Editorial: Board’s suspensions rash, unfair

The Judicial Board of the undergraduate student government
jumped

the gun early Wednesday when it placed a stay on the seats of
two elected councilmembers, preventing them from performing any
duties related to their offices until an investigation is completed
regarding vandalism allegations.

General representatives Tommy Tseng and Anneli Villarin are
barred from settling into their offices because of claims they
vandalized an A-board ““ likened to a freestanding sandwich
board ““ that right now are unsubstantiated at best. The
J-Board has acted prematurely in assessing such a drastic penalty
pending an actual investigation, which means that Tseng and
Villarin lose, no matter the outcome.

The situation is an extension of a suit filed by former
presidential candidate Josh Lawson, who alleges his Equal Access
Coalition slate was sanctioned unfairly by the Elections Board for
campaigning violations. Included in Lawson’s petition is a
claim that Tseng and Villarin were tearing things off an A-board of
Nation2Nation, a group with ties to Lawson’s slate. The
accused are members of the opposing Students First! slate.

It’s easy to see where Lawson’s true intentions lie.
Though he claims he filed the suit to shed light on the campaign
enforcement process ““ he specifically stated he did not
seek a nullification of the elections if the J-Board ruled in his
favor ““ bringing up the vandalism allegation serves no other
purpose than to undermine two officers who ran against his
slate.

The allegations against Tseng and Villarin are not solid. The
evidence used by the J-Board is a claim that newly elected
Facilities Commissioner Pavan Tripathi ““ who ran on EAC
““ witnessed the two ripping things off the Nation2Nation
signboard. There also is an Elections Board photograph of the
vandalized A-board with no connection to Tseng or Villarin.

Tseng and Villarin deny any wrongdoing. But what is more telling
is Tripathi said himself that he merely saw the two standing next
to the signboard, at the most, attaching their own flyers to it.
But he said there was no indication that Tseng and Villarin were
damaging it in any way. The claim in question was not even put
forth by Tripathi ““ it was presented to J-Board on his behalf
by Brian Neesby, an EAC member and Lawson’s chief of staff
last term.

The fact of the matter is that there is currently no solid
evidence linking Tseng and Villarin to the alleged vandalism, and
to suspend their offices pending a fuller exploration is completely
unjustified. They should be allowed to conduct their business as
usual, especially in these crucial formative weeks on council, and
should be penalized if the allegations turn out to be true. To
preemptively punish them causes irreparable harm in the form of
lost time, a huge setback for a one-year term. Should they be
cleared, the damage is still done. Because the J-Board acted so
hastily, Lawson essentially has been able to harm his political
opponents without having to put forth a valid argument. For a body
that is supposedly rooted in justice, the J-Board is not even
willing to wait for the truth to come before acting.