W ESTER NGA ZET TE.CA • @ UWOGA ZET TE
thegazette Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t since 1906
WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2015
TODAY high 5 low 1
TOMORROW high 13 low 2
Team Helfand platform update >> pg. 3
WESTERN UNIVERSITY • CANADA’S ONLY DAILY STUDENT NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED 1906
VOLUME 108, ISSUE 99
DISQUALIFIED • Team Litchfield disqualified by appeals board
• Accrue 32 demerit points in total • Additional two demerits for off campus campaigning • Team Sophie default winners of election
Alex Benac, Sophie Helpard, Lindsee Perkins
Katie Lear NEWS EDITOR
@KatieAtGazette
Team Litchfield was disqualified yesterday afternoon after a successful appeal the slate’s demerit point total. Team Sophie will now form the incoming executive slate for next year. While upholding all of the elections committee’s other decisions, the appeals board overturned the committee’s decision to award just eight demerit points for Team Litchfield’s off campus campaigning in Somerset Place. Instead, they awarded the slate 10 demerit points and upgraded its classification from a “major” violation to an “extraordinary” violation, which meant Litchfield’s demerit points totalled 32 and merited their automatic disqualification. Team Litchfield’s campaign violations were exposed when Somerset’s building manager filed a formal complaint with the elections committee. The complaint stated Team Litchfield hung 170 door tags throughout the building encouraging residents to vote for them in the USC election despite having received no consent from its residents. According to the appeals board’s report, the provincial illegality of Team Litchfield’s actions was a major factor in upgrading the major violation to an extraordinary violation. Section 4.03 of the elections committee violations procedure states that the “Legality of action dictates that anything that breaks municipal, provincial or federal laws are automatically considered extraordinary violations.” “Team Litchfield’s decision to enter Somerset Place in
contravention of a clearly visible ‘No Soliciting’ violated the Trespass to Property Act. The appeals board must consider any breach of municipal, provincial or federal law with the utmost scrutiny considering such laws transcend USC elections and any university by-laws; they govern all private citizens and actions within their respective jurisdictions.” The appeals board upheld the remainder of the decisions made by the elections committee concerning Team Litchfield’s campaigning activities, including hanging door tags in Luxe and posting on Facebook after the campaign period was over. Derrick Dodgson, chair of the appeals board, said in an email that the decision to award Team Litchfield 32 demerit points was unanimous. “In the case of the decision released today, all seven members of the panel concurred, resulting in a unanimous decision. There was no minority or dissenting opinion.” Team Sophie — consisting of president-elect Sophie Helpard, vice-president internal-elect Alex Benac and vice-president external-elect Lindsee Perkins — responded to their sudden electoral win in a statement they shared on social media. “Integrity and fair play are essential tenets of an election, and we are happy that the appeals board has worked so thoroughly to uphold these values,” Team Sophie said. “We are humbled and excited to begin the work of representing the students of Western; after a tumultuous couple of months, we recognize that there is much work to do.” >> see DISQUALIFICATION pg.3
Jennifer Feldman • GAZETTE