The bill doesn’t rid the executive branch of the roles, but instead gives SA presidents the freedom to chose which, if any, directors they will hire. Sen. Dylan Pyne, CCAS-U, the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation only eliminated the president’s obligation to appoint students to all director positions, not the opportunity of the position itself.

“The president can appoint who they feel is important and not be dragged down by directors who would not progress their objectives,” Pyne said.

Currently, if the president does not fill a director position he can be fined. The new bill eliminates this risk, giving the president a clean slate to decide what positions are needed in his or her administration.

The president is still required to appoint a Marvin Center Governing Board adviser with the new bill.

The SA Senate will additionally no longer approve director positions, which has caused strife in the past when senators disagree with the president’s choices. The president is mandated to announce his picks within three days of selection.

SA President-elect John Richardson, who sat in on the meeting, favored the bill.

“I think this new bill will give me more flexibility to do my job more effectively,” Richardson said.

With two meetings left for the current administration, the SA Senate also appointed Reem Ghoneim to the School of Public Health and Health Services graduate senator seat.

The transition brunch is scheduled for April 29, after which the elected senators, executive vice president and president will begin their term.

Richardson, a sophomore, earned 50.6 percent of the vote to Clark’s 49.4 percent.

“It was a close race, but I’m excited to get started,” Richardson said. “We have a lot of big things on our plate and we can’t wait to get the ball rolling.”

Ted Costigan was elected executive vice president over Amanda Galonek with 53.7 percent of the vote.

“Students want a fighter and I’m answering to that call,” Costigan, a junior, said.

The student body also approved a referendum to create an instant runoff voting system by 61 percent.

]]>http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/24/richardson-costigan-win-student-association-election-runoff/feed/2Runoff candidates vie for voteshttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/23/runoff-candidates-vie-for-votes/
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/23/runoff-candidates-vie-for-votes/#commentsWed, 23 Mar 2011 20:57:23 +0000Jamie Blynnhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/?p=12352The campaign atmosphere on H Street was a far cry from what it was two weeks ago, as the four candidates for Student Association president and executive vice president vied for the attention of student voters Wednesday, the first day of the runoff election.

Runoff elections – which occur when no candidate receives 40 percent of the vote required to win – are often more subdued than general elections, as there are fewer candidates and less posters scattered across campus.

Presidential candidate John Richardson said he will be outside all day meeting and getting to know the students better in an effort to win the election.

“We have a really strong presence out here and have laid out the groundwork to push us over the edge,” Richardson, who garnered 25.02 percent of the vote in the general election, said.

The scene was amicable as Richardson and his opponent Chris Clark – who received the most votes among the seven original presidential candidates – stood together joking around as friends.

“He’s a good guy,” Richardson said, motioning toward Clark. “Just because we’re campaigning against each other doesn’t mean we can’t be friends.”

Clark agreed with Richardson, noting his excitement in the final stretch of the campaign.

“It’s a great day to be palm carding, baby,” Clark said. “We’ll be out here all day getting the word out.”

Executive vice presidential candidate Ted Costigan said he was the first to arrive on H Street at 7:45 a.m. to start campaigning.

“We’re motivated and got here early to begin the fight to win,” said Costigan, who received the largest percent of the vote among the EVP candidates at 32.53 percent.

Costigan is going up against EVP candidate Amanda Galonek, who garnered 26.53 of the vote in the general election.

Galonek, an SA senator and veteran to campaigning, noted the need to get the word out to students to vote in the runoff election.

“With seven presidential and five EVP candidates in the general election, voters came from every constituency,” Galonek said, referring to the general election. “Now that it is just between four candidates, we have to work harder to get the students to jump on board and vote.”

Online voting will end Thursday at 9 p.m.

]]>http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/23/runoff-candidates-vie-for-votes/feed/1Clark, Costigan safe from ballot removalhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/23/clark-costigan-safe-from-ballot-removal/
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/23/clark-costigan-safe-from-ballot-removal/#commentsWed, 23 Mar 2011 05:28:58 +0000Jamie Blynnhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/?p=12327Presidential candidate Chris Clark and executive vice presidential candidate Ted Costigan were both cleared of campaign charges by the Joint Elections Committee Tuesday night, and both candidates will participate in to this week’s runoff election as originally planned.

