The Undergraduate Student Government (USG) Supreme Court heard arguments last night for a potential harassment and discrimination violation for a campaign flier in the March 30 USG elections.

The flier, which read "Don't get Foulked 'N' the A," was distributed on election day by executive candidates Robert Dinkelspiel and Joseph Budd.

Elections Special Counsel Shawn Gordon said the flier was in violation of University Policy AD42, which prohibits "unwelcome banter, teasing or jokes that are derogatory, or depict members of a protected class in a stereotypical and demeaning manner."

He said it offended members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied (LGBTA) community who complained to the USG elections commission and posted objections on the Report Hate Web site; the commission is seeking a $66 fine.

Acting USG Supreme Court Chief Justice Allison Komara said that the court will notify the parties involved of their decision within the next week.

Gordon said the court has to determine if the flier would have offended a "reasonable person" for this to qualify as a discrimination and harassment violation.

Although the ruling of the court will have no effect on the final results in the USG presidential elections, Budd said his campaign contested the violation because they wanted to clear their name and show there was no hate in their campaign.

Gordon said the violation is being pursued because they want to set "good standards" for coming elections.

"The commission focuses on things that violate the student body environment, and we have the obligation to go to court," he said. "This expresses larger concerns for the university community."

Gordon added that harassment may not have been the intent of the Dinkelspiel and Budd campaign; however, statements from the LGBTA community and posts from the Report Hate Web site prove that people's lives were affected.

Budd, who appeared as a representative from the Dinkelspiel and Budd campaign, said any suggestions that the ticket is homophobic are wrong.

Budd said that other campaigns' used similarly offensive slogans throughout the campaign and that their flier was in no way directed at the LGBTA community.

"The LGBTA community really reached for this one," he said. "The group is being oversensitive."

He added that in protesting the message on the flier, the LGBTA community was "stereotyping themselves and their activities."