Girod/Fitzgerald subject of USG probe

By DARYL LANG
and TRACY WILSON
Collegian Staff Writers

Less than a day after claiming a landslide victory in the Undergraduate Student Government presidential and vice-presidential elections, Desha Girod and Garrett Fitzgerald faced the USG Elections Court to defend their campaign against an alleged elections code violation.

The court planned to deliberate the decision late last night, but court Chief Justice Jim Shaffer said it would not release the decision until today.

The court heard arguments from elections commission special prosecutor Scott So, who accused one of Girod and Fitzgerald's campaign members of sending an unsolicited e-mail to the Womyn's Concerns listserv.

Unsolicited campaign e-mails are prohibited by the elections code, a detailed set of USG-enforced guidelines designed to keep competition fair among candidates.

Girod and Fitzgerald submitted a brief which argued using a listserv is not unsolicited e-mail; it also argued the e-mail was not sent by a candidate and neither candidate was responsible for the message.

Jamie Klingler, who sent the e-mail in question, said her message was relevant to Womyn's Concerns members.

"I have relationships with people on this campus who trust my judgment" as a member of USG and as a woman, Klingler said. "This was in no way done as Desha or Garrett. It was done on my own as the former (USG) director of town affairs."

Adam Black, a campaign worker who represented Girod and Fitzgerald in court, said the facts were obvious and the hearing was a "waste of time," but So continued challenging witnesses.

"If you want to decide the fate of the next USG president and vice president, time is not an issue," So told the court.

About 25 campaign workers, supporters and spectators crowded into 325 HUB to watch the proceedings.

If the court finds Girod and Fitzgerald guilty of the violation, the candidates could be fined or disqualified from holding office. Girod and Fitzgerald would be able to appeal the decision to the USG Supreme Court.

Ed Dempsey, candidacy and campaigning elections commissioner, said Girod and Fitzgerald pleaded no contest to a minor flier violation earlier in the campaign and accepted a fine as punishment.

Girod and Fitzgerald are likely to continue appearing in court for days. So said about 10 or 15 violation reports, which are usually heard one at a time, still need to be brought before the court.

John Wood, a campaign worker for third-place presidential ticket Beth Silvia and James Hornick, officially reported the alleged e-mail violation to the elections committee Tuesday.

Silvia released a statement yesterday afternoon saying "it is in the best interest of all Penn State students, and USG as a student organization, that these allegations are looked into."