Clark was acquitted of a charge alleging he sent out a campaign email prior to the start of the official campaign period. The JEC also unanimously found Clark not guilty of having palm cards taped in various places in Madison Hall. According to election rules, no poster may be hung inside a residence hall unless it is on a dorm room door or inside the room itself.

The Clark campaign said they did not dorm storm – an event where candidates are permitted to go through the residence halls to campaign – this year. Clark added that if his team did dorm storm, Madison Hall would be not have been their first choice of halls to visit or poster.

“The violations were misguided and overblown,” Clark said. “I appreciate the JEC and their understanding of the situation. I look forward to this week’s campaign election and look forward to having the opportunity in serving the student body next year.”

Clark, who received 26.53 percent of the vote in the general election, will face off against John Richardson for the Student Association presidency in Wednesday and Thursday’s runoff elections. Richardson garnered 25.02 percent of the vote.

EVP hopeful Ted Costigan was acquitted on all eight charges levied against him.

The JEC found Costigan not guilty for having a poster hung on a wall in Thurston Hall, for hanging a poster on the Clock Tower on the Mount Vernon Campus, and for distributing palm cards outside the designated campaigning zones.

Additionally, Costigan was acquitted of all charges made against him for disrupting University functions during a rally outside Gelman Library March 7 to protest student printing costs. Costigan also did not receive any violations for his involvement in a Facebook event to promote the rally.

Costigan was further found not guilty of interrupting a Pi Kappa Phi chapter meeting. He will go up against EVP rival Amanda Galonek in the runoff election.

Both candidates already received violations two weeks ago for postering on the walls adjacent to the entrance of Ross Hall. Clark received two and Costigan received one, based on the number of posters hanging on the building’s walls.

It takes six penalties to be removed from the ballot. Penalties are assessed based on the number of violations a candidate is convicted of.

“We’ve been committed to running a campaign while my opponents have come up with charges against me instead,” Costigan said. “I’m going to be out there again, fighting hard for every vote.”

Newly-elected SA Sen. Nick Koeniger, SoB-U, received two violations for distributing palm cards at the entrance of Duques Hall and in the buildings’ study rooms. Candidates are restricted to specific zones on election day marked by campaign tape.

The JEC also gave one violation to Senator-elect Elizabeth Kennedy, ESIA-U, for creating a public event on Facebook. The committee’s charter notes that Facebook events must be closed and that only the candidate may invite people to attend.

Runoff election voting will run from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

]]>http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/23/clark-costigan-safe-from-ballot-removal/feed/2SA runoff election ballot to include vote on new instant runoff voting systemhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/22/sa-runoff-election-ballot-to-include-vote-on-new-instant-runoff-voting-system/
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/22/sa-runoff-election-ballot-to-include-vote-on-new-instant-runoff-voting-system/#commentsTue, 22 Mar 2011 14:01:18 +0000Jamie Blynnhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/?p=12286An amendment to change the way students vote for Student Association president and executive vice president will go before the student body for a vote Wednesday and Thursday during the SA runoff election.

If passed, the amendment would allow the Senate to create an instant runoff voting system for next year’s elections.

The system would prevent SA elections from going to a separate runoff vote by allowing voters to rank multiple candidates running for office according to preference. If no candidate received the required 40 percent of the vote to win, computer software would eliminate the candidate in last place. The last place candidate’s votes would then be distributed to their supporters’ second choice which they marked on their ballots.

“Combining runoff with the general election saves time,” said former SA Sen. Phil Gardner, who ran for SA president on a platform to abolish the SA.

Gardner added that because the events are separate, voter turnout tends to be lower for the runoff.

“[The IRV system] allows more voters to participate in the runoff,” Gardner said. “Turnout drops significantly from the general election to the runoff election under the current system.”

The SA Senate first passed a bill, sponsored by then-Sen. Gardner, in favor of the Instant Runoff Voting system last year, with the stipulation that the student body vote on it during this year’s election. Although it was left off the ballot during the general election earlier this month, Joint Elections Committee Chair Galen Petruso confirmed it will be on the ballot during the runoff.

Petruso said the JEC was not notified of the amendment until the day of the general election.

“[The amendment] will be added to the runoff election [ballot] to be voted on,” Petruso said. “No one from the senate notified us about it until the day of elections.”

