Judicial Council issued a press release early Friday morning announcing the “complete suspension” of junior Corey Robinson's campaign until 12 a.m. Tuesday.
Robinson, a receiver on the University football team, and sophomore Rebecca Blais are candidates for student body president and vice president, respectively.
The suspension comes as a result of supposed violations of section 17.1(d) of the student union constitution. The section details the specific times and places candidates may campaign for the student body election.
“Section 17.1(d) was violated due to an interview which was conducted with a media outlet before campaigning could constitutionally begin; this interview was determined to constitute campaigning,” Judicial Council said in the press release.
The campaign period officially began Jan. 26 when Judicial Council announced the three tickets that had received sufficient petition signatures to secure a spot on the ballot in next Wednesday's election.
Juniors Louis Bertolotti and Elizabeth Fenton as well as juniors Dominic Alberigi and Jennifer Cha will also appear on the ballot.
Judicial Council declined to answer which interview led to the allegations filed last week, however a number of local and national media outlets including The Observer, ESPN and Bleacher Report reported Robinson's candidacy the day it was announced.
Both the Bertolotti-Fenton and Alberigi-Cha tickets released statements Sunday night in response to the sanctions.
"It is always a shame to see an allegation filed, especially this early into the campaign,” the Bertolotti-Fenton ticket said in the statement. “Our ticket has the utmost respect for the constitution of the student union, and we hope that it will be respected for the remainder of the campaign by every candidate and by whatever administration eventually takes office."
The Alberigi-Cha ticket said they hope to avoid further distractions throughout the remainder of the campaign period.
"It saddens us to see the fair election process broken down by violations, because they distract from the candidates’ platforms,” the Alberigi-Cha ticket said. “All of us have intriguing ideas to offer, which should be presented to the students in an honest manner. We truly believe that ideas, passion and capability should ultimately determine who wins this election, and we trust our peers to vote in the best interest of the Irish family.
“We sincerely hope that the remainder of the campaign period will be conducted with greater fairness and respect."
The student body debate will take place next Monday Feb. 8 in the basement of LaFortune Student Center, and the election will occur Wednesday Feb. 10.
The Robinson-Blais campaign did not respond to The Observer's request for a comment.
Read More
Trending