USG appoints elections court, prosecutor after much debate

It's not what you know, it's who you know.

The Undergraduate Student Government Senate discussed how much of that knowledge was too much when appointing an elections court and a special prosecutor at their meeting Tuesday night.

The senate approved Nikitra Bailey (senior-prelaw) and Sobia Ahmed (senior-elementary education) to the court four weeks after the appointments were to be made. Bob Bartholomew (senior-mechanical engineering) was named special prosecutor following some confusion about the appointment at a meeting a week earlier.

In order to assure impartiality of the body that rules on campaign violations, the senate asked the three potential court members and special prosecutor if they know of anyone campaigning for USG president and vice president. Concern about their responses led to debate about Bartholomew and the rejection of Joanna Phillips (sophomore-economics), who was also nominated for a court position.

Phillips, former assistant director of USG department of political and international affairs, was not approved because many senators felt she was too involved with USG and some potential candidates. Phillips claimed she was not affiliated with any campaign, but she had been approached.

The senate was also concerned with Bartholomew and his knowledge of a former Council of Commonwealth Student Governments colleague's likely candidacy. The senate was concerned that he might be hesitant to prosecute this person if he or she violated the elections code.

However, his experience with student government, his belief in a strict interpretation of the code and his desire for fairness ultimately won him approval.

"Number one, I'm not in a popularity race. And number two, I write plenty of parking tickets on this campus," Bartholomew, student supervisor for Auxiliary Services, said about the unpopularity of the position.

Bailey, president of Black Caucus, was appointed in about thirty minutes with little debate. Because she has never been involved with USG, she said, she can be impartial and fair. Bailey said she knew of no one running for USG office.

"All the people who come in here, we ask if they know anyone running -- she's the only one I believe," Town Senator Brian Heller said. "She's perfect for this position."

Bailey was unanimously approved. Only Ahmed, outgoing Panhellenic Council vice president for membership, was approved more quickly than Bailey. Ahmed, who had to leave early, was approved early in the meeting. Like Bailey, she said her previous experience in other organizations would contribute to her fairness on the court.

"My biggest goal will be to work fairly and honestly without any biases," Ahmed said.