SGA senator fills vacancy

A permanent replacement has been found for Student Government Association Senator Matthew Wirth, who was impeached and removed from office by the Student Judicial Board last semester.

gcsunade | gcsunade.com

Brittan Edwards

Since then, SGA President Evan Karanovich has sought a candidate to fill the ousted senator’s position.

“By the constitution, anytime that there’s a vacancy in the senate it is the duty of the president to appoint a person to fulfill the unexpired term of that senator,” Karanovich said.

Freshman political science major Brittan Edwards was appointed to the role after receiving a phone call from Karanovich during Winter Break.

“I went into the mindset that I am going to appoint the best person,” Karanovich said. “Of course, I look at several different things when appointing somebody — their attitude and what they’re willing to bring — and Brittan had the whole package.”

In August, Edwards campaigned for a seat during the initial senator elections. She didn’t win, but the loss did not deter her.

“Even when I didn’t make it, I went back to the student government and I introduced myself to Ross (Sheppard, SGA vice president). I said, ‘I’m Brittan Edwards. If you need any help or anything, I still want to be a part of it.’”

Edwards learned of Wirth’s impeachment from SGA Chief of Staff Brad Berg and compiled her credentials for the opening.

Edwards said she was eventually called in for a “highly intimidating” interview with Karanovich–and other SGA staffers.

Karanovich called Edwards later with good news.

“I wanted to have kind of a diverse group that could give feedback on, what is a senator’s role, but also as the president of the senate, what are you to expect out of that senator,” Karanovich said. “I used their opinion and valued their thoughts on an individual and used that to formulate my decision.”

Visiting larger surrounding universities reminded Edwards why she loved the personal aspects of Georgia College. She says she, “bleeds blue and green.”

Family issues caused a shaky start to her freshman year. Edwards wasn’t sure which school was right for her.

“Before I was even confirmed at GCSU, I knew I wanted to be a part of student government,” Edwards said. “I was really active in my high school so I knew I wanted to be a part of something big.”

Though she has missed crucial SGA meetings and decisions, Edwards is confident she can contribute.

Some of her ideas are already drawing attention.

After Edwards was nearly hit by a car at a campus crosswalk, she later noticed that logging trucks sometimes rumble through campus. Recognizing the potential danger, she raised the issue to other SGA officials. Discussions are in the works.

“I have so much passion for the school,” Edwards said. “By the time I graduate I want to improve Georgia College enough to where students don’t see Georgia College as a stepping-stone school, but more of a destination college.”

In the wake of Wirth’s impeachment, the SGA president says the organization has done its best to move on.

“It’s not to say that our other candidates weren’t qualified,” Karanovich said. “I reached out to all of them after I appointed Brittan and said, ‘We would love to have you involved in SGA,’ and several of them have emailed back. We hope to have them involved somehow.”

Posted by Taylor Lamb on Jan 19 2012. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.