Since campaigning for this year’s SGA elections began on Feb. 17, The Daily Cougar has been contacted by numerous students from SGA for off-the-record interviews or with anonymous tips discussing the misconduct of other candidates.
Reports have ranged from candidates stealing students’ PeopleSoft numbers and dates of birth to a candidate’s offer to bribe students for information on the alleged misconduct of another candidate.
During Monday’s debate, both presidential candidates said it wasn’t their job to police the elections, even going as far as to say that it would be childish to do so.
However, people from the parties of both of the candidates are the ones who have been making the complaints. It is highly unlikely that either of the presidential candidates are unaware of this.
The situation tells us one of two things: Either the members of SGA who have been making the anonymous tips and giving us off-the-record interviews have no backbone and that’s why they don’t want to go on the record, or they know that the information they have been giving us is false and they want us to print it without verifying if it is correct.
More or less, they want us to ruin the reputations of other candidates by feeding us factually incorrect information.
If the first situation is the case and they have little integrity, how can they be trusted to make difficult decisions if they are elected to their positions? SGA needs to be run by students who will firmly stand behind their words.
If the second situation is the case and the information is false, then how can students trust those members of SGA as leaders? If they are knowingly trying to get us to publish false information, then they are absolutely the last on the list of people who should be representing our University.
SGA tarnished its reputation enough during last year’s election. There is no reason to continue the trend.
a bribe for information on misconduct of another person? that seems a little sensational.
so do you think journalists are really taking "bribes" when they get paid to learn about and report others' misconduct? is that why this 'student newspaper' is so tame? why is it a bribe when one politician tries to find out about another's misdeeds?
first you say that maybe complainants won't go on record because they have no 'backbone' and then u assuredly say that they're feeding false info.
and then backbone becomes integrity?
maybe you should consider making these staff editorials a once a week thing so you have more time to put together a good piece.