The Student Elections Commission issued a cease and desist order on Tuesday to Student Union Executive Vice President Daniel Ellis, among other Union members, demanding they discontinue using the organization’s resources in support of the Build BU election campaign.
The SEC warned that continued use of Union Facebook and Twitter accounts to campaign for the Build BU slate could get the slate disqualified from the election.
In the statement, posted at 8 p.m., the SEC wrote that Ellis, a College of Arts and Sciences senior, and others violated election codes stating, “spaces or materials of the Student Union or any college government may not be used in support of any campaign.”
SEC cited Union’s social network pages as examples of the “spaces and materials” e-board members used to promote the slate.
“[Ellis] has failed to respect the boundaries between personal advocacy and official endorsement,” according to the statement.“By integrating with the Build BU slate (‘BuildBU’) as a campaign staff and assuming a central role in their campaign, Mr. Ellis has made it nearly impossible to distinguish between his role as Vice President and his role as an advocate for BuildBU.”
A Union Tweet from April 14 accused members of the Rhettvolution slate of vandalizing Union property. It read, “You have vandalized a $1,600 glass case @Rhettvolution, and it isn’t coming off. You are attacking STUDENTS’ hard work.”
Union later removed the Tweet and posted a clarification that it did not have evidence that the Rhettvolution committed the vandalism.
On April 15, Union spokesman Vinny Squillace, a CAS senior, posted a note on the Union’s official Facebook page that stated Union is not officially endorsing any slate.
“Build BU is made up of Union members, and a few of our members are clearly ardent supporters,” he wrote in the post. “This does not mean some of our members do not support the Rhett Offensive and RhettVolution. . . From an organizational standpoint, we will remain neutral.”
However, Ellis and Squillace are also listed as having officially endorsed Build BU on the slate’s website.
Ellis also wrote a perspective piece for The Daily Free Press’ opinion editorial page, published online on Tuesday, endorsing the Build BU slate.
The violations resulted in a 6-0 SEC vote to “enjoin Ellis and other members of the Union executive board from campaigning for the Build BU slate,” according to the SEC site.
“The SEC wishes to foster a friendly and competitive environment for student elections,” according to the statement. “While we regret the need to resort to such drastic measures, we assert that this restriction on the Union executive board’s ability to campaign is necessary to maintain a civil and fair election.”