As the elections began Tuesday, negative campaign fliers could be seen around campus.
The Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) elections kicked off March 23 at 8 a.m., and unknown culprits had placed fliers near and in the McKee Fisk, McLane Hall and Speech Arts buildings.
Some of the fliers told voters who not to vote for, while others made accusations about candidate ideologies.
Article XII, the Election Code, of ASI’s bylaws makes no mention of negative campaigns of any kind. It does, however, state, “A copy of all campaign materials used by a candidate must carry stamped approval by the Associated Students, Inc. Office before Distribution.”
Gary Nelson, the advisor to ASI, said slanderous or smear campaigns may have to be dealt with through future bylaws. In the meantime, he said, finding the culprit will be difficult.
“It’s hard to identify who may be doing that,” Nelson said.
The Student Court, which hears cases on campaign violations, ruled Tuesday that election candidates and their associates are allowed to remove negative campaign fliers if they do not carry the name or slogan of a candidate. The court also found a candidate, accused of putting such fliers up, “not at fault.”
Johnathon Thompson, ASI senator for the College of Science and Mathematics, said he was contacted by one of his constituents concerning a potential smear campaign. Thompson said that he was notified by another student at around 10:30 p.m. Monday that a 6-foot tall blond male was seen in the Speech Arts building with a stapler and fliers.
“He asked if any of the candidates would have done this,” Thompson said. “I told him the only person who would have fit that description was Cole [Rojewski].”
Cole Rojewski, presidential candidate and ASI’s Chief of Staff, said he had no involvement with any of the posted fliers, and came to campus after he received a call about the fliers.
“It’s sad to see it on campus,” Rojewski said. “We want the elections to be spirited and uplifting, and fun for all students. This isn’t it.”
Rojewski said the court’s ruling was just, but that ASI needs stronger bylaws that curb smear campaigns. He said he didn’t anticipate that the incident would affect his campaign.
Pedro Ramirez, presidential candidate and the senator at large for parking and safety, was the victim of many of the posted fliers. He said he was targeted because he has a viable chance to win the nomination, and that the culprits felt threatened by him.
“I’m flattered that they went to this great length,” Ramirez said.
ASI elections have had its share of snags in recent history. In April 2009, a slate of candidates was disqualified for a slew of violations.
Alex Andreotti, presidential candidate and executive vice president of ASI, said she would prefer that candidates not campaign negatively.
Cody Madsen, presidential candidate and the senator at large for residence, said he hoped that the signs did not come from one of the other candidates.
“I’m a little disheartened that people my age are taking part in this kind of politics,” Madsen said.
Anonymous • Mar 26, 2010 at 7:09 am
It’s sad to see that these far leftist get bored once health care is passed, that they need to attack candidates for the ASI elections. The first “dirty” campaigning was CLEARLY done by the PEDRO campaign since it was missing only one name….Pedro’s. Now they are playing this dirty political game of setting up attacks on themselves to one make Cole look like the bad guy, and two to gain more publicity for their socialistic ideals. When someone is accused there should be some proof of the action, and the lack of it shows pure incompetence on the Pedro Campaign.
notvotingforpedro • Mar 25, 2010 at 11:09 pm
It's sad to see that these far leftist get bored once health care is passed, that they need to attack candidates for the ASI elections. The first “dirty” campaigning was CLEARLY done by the PEDRO campaign since it was missing only one name….Pedro's. Now they are playing this dirty political game of setting up attacks on themselves to one make Cole look like the bad guy, and two to gain more publicity for their socialistic ideals. When someone is accused there should be some proof of the action, and the lack of it shows pure incompetence on the Pedro Campaign.
notvotingforpedro • Mar 24, 2010 at 11:14 pm
Get your facts straight buddy, if you look at the posters that are also hung up, it clearly says not to vote for: Cole Rojewski, Cody Madsen, Alex Andreiotti, and others for different postions. Pedro is probably the one that is hanging these fliers up since he the only one not listed on the other posters. He would be the one that needs the most help since he has no chance at being elected. Dont accuse people if you have no idea what you are talking about.
dontmarchon • Mar 24, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Actually if it is someone that is an ASI official, such as the accused Cole, who works in ASI, then he is bound to the code of conduct at a higher level.
Section 3 of code of conduct is where the Student Court should be looking too but they are not well trained in this type of analyzation. Its not just about the election code.
Student Vote • Mar 24, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I think it’s quite obvious who is using these campaign tactics and that person is Cole R. We all saw the way he handled the debates by attempting to bash our current EVP Alex A. who is currently also running for president. Further more he is the only candidate not mentioned on these negative flyers that were posted up around the campus, so we can all just put two and two together. I think that if Cole cant win based on his own merit and he is using these techniques to try and sway the student body vote then CLEARLY he is not the individual we should choose to represent our entire student body. If in his mind he thinks he is so unfit for the position that the only way he can gain an inch in this race is to undermine his opponents with lies then most likely he would do the same to the students. I for one am not willing to take that chance