A total of eight grievances were filed against student body presidential candidates Sean Maloney and Michael Sabo. In an effort to investigate further, News staff reached out to the candidates to obtain a list of each one’s respective campaign workers. Both declined to give News staff the information. In a campaign in which both candidates have talked about the importance of transparency, neither is making a good impression so far.
Neither candidate has been forthcoming with his campaign finance information either. In their defense, the money used comes from a private donor, not students. And this information will be released when the elections report is complete, but why beat around the bush? If Maloney and Sabo were campaigning for an actual political position, they would be required by law to make this information open and available to the public.
Both Sabo and Maloney said they don’t feel comfortable giving out personal information of the students who worked on their campaigns. But the only information News staff requested was names. Not ID numbers, not phone numbers. If a student feels strongly enough about a candidate to be part of the campaign in the first place, it seems odd that they would want to keep their support a secret. Also, students (both those who worked for the campaigns and those who didn’t) have been plastering Facebook with “Vote for Candidate X!” profile pictures and status updates for two weeks now – they’re clearly not shy.
For either of the candidates to provide the information The News is looking for would speak volumes. It may not even turn into anything, but it’s the principle of the matter – the willingness of SGA members to openly share information with The News, and therefore the student body. It would mean that this candidate is different and is true to his word. That he really wants things to change and that he wants students to feel involved, and that they have a say in SGA.
Candidates couldn’t even rouse 20 percent of the student body enough to vote by Monday at noon. Clearly, there is a disconnect between the students and the group that is supposed to represent their voice, their wants and their needs. Chances are that most of the student body couldn’t care less about the list of students who helped out with each campaign, but to share the information and make it available would help to set a precedent of openness for whoever becomes the next president of SGA.
Correction: An earlier edition of this editorial said campaign funds came from private donors. The money comes from one donor, a former university president.
