Elections Committee may revise "gag rule"

The controversial "gag rule," which restricts Undergraduate Assembly candidates from speaking to the press during an election, may be revised this year, according to Nominations and Elections Committee leaders. NEC leaders said Sunday they are considering the revision as part of the annual evaluation of the Fair Practices Code which regulates the UA election process. The code states that during the campaign and election period "a candidate may only be quoted as an unidentifiable source in any media publication." This rule applies to both election and non-election related issues. UA leaders voiced opposition to the code last Wednesday night in a public forum sponsored by the NEC. Although the code states that candidates cannot discuss any issue with the media, NEC Chairperson Melanie Brownrout said she interprets the code to only include election issues. "I don't see it as a restrictive document at all. We just want to guard against people abusing the [media] contacts that they have," she said. "I feel that the way we interpret [the code] is fair." The code is reviewed before each UA election and then presented to the UA for approval, according to Michael Monson, the NEC elections chairperson. If the UA questions any part of the code, the NEC works closely with the UA to make the document acceptable to both bodies, the College junior said. "We developed it [the code] with input from the UA," said Brownrout. "It constantly changes as issues arise." Monson added the code is necessary to keep elections "fair." "The structure of the media [at the University] is that there is one medium -- The Daily Pennsylvanian," Monson said. "The basis for free speech is that there is a free market available. On this campus there is no free market." Monson added that the code is always subject to change, and that the NEC will continue to fine-tune it. He added that the purpose of the rule is essentially to make sure that candidates who have more opportunity to get media exposure than other candidates do not abuse that opportunity. UA Chairperson Jeff Lichtman said he feels that candidates should be allowed to voice their opinions about any issue to the media in the form of attributable statements. But Lichtman said he would leave the job of changing the code to the NEC. "I'm going to let the NEC make their own decisions," College senior Lichtman said. "I'll let them do their own job."