Marvin Center Governing Board and Sen. Dylan Pyne, CCAS-U, informed the JEC of the missing amendment on the ballot.

“I was under the expectation that it would be in the ballot, but when I opened up my ballot to vote it was not there. I felt passionate enough to inform them,” Pyne said, noting that it was most likely a mistake. ”I would not say that [it was forgotten] because of the turnover, but it not being there was in no way malicious.”

It takes six penalties to be removed from the ballot. Penalties are assessed based on the number of violations a candidate is convicted of.

Both candidates already received violations Tuesday for postering on the walls adjacent to the entrance of Ross Hall. Clark received two and Costigan received one, based on the number of posters hanging on the building’s walls.

Clark is set to face off against presidential candidate John Richardson in the runoff, and Costigan is pitted against Amanda Galonek after Thursday’s election results. JEC Chair Galen Petruso said the committee has yet to determine what will happen if either candidate is removed from the ballot. He said the runoff would likely be delayed and the next runner-up would be added to the ballot.

Kwasi Agyeman came in third in the presidential race and Samantha Free came in third in the EVP race.

Newly-elected SA School of Business Sen. Nick Koeniger will also be tried for two violations and Elliott School of International Affairs Sen. Elizabeth Kennedy will be tried for one.

Richardson was not present for the election results, but said before the election that he is excited ” to build upon” the “great amount of momentum” generated during the general election.

“I’m fired up and ready to come back after break,” Galonek said. “We’ve worked extremely hard and I’ve had great support from the campaign team.”

Costigan expressed the same sentiments.

“The students want a fighter and I’m happy to stand up and be that person,” Costigan said. “I’m ready to come back and fight.”

The runoff elections will be held March 23 and 24.

]]>http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/10/clark-richardson-to-move-to-sa-presidential-runoff-costigan-galonek-for-evp-runoff/feed/5JEC gives violations to nine more candidateshttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/09/nine-sa-candidates-receive-campaign-violations/
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/09/nine-sa-candidates-receive-campaign-violations/#commentsThu, 10 Mar 2011 04:37:57 +0000Jamie Blynnhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/?p=12134Nine more Student Association candidates received election penalties from the Joint Elections Committee Wednesday night, halfway through the two-day election period. None of them received enough to be removed from the ballot.

According to the election charter, postering in this area is grounds for violation. JEC Chief Investigator Willard Applefeld said posters adjacent to the Ross Hall entrance give candidates an unfair advantage “up and down 23rd Street.”

Penalties were determined based on every fifth poster, or fraction thereof. Hasan received four penalties, Clark and Bassali each received two violations, and Costigan, Carfagno, and Brown each received one.

It takes six penalties to remove a candidate from the ballot.

“It’s unfortunate,” Clark said afterward. “But we’re going to keep powering through it. It was not intentional and was a complete misread of the charter. We’re going to move forward from here.”

EVP candidate Aria Varasteh also received one violation for covering Costigan’s last name on a poster with tape.

“I just did not check the Academic Building at the end of the day. It was a mistake.” Varasteh said. “It’s the day before the election, I am not going to contest.

Presidential candidate Kwasi Agyeman, who received two penalties last week for sending unsolicited e-mails to student organization leaders, was also tried for hanging posters on Ross Hall, but was the only candidate not found guilty.

Agyeman argued that based on the evidence, it was unclear whether his posters were hanging at Ross Hall or not.

The JEC also handed down penalties to senate candidates Manuel Iglesias and Patrick Cero for not getting their posters approved. Both received one penalty each.

JEC Chair Galen Petruso said the committee will disclose its reasoning for the decisions within 72 hours.

“The specific reasons as to why candidates were found in violation will be found in the committee’s finding of fact, which will be adopted within 72 hours of the decision,” Petruso said. ”While it is regretable that penalties had to be assessed, the JEC operates under the charter it is given and must conduct elections accordingly.”

The JEC’s next violations hearing will be held after spring break. Costigan currently faces four additional violations and senate candidate Elizabeth Kennedy faces one.

In previous years, the JEC made these announcements in the Marvin Center’s Columbian Square.

Polls are open 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Wednesday and Thursday.

If no candidate receives more than 40 percent of the vote for a specific seat, runoff elections will be held March 23 and 24.

