Student Senate party roster doesn’t make ballot; application was lost
By Nick Claussen
Athens NEWS Associate Editor
May 5, 2008
Fifteen Ohio University students who hoped to run for Student Senate this spring will not have their names on the ballot after their applications were apparently lost.
Student Senate President Tim Vonville said Sunday, however, that even if the applications were on file, they still might not have counted because the students were not part of an official campus organization.
Matt Bell, a member of the Average Joe Party, explained Friday that he and 14 other students were planning to run for Student Senate. Bell was running for president, Erol Civan for vice president, Tom Emery for treasurer and the 12 others for various seats.
On the day the applications were due, Bell was sick and had to go to the hospital, so he had two friends turn in the folder with the applications, he said. Bell added that he contacted Student Senate to inform them that the applications were coming, but that they might be late.
His friends assured him that they turned in the applications at the Student Senate office in Baker Center, though no one was there at the time so they had to leave them at the office, according to Bell.
He found out later that the Student Senate Board of Elections never received the applications, so none of the 15 students was eligible to run for office, unless they choose to run as write-in candidates, which Bell said would be an uphill battle.
He reported the problem to the OU Police Department and appealed to the Board of Elections to still allow his candidates to run for office. The appeal was turned down, though, partially because they had no written documentation that the applications were turned in, he said.
He added that he has spoken to Vonville about the situation and understands Student Senate’s position. He is still frustrated, though, because he and the other students wanted to run for Student Senate and make positive changes in student government at OU.
“I’m still debating what to do,” Bell said. “Basically, I just want an explanation.”
He is also concerned about where the missing applications are, as they had the candidates’ personal information on them.
VONVILLE SAID SUNDAY that Student Senate never officially received the applications, which were apparently placed in a box outside the Senate office.
Vonville is on the appeals committee that turned down Bell’s appeal, and said the appeal was rejected for several reasons.
“We tried to work with Matt and do everything we could; unfortunately, everything didn’t work out in his favor,” Vonville said.
The main reason was that the Average Joe Party is not recognized as an official campus organization, he said.
“You’re required to register with Campus Life so we can monitor your expenditures and your financial situation,” Vonville said.
Bell confirmed that his party was not registered, but said the application didn’t mention that requirement.
The applications were turned in past the deadline, which also concerned the appeals committee, Vonville said. He and several others on Student Senate stayed in the office well past the deadline, he noted.
He added that he is very concerned that the applications are missing and has spoken with Kent Smith, vice president for student affairs, about the situation.
“He said they are looking into it,” Vonville said, adding that he also spoke with OUPD about it.
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