After heated debate at last night's University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) meeting, UPUA representatives voted to cut a clause from their election code that would have banned disqualified UPUA presidential candidates from participating in any future elections.
UPUA's election code committee originally rejected the clause when it was presented as part of the new election code earlier this year, UPUA Academic Affairs Chairman Ralph Crivello said. But the clause appeared on the version of the election code that was submitted to the UPUA general assembly. Crivello said former Internal Development Chair Jay Chamberlin told him the clause had been omitted from the document.
"I was lied to," Crivello said. "I was told certain provisions weren't in there."
Some representatives took issue with the clause's restrictions on presidential candidates especially since the clause did not ban candidates who had violated university policy, but only those who had been disqualified from previous elections.
"This is like banishment from the kingdom," Crivello said during debate. "This is not the American way."
Members of student advocacy group Safeguard Old State (SOS), including SOS executive director Gavin Keirans, spoke during open forum at the beginning of the meeting. Keirans, who ran for UPUA president last spring, was disqualified from the election for campaign violations after placing behind current president Hillary Lewis.
"The United States government doesn't ban people from running," SOS advocacy director Tom Shakely said. "It'd be bad precedence for a young student government."
UPUA Governmental Affairs Chairman John Richter cast the only vote against striking the clause from the election code.
"We should be holding the office of the president to a higher standard," he said. "We need good people in there to represent the students, and somebody who did enough to get disqualified can't do that as well."
UPUA Internal Development Chairman Justin Waddell stressed the importance of voting on the election code itself rather than focusing solely on a single clause.
"I'm pleased people were able to discuss this thing in a civilized manner," he said. A rejection of the election code as a whole would have been a "failure," he said.
The new election code -- which, among other provisions, will consolidate UPUA elections with those of the Association of Residence Hall Students (ARHS) and the University Park Allocation Committee (UPAC) -- passed with the required two-thirds vote.
Keirans said he was pleased that the election code passed without the clause but that he felt that the clause had been designed to prevent him from running for UPUA president again.
"I think it was the old guard trying to stop someone from running," he said. "It should be about unifying the student voice."
Crivello, who called the clause "the anti-Gavin clause," said he was pleased with the results of the meeting and encouraged students to campaign in the March 26 elections.