]]>http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/09/jec-announces-location-for-election-results/feed/0SA candidates frustrated with removal of campaign posters at the Marvin Centerhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/05/sa-candidates-frustrated-with-removal-of-campaign-posters-at-the-marvin-center/
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/03/05/sa-candidates-frustrated-with-removal-of-campaign-posters-at-the-marvin-center/#commentsSat, 05 Mar 2011 19:19:08 +0000Jamie Blynnhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/?p=12088After sprinting across H Street at 7 a.m. Friday to place their campaign posters on one of the most visible spots on campus, Student Association candidates found several of their posters are no longer hanging on the brick facade at the Marvin Center.

SA candidates expressed their discontent with the posters’ removal, saying candidates and their supporters spent their time and money on the posters that were removed.

Joint Elections Committee chair Galen Petruso said the committee is working to solve the problem. Several students who saw the posters being removed said they believed they were taken down by Marvin Center staff.

“Currently it’s not known why the posters were removed,” Petruso said.

Keaghan Ames, who is running for an Undergraduate-At Large senate seat, said he was upset to see the posters he and his friends woke up at 6 a.m. to hang taken down.

“Candidates put so much time and effort into the event and it’s now just a waste,” Ames said. “And now, it’s an unfair advantage because people can now go and put their posters up there after we fought for those influential places.”

Petruso said his best advice to candidates whose posters were removed is to put them back up.

“While it is unfortunate, there is nothing that can be done, the best advice is for candidates to rehang posters in the open spots,” Petruso said.

With those words, and Petruso’s 7 a.m. alarm, the herd of students sprinted across H Street, determined to find the premier real estate for their campaign posters at the Marvin Center and University Yard.

“You have to run fast, you have to put up a lot of posters and you need to create space,” ﻿a candidate for a seat in the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences’ senate seats and 3-year postering veteran Josh Goldstein said.

Prepared for the fight, several students dressed in athletic shorts and sneakers, with sweatshirts and jackets as their only defense against 30 degree temperatures. Looking for a split-second of an edge, many of the candidates devised plans before daybreak Friday.

“I have the most aggressive [people] running straight up to the Marvin Center, and cross-country runners going over to U-Yard,” executive vice presidential candidate Amanda Galonek said.

U-at large candidate John Bennett jokingly stretched with his team, not wanting to “pull a muscle halfway between [Kogan] and the Marvin Center.”

“Just out run everyone in the first 3 seconds,” Bennett said of his strategy, hoping his broken phone was not a sign of bad “karma” for his team.

Students had covered the walls in sleek posters within minutes of reaching the Marvin Center but continued to tape and re-tape to prevent D.C.’s high-powered wind from blowing away their work.

Fighting for the best spots, students wrestled and shoved to block out opponents. Students hoisted each other in the air and stole chairs from J Street to reach the higher spots.

When students had finally caught their breath, and the tape-throwing subsided, the building’s brick walls had been swept over in bright posters with even bolder names.

After determining the legitimacy of the signatures that candidates had to submit from their constituencies, the JEC approved 51 candidates for the SA – 39 for senator positions, seven for president and five for executive vice president– two for PB, four for MGCB and six for CC. Seven candidates’ petitions were determined invalid and not placed on the ballot.

Candidates were determined invalid if they turned their registration in past Monday at noon or after the extended registration period on Friday at 5 p.m.

“JEC is glad to announce the amount of people who have registered this year,” JEC treasurer Ari Kasper said. “We’re excited about the increase in candidates for major positions.”

Students will be able to write-in candidates for seats that have no registered candidates – College of Professional Studies, undergraduate and graduate, School of Medicine and Health Sciences undergraduate, School of Nursing, Marvin Center Governing Board graduate and the Graduate School of Education and Human Development.

Elections will be held on March 9 and 10.

]]>http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/02/28/jec-approves-final-candidate-list/feed/2Lifton signs open letter condemning noise ordinancehttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/02/26/lifton-signs-open-letter-condemning-noise-ordinance/
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/02/26/lifton-signs-open-letter-condemning-noise-ordinance/#commentsSat, 26 Feb 2011 20:29:19 +0000Jamie Blynnhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/?p=12016Student Association President Jason Lifton signed an open letter to D.C.’s top officials this week, expressing concern over the District’s new noise ordinance that gives police officers the power to jail or fine students being “unreasonably loud” in residential neighborhoods.

