By Laura Rodell
The list of candidates in the 2007 Student Government Association election underwent another series of transitions this week.
Two tickets officially entered the 2007 SGA presidential race on Tuesday. The next day, SGA cabinet members approved a proposal to change the minimum GPA required of presidential candidates, opening up the possibility for incumbent president, Peter DiSilvio, to reenter the race. DiSilvio was removed from the running when his GPA did not meet requirements.
Presidential candidates Brent Weitzberg and Shaun Slight and their respective running mates, Kate Legnetti and Ian Daly, stepped forward at the last minute in order to ensure that there would be an election this year.
Originally, two different tickets were expected to declare their candidacy, but both were found to be invalid just before the meeting began. One ticket was composed of students who inadvertently signed up as candidates, while the other ticket included the ineligible DiSilvio.
Last week, it was revealed that DiSilvio did not meet all the qualifications to run for president, as outlined in the SGA Constitution. Removal from the race was automatic, meaning it occurred without deliberation. DiSilvio could re-enter the race by producing documentation that his GPA was or would be changed; however, the paperwork did not arrive in time for Tuesday’s meeting.
“Without documentation that the situation was going to be fixed, because of the ways our rules are, it’s cut-and-dried that we couldn’t allow him to run,” Lisa Giunta, the SGA elections commission chair, said. “There is nothing to decide on without documentation.”
DiSilvio endeavored to appeal his ineligibility to senate and, to that end, produced documentation of the extenuating circumstances that impacted his GPA. The elections commission, however, held that it is the final arbiter in matters pertaining to the election and that the senate is not constitutionally empowered to overturn its decisions. A spirited debate over how to interpret the relevant legislation ensued.
“I feel that the decision the elections commission made should be able to be appealed,” Jared Berry, SGA senator, said. “The elections commission, in my opinion, is a subset of senate and is overseen by senate, and I believe that senate should be able to overturn its rulings.”
In the interest of fostering harmony within SGA, DiSilvio thanked members for their impassioned support and advised moving past the issue of his appeal.
“I ran [for president] on [combating] infighting. It drives me nuts. I didn’t want that happening,” DiSilvio said. “At first I was just sitting back because [senators] said ‘we’re going to make a motion [to appeal] and we’ll see what happens.’ So I sat there quietly through the first and the second [appeal attempts], and I started realizing you’re just repeating yourselves. And then they’re getting angrier and I was like, no. I can deal with a lot, but I can’t deal with watching everything I worked for this entire year destroyed because of me. Can’t do it.”
In the interest of making an election possible, DiSilvio urged his supporters to place themselves on the ballot.
The declaration meeting was immediately followed by an SGA senate meeting, which concluded with several senators speaking extemporaneously about the day’s developments and DiSilvio’s performance as president this year, praising his leadership and interpersonal skills.
That support was also apparent during Wednesday’s emergency cabinet meeting, in which a majority (five to three) of cabinet members voted in favor of changing presidential and vice-presidential candidates’ minimum GPA requirement from 2.5 to 2.25. If the proposal is also passed in the senate, DiSilvio will once again be eligible to run for president.
“I think that somebody’s GPA is not a proper assessment of the work that, in this case, Pete has put in as president throughout this entire year,” said Stephanie Kaplan, an SGA senator. “He’s had an amazing rapport with not only the members of SGA, but the members of the University student body. Right now, the best person for the job has been denied the opportunity to run. This is not a fight to allow Pete to be the president; it is a fight to allow him to be put on the ballot to run, and nature will take its course after that.”
Others, however, considered the measure unethical.
“Somebody didn’t meet qualifications, so they’re trying to go back and change what those qualifications were,” Giunta said. “I find it appalling and unacceptable. If the senate passes this, I would have some tough choices to make about my involvement in the elections commission this year. You don’t need to be president to make a positive impact on an organization. It’s about you being a student leader, and I’m really disappointed that not enough people see this.”
The proposal is slated to go before senate next Tuesday. To become legislation, it must be approved by two-thirds of the senators.