USG president resigns

In a surprise move, Undergraduate Student Government (USG) president Brett Thurman resigned at a general assembly meeting Wednesday.

After reading off letters of resignation from former Minority Affairs Chair Sanah Yassin and former Academic Affairs Committee Chair Yachana Kataria, Thurman resigned his position as president. Thurman left promptly after reading his resignation. Once he exited, the remaining assembly members called a five-minute recess to deal with mixed emotions.

Some members were surprised and visibly shaken by the resignation, while others remained composed and ready to move forward. Treasurer Priyanka Vaidaya broke into tears before Thurman could finish reading his letter.

Facilities Chair Manu Raghavan said, "USG goes on…We don't stop, period. We're not the US government."

In explanation of his sudden resignation, Thurman said, "I have some personal issues and it's time to just focus on being a student and finish out my senior year. With other stuff going on in my life I don't think I could give USG president the kind of time it requires to be done correctly."

Under the USG constitution, Rasha Atallah, acting vice president, will assume Thurman's office and act as president until the next election. The acting treasurer will serve as the interim vice president for a period of no longer than two weeks. Within that period the general assembly will hold a special election to select a new vice president from the assembly.

When asked if Thurman's resignation would stall USG's legislative agenda, Atallah responded, "Not at all. I think if anything it'll make us stronger…it gives us a chance to prove to ourselves that we can get over it and prove to everyone else that we can unite and work together."

Student Trustee James Winters, also present during Thurman's resignation, said, "Without Brett they [the general assembly] are going to have to work twice as hard… USG isn't in quite the same place as it was last year. There has been a lot of struggle with the assembly to this point."

Winters added, "It's already October and they've had a hard time getting off the ground… I think that that says something."

With three resignations taking place on the same day, USG will be going through a transitional period, adjusting to the resignations and welcoming newly appointed general assembly members.

Assembly member Sarah Green voiced concern over the transitional period. "It will be interesting to see how we handle it," she said.

Although Atallah has been in USG long enough to rise to the vice presidential level, many view her new position as a significant challenge due to the vaguely defined role of the vice president in the USG constitution.

"It's going to be rough any time there is a transition," Thurman said. "The question is, can she [Atallah] handle the shift from a vice president that has a vague set of duties and responsibilities to a president [with the immense amount of work that goes with the position]," he said.

Sanah Yassin, one of the two other USG members to resign at the meeting, said of Atallah, "She does have the potential to be great. It's all up to her… It's going to be pretty difficult to fill Brett Thurman's shoes."

Although it's unclear how the transition will be handled, Atallah seemed optimistic that it will go smoothly.

"I know Brett did not leave with hard feelings, nor do we have hard feelings towards him," Atallah said. "I hope that I can fill his shoes. I know the transition will be smooth with help from our advisor and Brett."

USG advisor J. Malcolm Smith was also present during Thurman's resignation, but declined to comment about the matter.

However, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Barbara Henley said, "Brett has been an outstanding leader of USG, so we're going to have to respect his decision and give him as much support as he needs."