OUR VIEW: Election grievances need to be public

The records of any group overseeing elections should be open and available to the voting constituency – even if the candidates are students.

The ASUSU Hearing Board oversees grievances filed against candidates during ASUSU elections. The board also hears issues relating to ASUSU officer misconduct, and members of the board also serve on the Honor Board, which overhears issues of student academic misconduct. The Hearing Board is important because it addresses what specific campaign rules certain candidates have broken or violated and decides punishments for candidates who break these rules, among other things. Because ASUSU spends and allocates public funds – student fees and taxes – Hearing Board meetings and minutes should be open to the public.

Here’s the thing, though: They’re not.

ASUSU officers receive a combined $70,000 in scholarships and are in charge of how student fees are allocated. This makes them public figures, akin to any other elected official in a state or national legislature. If a student faces an issue of misconduct, they have every right to keep it a private matter: They are private citizens and don’t need their dirty laundry aired. However, the moment a student announces their candidacy, they step into the role of public figures. Because they are the ones spending the public’s money, what they do and why they are facing a grievance hearing should be publicly accessible information. It’s called transparency, and it is important to a free and democratic society – yet Hearing Board meetings show little in terms of transparency.

The public needs to know what candidates did to warrant a grievance hearing. Did they give out coupons when they weren’t supposed to? Did they campaign in the wrong place? Were they buying votes? If election grievance meetings are closed, the board can’t be held accountable. What’s to stop them from discriminating against a candidate? A candidate can appeal the board’s decision, but a candidate may well get discouraged and give up the fight.

Open meetings and records would help protect the hearing board, as well. If a candidate accused the board of discrimination, it would be his word against theirs, unless the board could prove proper procedures were taken.

We are lucky to attend a university where students can get so involved in how their money is spent, but far too often, we take it for granted. Speak up on this issue: It’s our school and our student fees, and we deserve to know what our elected officials, who use that money, are up to.