2008 Woodie Awards
USG president resigns
Joel Ebert and Chris Olson
Issue date: 10/6/08 Section: News
Media Credit: Heather KaufmanUSG Treasurer Priyanka Vaidaya (left) emotionally responds to the resignation of long-time USG President Brett Thurman (pictured right).
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."
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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."
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