Issue date: 5/30/09 Section: Campus News

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A long-awaited decision surrounding the eligibility of two candidates' seeking offices in this spring's Student Government Association election has at last been delivered after weeks of debate.

Brendan Joyce and Jovan Perez, both write-in candidates, have been removed from contention for the highly coveted positions of President and Student Trustee, respectively.

On Tuesday, April 14 a final verdict was issued as motion 58, proposed by the Elections Board to uphold the previous disqualification of the candidates, passed 7-5-0. Requesting to "accept the decision of the Elections Board," the proposition upheld the initial ineligibility of both Joyce and Perez. A "no" vote opposed the findings whereas a "yes" vote accepted the decision made by the Elections Board.

Prior to the final vote on the motion, a debate among the senate paved the way for lively discussion. The board, at one point, looked to the SGA Constitution for review.

Following the review, Senator Lea Serena presented arguments for both sides. She restated Joyce's main points about the questioning of the write-in policy. Joyce felt revisions should have been made prior to the election, if at all. Following that record, she restated the Election Board's stance, speaking about the responsibility they have to ensure candidates abide by rules.

During the debate, the definitions of expulsion, impeachment, removal, and disqualification were also clarified by Senator Serena.

Brooke Parsons, a recently elected Senator-At-Large did not feel that the nature of the language was clear enough to render Joyce and Perez disqualified.

"We should not punish candidates because there was a gray area," explained Parsons.

In spite of the continued controversy that took place during the debate, both Joyce and Perez reminded the gallery and senators that they wanted to keep the discussion professional.

"Let us use the publicity from this election season as a springboard to build a stronger, more cohesive relationship over this noble institution and the students that represent us," pled Joyce.

Additionally, Perez prepared a slideshow presentation to maximize his allotted speaking time. He explained why the disqualification was, in his opinion, unfair, noting that at the SGA meeting that took place on March 31 write-ins were determined to be a viable option.

Continued...

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