Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Pressure Influenced Election Appeal

After deciding last month to overturn the results of the recent GUSA executive election and call for a new vote, the GUSA Assembly reversed itself in a razor-thin vote Tuesday, confirming Twister urchison (SFS ’08) as the new president of the student association.

The reversal came after what several Assembly members said they considered pressure from administrators in the Center for Student Programs to confirm the disputed results.

Assembly member Anthony Bonna (MSB ’09) said that, before spring break last week, two administrators in the Center for Student Programs, Director of Student Organizations Martha Swanson and Leadership Coordinator Gerard Alolod (SFS ’05), met with six members of the Assembly and representatives of the Election Commission.

“[Swanson] stated emphatically that she disagreed with our decision and repeatedly defended the Election Commission,” Bonna said.

“CSP seemed to be encouraging certification,” Assembly member Christina Goodlander (SFS ’07) agreed.

A number of other GUSA representatives said the switch was prompted by a sincere change in opinion, however.

Swanson said yesterday that she did not put pressure on the Assembly, but was present at the meeting to “help facilitate that conversation.” She said she felt that the Election Commission acted appropriately by disqualifying Hibri and running mate Geoff Greene (SFS ’07).

“It was really a conversation about the bylaws, sort of the intent of the bylaws,” she said. “The university doesn’t run the election, the Election Commission runs the election.”

Murchison lost the popular vote to Khalil Hibri (SFS ’07), but was declared the winner by the GUSA Election Commission on Feb. 20 after Hibri was disqualified. Althoug the Election Appeals Board voted to uphold the disqualification, the Assembly voted not to certify the election results on Feb. 28.

For his part, Murchison has charged ahead into his new office. Though he acknowledged that lingering disputes over the handling of the election may hinder perceptions of his administration’s legitimacy, he said that he intends to emphasize outreach in building his administration.

“We’re going to start reaching out to different clubs, sending messages of cooperation and consultation,” he said.

Hibri, who won an unexpected victory when the Assembly rejected the election results, accepted the Assembly’s reversal of course on Tuesday.

“The current administration will have to work very hard to gain legitimacy,” he said “We hope they recognize the priorities and needs of the students.”

Still, Assembly Speaker Ed Duffy (SFS ’07) said that it is hard to say how much influence the meeting with Swanson had on the certification vote.

“It was her [Swanson] basically saying, the only thing to do is certify the election,” he said yesterday. “The people who changed their mind this time, they at least had something to look at. It wasn’t like they were purely intimidated.”

Assembly member Will Dreher (SFS ’09) called allegations that the Assembly succumbed to pressure for the CSP “ridiculous” said in an e-mail yesterday. Dreher, who had originally voted not to certify when the Assembly refused to certify the election results, said that he changed his vote upon receiving a better explanation of the disqualification from the Election Commission.

Dreher said he was convinced that the results should be certified after seeing a document presented by the Election Commission to the Assembly citing the bylaws that supported the disqualification of Hibri and Greene. The document, which was produced after the Assembly originally voted not to certify the election, outlined the Election Commission’s position and its justification for the disqualification.

“All questions regarding specific bylaws were laid to rest with the information presented last night in the official election commission document,” said Assembly member Charlie Harrington (COL ’08), who voted for certification at both meetings.

But Bonna said that, by reversing its earlier decision, the Assembly missed a significant opportunity to lead in a crisis.

“I really think that it was a reluctance to deal with the tough issues of the election process,” he said. “I’ve personally labeled GUSA irrelevant.”

Goodlander expressed more hope about the future of a GUSA run by urchison.

“If you look at the way Twister acted throughout this job, he acted with an immense amount of dignity,” she said. “Twister’s gonna do a great job.”

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