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Thursday, March 26, 2015
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Donovan petitions SA to bar Lupstein Kelly Bauer Editor in Chief T @BauerJournalism
DeKalb | The Standing for Ev-
ery Student ticket has called for the Voice of Change ticket to be disqualified from the 2015 Student Association executive elections for intimidating voters, disrupting an academic environment and littering, among Benjamin Donovan other charges. Robert Kreml, Presidential candidate the vice presidential candidate on the Standing for Every Student ticket, submitted a petition to the SA Supreme Court calling for a hearing to review actions from the Board of Elections, Election Commissioner David White and the Voice of Change ticket early Wednesday. Kreml said the Supreme Court will review his petition and the evidence and witness testimony submitted. They will then deliberate and make a ruling, he said. Nathan Lupstein, who heads the Voice of Change ticket as its presidential candidate, has dismissed Kreml’s charges.
SA election results on hold
SA withholds election results due to pending hearings Northern Star staff
Change ticket citing alleged in- Greeks in the SA, interfering in
DeKalb | The Student Associa- timidation of voters, disrupting the executive elections by pub-
tion will not release the results of Tuesday and Wednesday’s executive elections due to pending appeals from both tickets, according to an SA news release. Both Voice of Change and Standing for Every Student filed petitions to the SA Supreme Court Wednesday, calling for the other’s disqualification. The Standing for Every Student ticket called for the disqualification of the Voice of
an academic environment, littering, improper printing material and improper use of flier adhesive/University Poster Policy. The Voice of Change ticket called for the disqualification of the Standing for Every Student ticket because of an alleged biased relationship with the Northern Star, citing the alleged sharing of presidential candidate Nathan Lupstein’s personal information, writing biased articles against
lishing articles during “key campaign hours” and intimidating the SA Board of Elections. The petitions must be presented and heard by the SA Supreme Court before the election can be completed and results made public, in accordance with Article XII of the SA Bylaws, according to the SA. Contact Joe Palmer, SA director of Public Affairs, at jpalmer6@ niu.edu for more information.
Students take to polls and vote
Charges against Voice of Change Kreml’s petition to the SA Supreme Court contends the Voice of Change “created an unfair voting environment that violated due process and compromised the integrity of the SA executive elections” and the Board of Elections and White “completely overlooked” or did not address the charges. Lupstein said he met with White Monday to have his ticket’s campaigning tactics approved. Standing for Every Student “can petition it as much as they want. We’re in compliance with the policies, the bylaws ...,” Lupstein said. Charges against Board of Elections, election commissioner The Kreml petition contends Standing for Every Student brought its charges against Voice of Change to the Board of Elections, but the board and election commissioner “disregarded” testimony from witnesses or acknowledged violations but chose not to apply sanctions to Voice of Change. Donovan said he thinks Greek relations have played a role in the board’s dismissal of complaints against Voice of Change. Three of the five members of the Board of Elections are fraternity brothers with Voice of Change ticket members Lupstein and Marc Calvey, the ticket’s treasurer candidate. Lupstein said it is “insulting” to think Board of Elections members are playing favorites based on Greek relations, but his ticket has its “doubts where certain people on the Board of Elections have their priorities, too ... .” White did not respond to requests for comment left on his voice mail.
Read Online | bit.ly/1BqgO3n
Dilip Kumar Sripuram | Northern Star
Senior communications major Marguerite Mallory submits her vote for the Student Association executive elections at a polling place in the Founders Memorial Library. Voting results will not be released until the SA Supreme Court hears the appeals from both the Voice of Change and Standing for Every Student tickets.
2015 SA election updates Election updates: Get 24/7 updates on the Student Association at NorthernStar.info. Like the Northern Star Facebook page at Facebook.com/NIUNorthernStar for breaking election news. Follow the Northern Star on Twitter at @NIUNorthernStar and News Editor Jackie Nevarez at @NevarezJackie for 24/7 updates on election results. Petitions: View copies of the petitions filed to the Student Association Supreme Court on behalf of both of the election tickets. Standing for Every Student petition: bit.ly/1EWi55N Voice of Change petition: bit.ly/1E2lR03 Photo gallery: Go to bit.ly/1GqxgpZ to view photos of students voting around campus.
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Lupstein petitions SA to bar Donovan Margaret Maka & Keith Hernandez Digital Editor & Managing Editor
DeKalb | The Voice of Change ticket has called for the disqualification of the Standing for Every Student ticket from the 2015 Student Association executive elections for allegedly working with the Northern Star to write negative articles against the Voice Nathan of Change cam- Lupstein paign and intim- Presidential candidate idate the Board of Elections, among other charges. Nathan Lupstein, Voice of Change head and presidential candidate, wrote a petition requesting the SA Supreme Court review the charges against Standing for Every Student. The petition was drafted hours after Standing for Every Student members submitted an appeal for the disqualification of the Voice of Change ticket. Lupstein did not respond to requests for comment left on his voice mail and email. Ben Donovan, presidential candidate on the Standing for Every Student ticket, said he was not aware of Lupstein’s petition. “Our campaign has had no coordination with the Northern Star,” Donovan said. “The cause that was sent to the Star [Wednesday] morning was merely to keep the Star aware of what we were pursuing as a campaign, which is fully within ... our rights as a campaign and within the Star as a reporting and media organization.” The first of four sections in the petition contends Donovan acted unethically and unprofessionally by giving a Northern Star reporter Lupstein’s cell phone number without his permission. The second section contends the Northern Star printed biased, negative articles on Greeks in the SA and neglected to mention Donovan’s involvement with a Greek organization. The section also contends the Northern Star failed to include in an article Jill Zambito, SA executive and judicial branch advisor, was present during a meeting between Lupstein and Election Commissioner David White to assure the Voice of Change’s campaign tactics were allowed under SA’s bylaws. The third section contends Standing for Every Student and the Northern Star collaborated to “strategically” publish an article during “key campaign hours” about Donovan’s ticket calling for the disqualification of Lupstein’s ticket. The fourth section contends the Northern Star and Donovan’s ticket intimidated the Board of Elections. The alleged intimidation was from a Northern Star article that noted concerns from Donovan and his running mate, Robert Kreml, about a potential bias among three Board of Elections members based on their membership in the same fraternities as Lupstein ticket members.