SGA campaigns: signs already destroyed

Less than 24 hours after student government election campaigns started, several signs around campus were vandalized.

Presidential candidate Tyler Livezey said he placed campaign signs around campus late Tuesday night. Wednesday morning, they were found destructed.

“We only had three-foot by two-foot [signs] up, and they were all destroyed beyond repair,” Livezey said. “I would guess that when a group is worried about the competition and is behind in votes, they will use dirty tactics. It’s a cheap way of getting ahead in the race and simply won’t work here.”

There is no campus video or any way of proving who defaced the signs, but if the information becomes available, the perpetrator will be in violation of Student Government Association’s election code.

Article VI, section J of the election code states “destruction of campaign materials shall be a direct violation of this Code for any candidate or agents thereof to willfully destroy, deface, move, or remove signs or campaign literature of any other candidate.

Violations of this rule may be classified as a Class A violation by the Election Commission.”

Presidential candidate Robert Ferguson spoke to Livezey early yesterday morning after the signs were found ruined.

“He knows it wasn’t my group,” Ferguson said. “All I know is that it happened after [Tuesday] night. I didn’t even see their signs posted. I do think that is deplorable, it’s no way to try and win an election. If you can’t win it the right way then you don’t belong in office.”

Although Ferguson wouldn’t comment on if he thinks the perpetrator is of an opposing ticket, he does think this will bring attention to the election.

“Everyone likes to watch drama when it’s not happening to them,” Ferguson said. “Maybe we’ll get more of the student body to get involved in the election, but this isn’t the way I wanted them to get involved.”

Presidential candidate Phill Lund said he believes it was an outside party entirely.

“I think it was a random act, honestly,” Lund said. “I think that [the candidates] all have enough integrity to take this seriously. I think, if anything, it was a random act or someone who just didn’t like it or decided to be stupid.”

Presidential candidate Juwan Greene said he thinks the damage is not a deliberate violation, but rather because of rainy weather.

“I wouldn’t say it was anybody, I would say it was the weather,” Greene said. “It was the morning time, in the morning time there is normally humidity.”

Lund says that some presidential candidates had taken an oath of ‘clean’ campaigning.

“I’ve talked to a few people who are in the candidacy for all the spots and we have a mutual agreement, I haven’t spoken to everyone, but we all want the same thing, which is a clean campaign,” Lund said. “In the past we’ve had really terrible bad shows. I think that this is going to be the year where we set the example.”

Greene says the victim, Livezey, shouldn’t let the destruction of his signs stop his campaign.

“Elections are competitive,” Greene said. “I feel like if that person is really trying to run for presidency, it shouldn’t knock them off their game, they should run for the presidency as they had.”