Former Mister A&T, Curtis Shannon Jr., was impeached by the Student Government Association (SGA) Senate. Shannon was impeached after receiving three strikes and additional breaches, leading to his removal from SGA.
According to Ashleigh Jackson, Vice President of Internal Affairs, the vote was 32 to 7 in favor of removing Shannon from the Royal Court.
This impeachment comes just two weeks after Shannon took to social media and voiced his own concerns within the Royal Court and SGA.
“Imagine being in a workplace and they tell you that your depression and anxiety is a problem,” Shannon said. “I was re-evaluated last week and put in my adjustment period when all this is going down and they knew all of this.”
When asked why he took SGA’s internal issues onto social media, he said he believes he is a “transparent” individual on his platforms.
“I went and took the proper route in regards to conversing with administration, making sure that I’m communicating with the executive board, the Royal Court and making sure I am taking the proper protocol before I resorted to the route that I did,” Shannon said.
Shannon went on in his social media post to call out his former Miss, Avionna Burns. The former Mister A&T discussed how he asked for his Queen to speak up and she responded with “this is what I signed up for”.
Both SGA President Ezana Tamrat and Miss A&T Avionna Burns, they both confirmed this statement was true with context. Burns acknowledged the fact that she made this statement, however, she harped on the fact that everyone was knowledgeable on the agreement that was signed before their reign.
“We know the Royal Court agreement we signed, we know the leadership agreement that we signed, we literally are paid to do these positions, like we’re one of the highest paid students on the campus,” Burns continued. “Above all else, we are students first and it’s important to prioritize ourselves. But at the end of the day, we have to show up for our job.”
Miss A&T stands on this, however, acknowledging that prioritizing mental health is something she emphasizes nevertheless.
“And so I do acknowledge the importance of taking care of our mental health because I have absolutely struggled with mental health issues throughout the semester. But I think it’s all about trying to find a balance,” Burns said. “And I feel like at the end of the day, if something is too hard for you, and your mental health to fully be 100% in your position, then that means sometimes you need to take a step back and whether that needs stepping down, then so be it.”
SGA President Ezana Tamrat believes the former Mister A&T was true in some of his statements, specifically regarding mental health and the workload these positions take.
Tamrat also confirmed that Shannon did accomplish all of his tasks and did everything he was supposed to do in the constitution.
“When he speaks about saying that he accomplished many things, and that he was able to do the things in his constitution. He’s 100% correct,” Tamrat said. “In the Constitution, he finished his office hours when he was here and he fulfilled his roles within the sections that we have.”
However, Tamrat also acknowledged several breaches of their SGA and Royal Court agreements that led to his dismissal.
“That’s not being communicated that there’s more than one thing that student leaders have to acknowledge while being in a position as high as Mr. A&T, because not only is he a part of the Royal Court, but he’s a part of the executive board,” Tamrat continued.
The Executive Board consists of Mister and Miss A&T, along with the SGA President. Tamrat continued to talk about how internal conversations about his absences went south. Topics of discussion varied from mental health, strikes, support with Mister and Miss and communication struggles.
It was also reported that Mister A&T “rented out” his residence room to students that were commuting from class which is considered a direct breach of his housing contract and SGA oral oath line.
“I will not use my office to grant preferential treatment nor to seek personal gain, favor or advantage not available to the general student body.”
Following the announcement of his dismissal, Shannon took to social media posting that he was not upset about the decision but more so “hurt”. The former Mister left this message to his followers.
“I leave this with you all. Love people genuinely and unconditionally. Never stop being a good person, and just be kind to folk because you never know what people go through. Lastly, just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean you should choose to remain ignorant,” Shannon said.
As far as the next Mister A&T, that answer is still up for discussion. VP of Internal Affairs, Ashleigh Jackson said at the moment, there is no current solution.
“Those questions have not been addressed yet, in previous years the 2nd runner up steps up, but we are still uncertain on what we’re gonna do,” Jackson said.
The runner-up from last year’s Mister A&T campaign season was Malique Hawkins, former Mister Freshman.
