insight

OUR OPINION

WHAT'S BLACK AND WHITE AND FLAWED ALL OVER?

Richard Boettner, election commission chair, has given the green light to a student who has expressed interest in being a write-in candidate, to campaign using quarter-page hand-bills, e-mail and word-of-mouth, which directly violates the bylaws Boettner wrote.

First, the document explicitly states, "...write in (sic) candidates shall not campaign at all. If any write in (sic) candidate is found to b (sic) campaigning, they will be immediately disqualified from the election."

Yeah, aside from the spelling and punctuation errors, that's pretty black and white.

Not only has Boettner verbally refuted his own document, but he has also contradicted himself on what he's told student candidates were acceptable campaign practices.

Presidential candidate Aaron "Jack" Wylie confirmed that Boettner told him if he had any assistance in distributing handbills or hanging posters around campus he would have to file as a party, if, of course Boettner approved.

Meanwhile, Boettner told a Metropolitan reporter that the aforementioned write-in candidate could utilize his friends in spreading the word of his write-in intentions.

There are at least two other members on the election commission, but it appears that Chairman Boettner has been doing all the approving himself. According to a source, the paid employee is giving the OK on all campaign literature without the consent of his fellow commissioners. This is yet another violation of his own rules.

The entire election commission bylaws are, at best, hogwash.

First and foremost, it's laced with typos, misspelled words, syntactical errors and fragmented sentences.

Now, we've had our fair share of syntax problems, but in a document such as this-formal governmental policy-it is inexcusable to allow a slip like, "The official ballot authorized by the Election Commission shall consist of a list of candidates by position, alphabetic order by last name, and a short, 20 words or less."

The way we see it, the bylaws, as they are written, pretty much destroy any chance for a write-in candidate to get elected. We understand the intent behind this policy. To win an election based on a write-in must be something very special-an obvious message from the governed.

But, with Stalin-like definitions for campaigning, simply suggesting that a friend write you in could be seen as a violation.

When contacted by The Metropolitan for comment, Dennis Bergquist, the interim SGA president was speechless. He said he had no idea the aforementioned practices were going on.

One may infer that Boettner has been left to run amok. However, the party may be coming to an end, Bergquist promised to investigate the matter and if the "accusations are true," he said, "action will be taken."

Boettner should face consequences for potentially setting in motion another electoral farce. Amendments must be made to the bylaws in order to clarify the place of a write-in candidate and to clean up the copy.

We implore the SGA to act today. There isn't a moment to lose with the election beginning Oct. 24.