The DASG administration committee addressed candidate and voter complaints in its Elections Certification and Complaints meeting in the Student Council Chambers on March 13.
The Elevate coalition, a group of five candidates including Aroush Fatima, 18, computer science major, president elect, Shreyas Menon,18, computer science major, Inter Club Council elect, Kunishka Mundada, 18, political science major, student trustee elect, Varshi Patcha,18, economics major, chair of administrations elect and Laksyha Saini, 18, computer engineering major, events elect, had received several complaints against them.
A central complaint was about the supposed violation of DASG elections Code IV, Section 2, Sub-Section F(8):
“Candidates cannot assist a student to vote in any way, candidates can only direct students to the voting page by providing the URL or a QR code through their campaign materials. Candidates cannot directly observe the ballot or influence the student as they’re voting.”
Alongside the Elevate coalition, candidates Kavi Kumaresan, 20, film and television major and Naim Pichori, 18, business major were accused of violating DASG Elections code Article IV, Section 2, Sub-Section B by utilizing a table from the health center.
The elections code states that no candidate shall use any club, ICC, DASG or college resources for their campaign.
The verdict of the meeting resulted in the disqualification of candidates Kavi Kumaresan and Naim Pichori for unauthorized use of campus property.
The administration committee dropped complaint charges from Joey Hua, 18, aerospace engineering major and Zahir Salimi, 20, data science and statistics major, ICC candidate, against the Elevate coalition due to insufficient evidence.
The committee upheld other student complaints by finding the Elevate Coalition guilty of violating DASG elections guidelines Code IV, Section 2, Sub-Section B.
Yinwa Yung, 19, political science major and Public Policy School program liaison announced the committee’s verdict after about an hour of deliberation. The committee slashed the coalition’s reimbursement by half and assigned them 40 hours of committee service and a three page essay. They were not disqualified.
Wadi Lin Lei, 21, biological sciences major and chair of administration, concluded the meeting by criticizing the candidates for their unprofessionalism and blatant disregard for the administration committee’s instructions.
She specifically condemned their actions toward a student giving testimony, stating that publicly humiliating someone who bravely spoke before a crowd speaks volumes about their character.She reiterated the importance of following the student code of conduct and displaying basic human decency.
Elevate Member, Kunishka Mundada, 18, political science major, student trustee elect and Aroush Fatima, 18, computer science major, president elect are seen leaving the Student council chambers the moment the verdict was announced, despite Yinwa Yung’s clarification, “Guys, we’re not done yet”.
The committee’s decision to mute the mic for the last hours of the zoom meeting during its deliberations — rendered portions of the meeting inaccessible to the public. To address the potential Brown Act violation, the committee decided to redo the meeting. The second meeting, which will include the general senate, is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Friday, March 28.
