It’s important for us to set the record straight on the issue of our next student body president and vice president-elect.
There is no student body president or vice-president-elect until the vice president of Student Affairs makes his decision.
The decision can either be to uphold the Student Supreme Court’s decision or remand them for reconsideration.
The principle at stake here is whether we will allow students and our administrative officials to have selective respect for “our rule of law.”
All past candidates agreed to abide by rules and regulations that were put in place by the Electoral Commission; rules and regulations that Gallop Franklin approved as a member the Student Senate and knew very well, having ran for office on this campus 5 different times, since Fall 2005.
The Franklin/(Calvin) Hayes ticket was disqualified first by the Electoral Commission, not because of a 2×6 banner, but because they reached the 50-point threshold caused by the violation of several regulations.
The Student Supreme Court voted 5-0 to disqualify them a second time because of the unwillingness of the Electoral Commission to stick with its original decision.
It’s amazing to me how individuals only believe in the system when it’s convenient for them. This is the same process that Franklin took advantage of last year. He appealed to the Student Supreme Court to overturn last year’s SGA president and vice president results after the students cast their votes.
The only difference in this case is that the Student Supreme Court ruled ruled against him in an unanimous vote. We need a student body president and vice president who will follow the rules and not look down upon them.
How can we expect Franklin/Hayes to uphold our Student Body Constitution if they refuse to hold themselves accountable to the same rules and standards that everyone else on this campus has to abide by? There are no shortcuts to leadership and we have entered into an era of accountability and transparency since the arrival of our university president, James Ammons.
This must trickle down to the hall of Student Government. The administration must uphold the Student Supreme Court’s unanimous decision and call for a special election so that we can truly say that no man, ticket or organization is above the law on this campus.
Mario Henderson is a senior political science student from Daytona Beach, Fla. He can be reached at famuanopinions@gmail.com.