The Elections Commission held a meeting Tuesday night before announcing the election results to decide the best course of action in regards to violations filed against Student Senate president candidate Jon Chichwak and student body president candidate Adam Compton.
Greg Doucette, a junior in computer science and candidate for Student Senate president, said he first became aware that vandalizing might occur when various users of The Wolf Web notified him that Chichwak had told all his supporters to tear up the signs Tuesday.
He said one of The Wolf Web users, Christine Waddill, agreed to be in the Brickyard with a camera Tuesday.
Waddill, a junior in textile technology, said she watched three of Doucette’s sandwich boards all afternoon.
“[Then] there was a little frenzy of activity, and that’s why I started snapping pictures,” she said.
Waddill said someone did not like knowing that Chichwak actually had an opponent who might win.
“They felt it was OK to do things like tear down banners and posters,” she said.
During the Elections Commission meeting, commissioners read e-mails from Doucette regarding the identities of the violators.
Doucette sent four e-mails regarding two specific incidents that occurred in the Brickyard.
In one e-mail, Doucette named Jessie Jeppsson, a freshman in nuclear engineering, as one of the individuals who defaced two of his sandwich boards at 1:14 p.m.
Jeppsson was an employee with the Technician but was fired from her job Tuesday.
David Foxx, a candidate for student body treasurer, said he was there when Jeppsson, a member of Chichwak’s Facebook group, vandalized Doucette’s sign. Foxx said Jeppsson was talking to Compton and himself when she asked them to wait, then she proceeded to rip Doucette’s sign off his sandwich board.
Jeppsson declined to comment on the situation.
“Joining a Facebook group is one thing, but going around [tearing down signs] is different,” Foxx said.
Drexel Heard, Chichwak’s campaign manager, said the campaign staff only consists of five or six staff members. He said the students who committed the violations are not involved directly with Chichwak’s campaign.
“These people don’t work for us at all,” Heard said.
Heard said the entire situation is reminiscent of Greg’s experience with the anti-Chichwak posts on The Wolf Web.
“People start getting blamed for things they didn’t do,” he said.
According to Heard, this violation is pointless considering none of the individuals in question are on the campaign staff.
“Filing a violation against a campaign that has nothing to do with anything is just kind of tasteless,” he said.
Doucette’s second set of e-mails concerned two males, whom he, Compton, Foxx, and Senator John Tart saw destroy three sandwich boards yesterday. In a later e-mail, Doucette identified one of the defacers as Arvic Macapagal.
Prater said these two men are not as identifiable as Jeppsson because there is no action photograph.
Doucette said his overall concern was regaining some of the funds he lost due to the damaged campaign material.
“Those posters weren’t cheap,” he said. “I’m going to be out of pocket regardless [of the fine].”
Prater also received a letter from Andrew Reep, a resident advisor in Lee Residence Hall, voicing a formal complaint against Compton for hanging signs inside Bragaw Residence Hall and having a laptop present at his campaign booth, both elections violations.
According to Prater, the Elections Commission cannot handle cases concerning residence halls. She said the complaint against Compton will be referred to Paul Cousins, director of the Office of Student Conduct.
Prater said the Elections Commission will have a meeting sometime next week to determine the fates of the filed violations.
