The royal court will be missing a familiar face this school year. Jeremy Becks, 21, will no longer be King of Orange and Green of Florida A&M’s royal court. Runner-up, John White, 20, accepted the vacant seat.
Becks received a letter from Henry Kirby, associate vice president and dean of students, stating that Becks could no longer serve in the position because he is “not a full-time and/or registered student at FAMU” this semester.
Becks said he was not a registered student by the deadline Fiscal Affairs and Student Affairs set for him. Financial obligations from previous semesters did not allow him to register for classes by the deadline. He said he would have still remained in the position if he had met it.
“Once I missed that deadline, I was contacted,” he said. “I still had a financial obligation, which affected the position.”
Becks, a senior broadcast journalism student from Atlanta, said he is now taking 16 credit hours but has until the last day of withdrawal, Oct. 24, to meet financial obligations. Once he takes care of the money matters, he will be considered a registered student.
According to FAMU’s Registrar’s Office website, “a student is not enrolled or registered until all necessary fees are paid and validated by the office of student accounts.”
Danielle Kennedy-Lamar, royal court advisor and vice president of student affairs, said a student must maintain full-time status and be registered to remain in their position on the royal court.
King of Orange and Green is responsible for promoting recruitment and school spirit at football games and other campus-related events, Beck said.
During an interview, Beck expressed regret that money issues caused him to lose his position.
“I worked diligently throughout the entire summer to take care of the financial obligation,” he said. “Recession really hurt my family, that’s why it’s been difficult to obtain my funds for the university.”
There is no probation period if a member of the royal court is in violation of a requirement, said Dean Kirby.
“Either you meet the requirements or you don’t,” he said. “You cannot reclaim your position. You must wait and run the next election.”
White, a third year pharmacy student from Largo, Md., said that he received a call about Beck’s status from current Electoral Commissioner, Corean Shelton, last Tuesday. He was officially notified on Monday.
“I had two options,” he said. “To accept and fill the vacant spot for King of Orange and Green, or they would run another election.”
The constitution states that if a member of royal court is unable to serve, the runner-up can accept or decline the position. If the person declines, a special election will take place.
White said he is grateful for the position but understands Beck’s situation.
“I am really humbled about the situation and because I know Jeremy, the situation weighs heavy on my heart.”White said he is confident that he will maintain all requirements of the position.
“Being a former senator, I’m pretty familiar with the constitution’s documents,” he said. “It’s not just important to get the position, I have to keep it as well.”
Beck said he was looking forward to fulfilling his duties as King of Orange Green.
“I’m quite sad,” he said. “I started working as a recruiter for orientation to be an overall recruiter for the university.”
However Beck said that he had faith in White as the next King of Orange and Green.
“He’s got my full support and I look forward to some of the things he’s going to do,” he said.