NEC to decide on election violations

It's not Salem, it's Philadelphia. And they're not witches, they're freshman UA candidates. The Nominations and Elections Committee will act as jury tonight when candidates accuse other candidates of biasing the elections through campaign violations. More than ten UA candidates out of the 33 running will present cases against their opponents for alleged poster violations during the past week of campaigning. UA voting was held Monday and Tuesday for the eight available UA seats. Candidate Andrew Gano said that he and Joshua Berlin jointly filed charges against two other candidates who violated the NEC's Fair Practices Code by placing posters on top of theirs. "I had asked them previously to take them down," said Gano, who is in the College. "I couldn't rip them down, because that would be a violation." Gano said he told the candidates that if they did not remove their posters, he would turn them in. "I'm not the kind of person to bluff," Gano said. Gano said that he and Berlin will leave it to the NEC to determine the proper punishment for poster violations. But, said Gano, "I don't think we should have anyone who would act like that on the UA." Michael Monson, NEC chairperson for elections, said that the NEC will decide tonight whether or not the alleged violations "bias the election or [are] gross violations of the rules." Monson, a College junior, said he was "slightly surprised" by the number of violations since the candidates were "very conscientious." He said he was most disturbed by the charge of a University administrator against a candidate for violating the University Poster Code. He said that Cheryl Groce-Wright, assistant dean of Community House, charged Wharton student Quang O with the violation because she said he depicted a bikini-clad Kathy Ireland on his posters. But O said last night that he thinks he was charged with a violation because he put the posters in men's bathrooms in the Quadrangle. "There was no rule that said a girl in a bikini is illegal," O said. "I had to do something to open a few eyes." Dwight Arakaki, another candidate, charged two other candidates with poster violations for placing posters on the lower metal gate of the Quad, which is prohibited by the Fair Practices Code. Arakaki said that illegal placement of posters gave certain candidates unfair advantages. "Some people follow the rules and others don't," Arakaki said. Monson said the members of the NEC will decide which of the 16 violations, if any, made the election unfair to candidates. The winners of the election will be announced today.