More than 30 students showed up Monday at the Georgia Southern University Russell Ballroom to hear Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel speak. Invited by GSU's Student Government Association, Handel spoke about her office, concerns about voting, residency issues and the relationship between university and community.
"It's important to remember that the college is part of the community," said Handel. "There's a symbiotic relationship between them. No one side survives without the other."
After her talk, Handel opened the floor to questions from members of the audience. Though the tenor of some questions about the city's current redistricting plan was tense, Handel was ready for them.
"I'm not so surprised really, I was prepared for that. The students are just very concerned," said Handel. "There is clearly a group of students that want to reach out to the city."
SGA President Jon Simpson said that while the Secretary didn't address all the students' concerns with as much detail as he'd hoped, he was happy with her presentation and felt she communicated some quality ideas.
"Primarily I liked her recommendation to work with the city as students instead of creating a divide. After all, we should all work toward bettering the community," said Simpson. "At the same time, she reinforced the idea that where you lay your head is where you get to vote."
"I am glad she came."
Druing part of her talk, Handel discussed the business mind set she brought into the corporate registration department, saying that before she came on board some corporations had neglected to pay their registrations fees for the previous seven years. As a result, the office's database of active corporations was highly inaccurate. In addition, she is trying to be more aggressive in the area of consumer protection and will be publicizing confirmed cases of securities fraud.
On a local note, she confirmed there is an open investigation by her department, which is looking into possible violations during city council elections last fall. Since the investigation still open, she was unable to further comment.
Phil Boyum may be reached at (912) 489-9454.
"It's important to remember that the college is part of the community," said Handel. "There's a symbiotic relationship between them. No one side survives without the other."
After her talk, Handel opened the floor to questions from members of the audience. Though the tenor of some questions about the city's current redistricting plan was tense, Handel was ready for them.
"I'm not so surprised really, I was prepared for that. The students are just very concerned," said Handel. "There is clearly a group of students that want to reach out to the city."
SGA President Jon Simpson said that while the Secretary didn't address all the students' concerns with as much detail as he'd hoped, he was happy with her presentation and felt she communicated some quality ideas.
"Primarily I liked her recommendation to work with the city as students instead of creating a divide. After all, we should all work toward bettering the community," said Simpson. "At the same time, she reinforced the idea that where you lay your head is where you get to vote."
"I am glad she came."
Druing part of her talk, Handel discussed the business mind set she brought into the corporate registration department, saying that before she came on board some corporations had neglected to pay their registrations fees for the previous seven years. As a result, the office's database of active corporations was highly inaccurate. In addition, she is trying to be more aggressive in the area of consumer protection and will be publicizing confirmed cases of securities fraud.
On a local note, she confirmed there is an open investigation by her department, which is looking into possible violations during city council elections last fall. Since the investigation still open, she was unable to further comment.
Phil Boyum may be reached at (912) 489-9454.