Letters to the Editor

Proceedings to investigate allegations warranted
Re: “SG gave up opportunity for clean start”
May 10

It upsets me when I see an editorial run by The Oracle that shines a bad light on Student Government. As Director of Elections for SG, I have a duty to uphold the election code.

Bijal Chhadva broke the rules in not only my eyes but also in the eyes of former SG Attorney General and my Commissioner, Shaun Gonzalez. To us, Chhadva blatantly violated the rules.

I cannot take into account if a court case would make SG look bad. That is not my job. My job is to project the integrity of the election process. It would not have changed the decision to press charges if Chhadva had won by three or 3,000 votes; he still broke the rules.

I do agree that I shouldn’t have released the election results, but at that time, the charges were only in their infancy and seemed insubstantial to me. Only after close investigation of all the evidence the following week were changes brought. Hindsight is 20/20.

I am sorry if there are people out there who would rather see me sweep things under the rug and not do anything about them because of an image. That is totally ignorant and asinine. I will continue to do my job, and if I upset some people for doing my job, I will not apologize. They are only making themselves look idiotic. I will be reapplying for the position next year, as well.

Andrew Read is a sophomore majoring in accounting and Director of Elections for SG.