The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) 2004 Elections Commission filed two complaints Monday against executive candidates Sandip Trivedi and Monica Constantino for violating campaign financing rules.

The candidates used a special agreement between Patrick McCool, the owner of PAMP Screen Printing, and USG Vice President Takkeem Morgan to obtain copies of campaign flyers and campaign T-shirts at a unit price not available to the general public.

Trivedi said he believes the suit is unwarranted because he purchased the copies and the T-shirts at fair market value and prices fluctuate from day to day. "The only person we can blame are the wholesale distributors," Trivedi said. "What can we do with them? You can't control the market. We are a capitalist society so no one can control the prices, not even the USG elections commission."

The elections code states that if the real price paid by the candidates is not available to the general public at the time of purchase, the fair market value will be charged.

McCool said Morgan was able to receive reduced prices because he has generated a substantial amount of business for PAMP Screen Printing.

"They got some special pricing, but it's not anything less than a customer of the same stature would get," McCool said. "Some students are up in arms because they couldn't walk into the door as a new customer and receive the same kind of pricing as an established customer can."

McCool added that Morgan did not receive the lowest price available for copies and T-shirts. He said prices vary each day depending on the market.

Morgan said he believes the argument against Trivedi and Constantino is unreasonable because McCool does not have permanent rates.

"Every person who goes in there, on some level or another, negotiates a price," Morgan said.

Trivedi said he purchased the campaign items himself but used Morgan's address because his own address is not permanent.

Jeff Corbets, special counsel to the 2004 elections code, said Morgan could not use his connections to get any of the candidates a reduced price on campaign items since the elections code states the prices must be available to the general public.

Corbets added that the elections commission feels it is very unprofessional for Morgan to acquire lower prices for certain executive candidates since he is the current USG vice president.

Morgan said one of the problems with USG is it distances itself from the student body by trying to be too professional. "As a USG vice president, I am not concerned with professionalism; I'm concerned with representing the student voice," Morgan said.

He added that the purpose of the Trivedi/Constantino campaign is to mobilize students. He was seen yesterday wearing a shirt from the Trivedi/Constantino campaign.

The USG Supreme Court will hear the case at 9 p.m. Monday. The Elections Commission recommended the Court fine the candidates $11 for the copies of flyers and $165 for the T-shirts.

The candidates could be disqualified if the fines caused them to exceed their spending limit of $550. However, the elections commission would not say whether the recommended fines would disqualify the Trivedi/Constantino ticket.

Corbets said Deputy Commissioner for Candidacy and Campaigning Janet Moccia called McCool after noticing Trivedi and Constantino were charged less than other candidates who purchased the same items at the screen printing store.

The candidates in question paid only 1 cent for copies of flyers. When Moccia called, McCool told her the lowest price per copy available would be 5 cents.

Trivedi and Constantino also purchased T-shirts for $3.25 each. However, McCool told Moccia the lowest price available to the general public would be $4.38 per T-shirt.

Corbets said obtaining shirts at lower prices puts candidates at an unfair advantage.

"Because they got the T-shirts at a low price, they have more money to play with," Corbets said. "Because they have 100 T-shirts in circulation, that's 100 people in their campaign wearing T-shirts; it's pretty good visibility."