Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Student Government Association, abolished by student vote in 1979 but re-established in 1987, will continue for another four years after students voted by a 78 percent margin to maintain it. Under a “vote of confidence” clause included in the 1987 constitution, students get an up-or-down vote on continuing to have SGA every four years. The vote this year was 2,421 yes and 675 no.
In voting held online last week, the results of which were announced today, Kathryn Ann “Katy” Bowers, a second-year student from Nashville, Tenn., was elected SGA president for the 2007-08 year. Alison Leigh “Ali” Gibbons, a second-year student from Irmo, S.C., was elected vice president. The two ran unopposed, after the only other candidates for the top two offices withdrew a week before the election.
In two other referenda on the ballot, students ratified revisions to the SGA constitution 2,510 yes to 378 no, an 87 percent margin. And they voted to continue funding for the collegiate readership program, which provides students access to package subscriptions to major daily newspapers at a significant price reduction. The vote was 2,480 yes to 613 no, an 80 percent margin.