SGA President Melissa Westbrook will keep her position in office as of Feb. 20 after the UCF Senate voted on the three charges against her: Failure in prescribed duties, violating Sunshine Law and Misuse of funds. The vote count came down to 2-36-0, 0-38-0, 0-38-0, respectively.
KnightNews caught up with both Westbrook and Rice after the hearing to hear their thoughts about the night.
The Senate body was provided with evidence packets to review during the Thursday night hearing from both Westbrook and Clifford Rice, the senator who filed the initial impeachment charges.
On top of the evidence provided to the senators, five witnesses also took to the stand to give testimony. These five witnesses were: SGA Comptroller Jason Wojkiewicz, Student Director of Pride Coalition Nicholas Simons, ORC Vice Chair Stefanie Cash, Director of the Office of Student Involvement Dr. Preston and SGA Director of Communications Alex Perna.
The Key West Ballroom in the Student Union was filled with UCF students and faculty watching the hearing, leaving only standing room for those who were unable to get a seat. SGA Speaker of the Senate Jacklyn Graham had to ask the audience members to quiet down multiple times throughout the night.
Cheers and applause rang through the ballroom after the verdict was read.
“I was so happy to see other people there because I was extremely nervous before this and just to see people in the back, like reassuring that you’re going to be OK, like it’s OK, like calm down, it’s really rewarding,” SGA President Westbrook said.
By Nicole Moshe and Ingrid Onoriode
