Student Government Vice President Hillary Shah has resigned, according to a letter of resignation obtained by the Daily.
“After months of deliberation, I have decided to resign from my position as SGA VP effective today,” Shah’s letter of resignation read. “I’ve been unable to perform to the best of my ability, or truly even half of my ability, because of consistent isolation, dismissal, and belittlement behind my back where it got to the point where I still feel like I’m not allowed to be in the spaces I deserve to be in as I was also elected by the student body. I have been marginalized to the perimeter and not been cared about beyond what I could provide.”
Shah said that expectations on her and others “who have left as well were were unreasonable and inconsistent with expectations placed on the rest of the administration.”
“Towards the beginning of the semester, I reached out multiple times to the person who I viewed as my partner in this administration regarding the beginning of this degradation,” Shah’s letter said. “It was directly told to me that she did not care about me, and my mental state not only didn’t matter to her, but I was not able to be seen as a human outside of a professional worker – and when I bought this up later on multiple times and explained it hurt me, there was no denial nor apology. Instead, my reaching out was in turn used as a scapegoat for other failures and explanations as to why the senate was failing in attendance or not submitting legislation despite my best efforts or control.”
In her letter Shah said that she was “never allowed to be a part of decisions that I should’ve been able to as someone with my name on the administration who was elected by the student body, because the door was completely shut to me and I was on a need to know basis as punishment for reaching out.”
In her letter, Shah said that the SGA chief of staff resigned two weeks ago after facing similar treatment to Shah.
“They left after finding an informal list that the majority of staff excluding me had written filled with both personal and professional grievances – many of them not true or exaggerated – to use as a justification for why they needed to go,” Shah’s letter said. “I had no clue this was occurring less than 10 feet away from me until it was presented to me at the very last minute as an already made decision, with no room to discuss otherwise.”
Shah called that situation “reflective of the continuing unprofessionalism and attitude as a whole and exemplifies why I cannot remain in this administration.”
“In fact when I gave my resignation to the President of SGA at 1PM this Tuesday and asked to keep it private until I told the rest of the staff as is customary, I came back less than 2 hours later to find out that everyone already knew and were discussing theories about why I left and potential celebrations of my absence, because I didn’t fit into the group they had made in the administration I founded,” Shah said in her letter.
Shah said in her letter that she is “not writing all of this to cause drama or be the center of attention.”
“I have always preferred to simply do the work for the betterment of others, which is why I liked being Vice President so much because the purpose of my job was low-profile but integral to helping senators do their work,” Shah said. “These words have not much to do with the senators, but I’m writing this because I need to be honest with you all and respect you all so much. I additionally want to give my experience and reflective introspection as a note to those left behind, including you all and even the general student body.”
Shah said that the SGA senators were the best part of being vice president and said she was proud of the work they’ve done together.
“The work we’re doing is important and we need to be making sure we open to door to everyone, not just those in certain cliques or affiliations as SGA has been prone to do in the past and is the essence of what I ran against,” Shah said. “As for me, I’ve had a consistent track record of successes in public service and I know I’ll be okay. Based on the conversations I’ve been having with y’all these past few weeks for the next semester, I know y’all will be too.”
In her letter, Shah also reaffirmed her belief in student government.
“The legislation we passed this semester has already been getting a lot of attention and affirmation from faculty, and I encourage everyone to keep up the true hard work we’ve put in,” Shah said. “Even if the leadership has a misstep in priorities, I know the senate will not. You are the true representatives of the student body, and just because you’re a volunteer and don’t have a fancy office or your name in the paper, doesn’t mean you aren’t able to open the door and create change.”
At the end of the letter, Shah reiterated her thanks to the Senate and the student body.
“Again, words cannot begin to express how thankful I am for what you all and the student body have given to me,” Shah said. “I look forward with excitement to not only working with you again, but all that you are going to accomplish in your time here at UNT.”
SGA President Yolian Ogbu has been contacted for comment. This story is developing.
Featured Image: Student Government Association Vice President, Hillary Shah, stands in the UNT Union. Photo by Hope Alvarez