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Volume 126 Issue 104
kansan.com
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
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STUDENT SENATE
Jayhawkers disqualified for campaign violations
EMMA LEGAULT news@kansan.com
The Elections Commission decided Tuesday night that all candidates from the jayhawkers coalition have been disqualified from the Student Senate election.
to be in violation, but Grow KU did the exact same thing and was found not guilty."
The Commission found the Jayhawkers in violation of a rule that outlines penalties for purchasing food for a campaign event. Members of Jayhawkers allegedly purchased Chipotle for an event on March 30, which was not reported on the coalition's expenditure report and gave the coalition an unfair advantage in the election, according to the Commission.
"Not only were we falsely accused and found to be in violation, but Grow KU did the exact same thing and was found not guilty."
MACKENZIE OATMAN Jayhawkers presidential candidate
Below is an excerpt from the email of the Commission's official decision, sent to the Kansan:
when they realized the violation of the rules (and prior to the hearing). The Commission
2) Jayhawkers was accused of violating 7.4.9.2.6, which
should trigger penalties outlined in 7.4.10.6.10, for purchasing food for campaign event. The complaint alleged that on March 30, 2014, Jayhawkers purchased food from Chipotle for a group of students. Witnesses appeared for both sides of the argument.
Decision: The Commission finds that Jayhawkers violated 7.4.9.2.6 and, as a result, the entire coalition (including all candidates) is disqualified from the election. The Jayhawkers purchased food for the purpose of campaigning, and failed to report those expenditures to the Commission on their weekly financial report. This event unfairly advantaged Jayhawkers over the other coalitions and candidates in the election.
The Jayhawkers argued that they asked attendees of the event to compensate the coalition leadership for the food
tnds this defense insufficient because the food was still used for campaigning, and is therefore a campaign expense.
"The Jayhawkers will be on the ballot tomorrow, and we will go through as planned. We think this decision is inappropriate," Mackenzie Oatman, the Jayhawkers presidential candidate, said Tuesday night. "We are going to take this to highest appeal. Not only were we falsely accused and found
Grow KU's Will Admussen brought the charge against the Jayhawkers in the Commission meeting earlier Tuesday night.
The Jayhawkers accused Grow KU of providing free food at meetings on March 3 and 8. Cody Christensen, a Jayhawkers representative, also accused Grow KU of providing free cappuccinos at the March 8 event. The Commission found no violation.
Oatman said the decision was "a result of internal Senate politics."
Another violation was brought up against the Jayhawkers by Student Senate Chief of Staff Tyler Childress for improper registration.
Since the accusation was brought up last Friday, the Jayhawkers had formulated a document that stated that the attendees paid for their own burritos. The document included signatures of the students present.
Admussen challenged the timing of the events — if the attendees knew they would have to pay for the burritos themselves before or after the Jayhawkers were accused of campaign violations.
Two other complaints were discussed at the Student Senate election committee's campaign violations meeting Tuesday evening.
Rock Chalk Central allowed the coalition to go online before the approval of three students and an adviser, so even though the Jayhawkers were given the impression that they had properly registered with the SILC, they had not. Childress requested the lowest possible fine of $15, saying that the coalition did break the rule, but the group's action won't impact how students vote in the election.
The Commission also found no violation regarding the complaint.
The Elections Commissioner Jake Rapp was unavailable for comment at the time of the Kansan's print deadline. This was the most up-to-date information as of midnight last night. Check updates on this story at Kansan.com.
- Yu Kyung Lee contributed to this report.
LGBTQ
Senate approves full-time LGBTQ coordinator
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
A rainbow cake inside the Student Union is devoured by students on Monday. Funding for a full-time LGBTQ coordinator for the Fall 2014 semester was recently approved by Student Senate and now awaits approval from the Chancellor and the Kansas Board of Regents.
MCKENNA HARFORD news@kansan.com
ly when students get behind something, the University will make a change," said junior Mitchell Cota, media coordinator for Queers and Allies.
This will expand the LGBTQ Resource Center, which has been run by one graduate student, Michael Detmer, to reach out to the gender and sexuality minority students on campus and recruit future students.
Funding for a full-time LGBTQ coordinator for the Fall 2014 semester was recently approved by Student Senate and now awaits approval from the Chancellor and the Kansas Board of Regents.
"Students decided that it's a priority right now that the University is not currently seeking and we wanted to show that we are willing to fund them and to show the University that this is a priority for us because typical-
The position would also be responsible for campus programming, advocacy and education, as well as researching
SEE LGBTQ PAGE 3
STUDENT SENATE
Voter turnout for elections hard to predict this year
EMILY DONOVAN news@kansan.com
Jake Rapp, the Student Senate elections commission chair and a graduate student from Lawrence, said voting requires a little bit of effort.
"One of the big responsibilities that coalitions and candidates have is to inform the public as to why the election matters," Rapp said. "I think that's one of the biggest challenges that they confront, given a student body that has a lot of other things on their minds."
Students have to figure out who the candidates are, read their online campaign materials and believe that these elections matter.
Student Senate elections matter. Rapp said, because of the three big responsibilities Student Senate has.
WHY SHOULD I VOTE?
1. Student Senate allocates and sets the required campus fee, prioritizing what programs and policies get money.
"It's important to vote in Student Senate elections because, as we've seen this year, the people who are in the administration matter," said Emma Halling. Student body vice president. "You should identify who among the candidates you agree with — both the platforms that they're putting forward and the values that they hold as leaders."
3. Student Senate represents the student body to the public,
"You see your fee dollars directly impacting your University experience," said Marcus Tetwiler, student body president. "You see the buses. You have access to health services." 2. Student body president and vice president appoint students to boards and committees throughout the University government structure.
to administrators and to the Kansas Board of Regents.
"It's also important to vote because it gives those leaders legitimacy when they go into conversations with administrators and with state legislators," Halling said.
When Halling goes into conversations with the Provost or state legislators, she can say, "This is how we feel on this issue, and I represent 6,000 students who voted in this past election."
If students don't vote, Halling said decision-makers may not keep the student body's best interest in mind. She said legislators may think, "We can change this because what are the students going to do? They don't react. They don't vote. We
A high voter turnout rate helps make decision-makers listen when she advocates on the student body's behalf.
SEE VOTE PAGE 3
TOTAL VOTER TURNOUT
25 PERCENT
WINNING SBP AND SBVP
Record high Student Senate voter turnout rate from 2013 elections
Index CLASSIFIEDS 11 CRYPTOQUIPS 5 SPORTS 12 CROSSWORD 5 OPINION 4 SUDOKU 5
8 PERCENT
Record low Student Senate voter turnout rate from 2012 elections
All contents, unless stated otherwise, © 2014 The University Daily Kansan
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