The letter, addressed to Mayor Vincent Gray, D.C. Council Chairman Kwame Brown, Acting Attorney General Irvin Nathan and Police Chief Cathy Lanier, asked for a “clarification” of the law’s reach. Students have taken issue with the wording of the ordinance.

“We are in pressing need of further clarification in order to properly disseminate information to our students about the impact it will have on their daily lives. There does not seem to be a specific level of sound deemed ‘unreasonably loud’ or a hard and fast test able to be implemented by police at the scene,” the letter reads.

The ordinance makes it illegal for any person to make an unreasonably loud noise between 10 p.m. and 7 a.m. that is likely to disturb neighbors, but does not explain how police will judge “unreasonably loud” noises.

Lifton signed on after the Student Association Senate voted to condemn the ordinance Feb. 8.

Student leaders from the University of the District of Columbia, American, Catholic, Georgetown and Howard universities also signed the letter sponsored by DC Student Alliance.

He is first person to officially announce his candidacy for one of two seats that represent the entire undergraduate population. As a first-year senator, Bennett said his experience on the finance committee swayed his decision to run for U-At Large.

“What I’ve realized is that all, or nearly all, GW students care about one thing with respect to the SA, and that’s money,” Bennett said. “They are concerned about whether the orgs they are involved with get a fair shot at allocations and co-sponsorship money…I want to be the candidate that focuses on tackling that one central issue, finances, while trying simultaneously to broaden student interest.”

If elected, Bennett said he wants to solicit more student feedback through his Student Organization Outreach Bill that passed in the Senate in October. The bill requires senators to meet with specific assigned organizations throughout the year. Due to the high SA turnover rate ever year, Bennett said that without him in the Senate, the bill would be forgotten.

Bennett said he intends to streamline the financial process for student organizations to insure that student financial concerns are met immediately and appropriately by the SA. By continuing the existing trend of increasing the initial allocations for first-year student organizations, Bennett said he wishes to encourage students to take initiative of starting new groups on campus.

His primary goal, however, is to establish a binding cap on the amount of money the finance committee can allocate during the fall semester.

“This measure would ensure that groups that do most or all of their programming in the spring won’t get left behind when their turn to apply for funding comes around because the finance committee spent beyond its means early in the year,” Bennett said.

He said the Senate has done a poor job in communicating with its constituents in years past and he hopes to keep students better informed, but also wants them to pressure the SA to work toward more legislation.

“It’s easy to condemn the Senate for focusing exclusively on internal issues, but when there’s no organized external pressures to take a different course of action, there’s not a whole lot that can be done on the Senate side of things,” Bennett said.

Bennett is a brother of Beta Theta Pi, a member of both College Republicans and College Democrats, and participated on the Alternative Winter Breaks trip to Honduras.

Candidate registration ends Monday at 12 p.m. Elections will be held on March 9 and 10.

]]>http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/02/21/sa-senator-declares-candidacy-for-u-at-large-senate-seat/feed/0Presidential candidate seeks to abolish the SAhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/02/20/presidential-candidate-seeks-to-abolish-the-sa/
http://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/2011/02/20/presidential-candidate-seeks-to-abolish-the-sa/#commentsSun, 20 Feb 2011 23:11:22 +0000Jamie Blynnhttp://blogs.gwhatchet.com/newsroom/?p=11966A former Student Association senator and member of the student body election oversight committee announced his intention to run for the SA’s top spot, centering his campaign not on advocating for students, but on abolishing the SA altogether.

Sophomore Phil Gardner, a former member of the Joint Elections Committee and a former SA senator, launched his “Abolish the SA” website Jan. 31. with the intent to mobilize the student body in getting rid of the organization. Almost a month later, Gardner is seeking the role of presidency to officially abolish the SA.

“Student governments are a bad idea. They don’t actually govern anything outside of their own office and are rarely effective. The SA is not an exception. Be it Gelman, dining, GWireless or SJS, the SA has been unable to make substantial progress on the issues that matter to GW students,” Gardner said.

If elected, Gardner will go to the Board of Trustees and request that they revoke the SA’s charter.

“We have the SA because we want it,” Gardner said. “If we say we do not want it anymore, the Board of Trustees has no reason to keep it.”

