Holloman implied that Hill’s academics are not why he was disqualified. It’s time to file an open records request to see if Hill has violated the student code of conduct.