By Nick Ubels and Paul Esau (The Cascade) – Email
A new campaign poster for SUS candidates Marin Beck and Celina Beer is attracting some controversy over allegations that it violates a section of the UFV student union society governing manual.
The posters, which went up Monday, March 6, included blurbs for each candidate. Greg Stickland, Beer’s rival candidate for VP internal, is worried these posters violate section 4.1.31 of the governing manual, which prohibits electoral blocks or co-sponsored campaigns.
“Candidates aren’t supposed to support each other,” said Stickland. “You’re not supposed to run these blocks.”
The portion of the governing manual in question, section 4.1.31, reads, “Candidates are forbidden from receiving organizational aid from any of the following:… Slates [and] other Candidates…”
Stickland argued that the collaboration on the poster constituted organizational aid because the candidates put their names together in writing.
“They did it together, they organized together and they put their names on it,” he said.
All campaign posters must be approved by the SUS elections committee, a rotating group of SUS-affiliated individuals whose identities are kept secret. A member of the committee said, “the EC did approve the poster sent in by Celina Beer and Marin Beck. We do not believe that Celina Beer and Marin Beck are in violation of UFV election regulation 4.1.31 because neither of the candidates received organizational aid from any of the following: External Organizations, Organs of The Society, Parties, Slates, other Candidates, the University, of University Faculty and Staff.”
The same individual added, “there have been no formal complaints registered with the Elections
Committee (EC) on this matter. Any member of the Student Union Society is allowed to register a formal complaint to the Elections Committee.”
Marin Beck said the decision to place both names on one poster was made simply to save paper. It came to the attention of Beck and Beer during the Chilliwack debate that there was some concern over whether the poster violated the governing manual, but after the elections committee approved the design, she felt justified in putting them up.
Celina Beer also mentioned that a concern had been voiced during the Chilliwack all-candidates meeting by SUS communications administrator Jhim Burwell, but that the poster had still been approved. “I did get it approved and everything seemed fine,” she said. “The clear message it was supposed to be for was just to save the paper, not necessarily to run as a slate between Marin and I… The idea was just to save the paper that was the strictly the only reason we wanted to run together.”
“We know what our intention was and if [others] don’t think that our intention came across properly then that’s their choice,” she said. “They’ve only been up for a day or two, so at the end of the day if we hear more complaints about it we’ll take them down.”
According to Stickland, his main concern is the conduct of the elections committee, not the two candidates in question.
“I’ve been really frustrated with the elections committee,” he said. “I don’t feel their policies are really being upheld.”
The danger he sees with the current process is that it could cause unnecessary trouble for candidates who are running for the first time.
“They might break a rule unknowingly,” he said.