As an alternative to the SA, Gardner intends to implement of a system of student lobbyists, advocating full-time on issues students care about, rather than internal reform, or election rules, Gardner said.

“Under the plan, there’s only 10 or so Student Advocates, and they meet informally,” Gardner said. “Rather than a formal Senate with large numbers, imagine a group of lobbyist working for a D.C. lobbying firm.”

Gardner noted that current candidates, such as Chris Clark and Amanda Galonek, would be ideal for this position.

“They’re all good people, they are just trapped in a system where they are not able to succeed,” Gardner said.

If elected, Gardner will work to abolish the SA from the start, and will step down from his position once the task is completed.

“This spring GW students will have the opportunity to vote to get rid of their student government fort he first time in more than forty years,” Gardner said.

Gardner added that he has spent the past week on campus talking to students about this possibility.

“Once I explained the issue to people, they seemed really excited about it and ready for an alternative,” Gardner said. “We finally have the chance for change.”

As a two-year veteran of the SA Senate, Clark said he will focus his campaign on reforming the organization’s lack of efficiency and structure.

“We need structure and procedure to everything,” Clark said. “Even something as simple as the file cabinets in the SA office. Everything can be made more efficient.”

If elected, Clark said he will champion Gelman Library renovations and free printing for students. He said he wants to reform 4-RIDE by adding additional operators during peak hours.

Clark’s top priority is to create “George’s List,” modeled after the website craigslist, where GW students can sell their books, tickets and other items to fellow students.

Clark said his previous experience with the SA is key to the changes and improvements he says the organization needs.

“Experience gives you the intangibles that no one else has. You know the inner workings because you’ve bee there so long,” Clark said. “I know the little things that make a difference. I know how to work those things into a good presidency.

Clark, a junior, is a brother of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity, president of the Undergraduate Business Association and a member of the GW Troubadours.

Candidate registration began Monday and will run until Feb. 21 at noon.

Last week, the JEC – the independent body that oversees the SA, Program Board, Class Council and Marvin Center Governing Board elections – filed suit against Lifton for signing the charter, which they said was contradictory and unenforceable.

On Tuesday, the SA held a special meeting to amend the charter, allowing JEC members to file violations against election candidates and banning unsolicited campaign communications – two issues that had been at the center of the controversy.

With new changes, the JEC has decided to drop the suit, Petruso said.

“The JEC is pleased with the amendments passed by the SA as it provides us with the necessary tools to conduct fair and transparent elections,” he said.

Lifton noted that he was pleased that the Senate was able to resolve the charter’s issues.

“I’m glad to see that the senate was able to fix the issues that were present in the charter so that the matter could be resolved without having to go to court,” Lifton said.

Last Wednesday, the JEC – the independent body that oversees the SA, Program Board, Class Council and Marvin Center Governing Board elections – filed suit against SA President Jason Lifton for signing the charter, which they said was contradictory and unenforceable.

The following day, Program Board Chair Wesley Callahan sent an e-mail denouncing the charter, disagreeing with the JEC’s inability to file election violations and the provision that all unsolicited electronic campaign material may only be sent by candidates themselves, charging that it would result in unnecessary spam in students’ inboxes.

At the meeting – a special session called by Lifton – the Senate focused solely on amending the charter so that all four organizations could accept it and not risk delaying the election.

After much debate and examination of the rules of quorum, the Senate granted the JEC the ability to file violations against election candidates in a 15-2 vote, with Sens. John Bennett, ESIA-U, and Cory Grever, SoB-U, abstaining. Sens. Charlie Rybak, U-At Large, and Dylan Pyne, CCAS-U, objected to the amendment.

“It’s about making it easier for people who don’t care,” Lifton said. “By signing up to be a candidate you are accepting a higher burden. At the end of the day, follow the rules and you will not get violations.”

If the Senate did not pass the amendment changes Program Board requested, the charter would be taken to the Student Court for approval, Lifton said.

“I think we got our point across to the JEC that we are displeased with the way [they have filed violations] in the past,” Rules Committee Chair and newly-announced executive vice president candidate Amanda Galonek, CCAS-U said. “They understand where we were coming from.”

The Senate also approved the amendment prohibiting unsolicited e-mail communications in a 15-2 vote. Candidates are now allowed to send e-mails over listservs of organizations they belong to, but will not be allowed to send e-mails to personal e-mail addresses.