Recently-elected University Judiciary Committee vice chair for trials Shanice Hardy resigned from the position Sunday. Hardy, a third-year, plans to stay on the committee as a Batten School representative.
Hardy declined to comment on her resignation.
“Shanice decided that it would be a better place in UJC for her to be a regular representative,” said UJC Chair Timothy Kimble, a third-year College student. “I seriously appreciate her critically thinking about her role in UJC and deciding that it was better for her to be a representative.”
UJC representatives suggested that after stepping into the role, Hardy may have realized she could not dedicate the required time to the position.
UJC Batten School Representative Brendan Rijke, a third-year student, said in an email he did “not know the full explanation for why Shanice left her position. I look forward, however, to working with her as a fellow Batten School Representative.”
According to Kimble, UJC will follow bylaw guidelines to fill the vacant position and hold a new election among committee members this Friday. He said he did not foresee filling the position being a problem.
“We had already arranged to have an election for [the Vice Chair for First Years vacancy],” he said. “So now, we’re just going to elect the Vice Chair for Trials as well.”
Hardy originally ran for the vice chair position uncontested.
Kimble emphasized that Hardy’s decision to step down is not related to the vacancies left by the recent UJC elections.
“What Shanice is doing and some of the [other] vacant spots are completely separate issues,” he said. “I think Shanice’s decision was her own and that is completely divorced from the election issue.”
Kimble said the reason so many UJC positions are unfilled is because of a lack of effective communication and less interest in UJC than Honor.
“We’ve had some of these vacancies just because people didn’t know about [the elections], so it’s important that we advertise that these elections are coming up,” he said. “Ask anybody — Honor is more recognized than UJC.”
Hardy acted as a UJC support officer since her first year before being elected as Batten representative. According to the Black Student Alliance website, she also serves as the publicity coordinator for the organization.