Meissner ticket appeals Student Body President campaign violation

The Gaby Meissner and Hunter Meacham Associated Student Government (ASG) student body president (SBP) campaign is appealing a second level-one violation they received for breaking campaign rules.

This is their campaign's second violation within a week.

Meissner and Meacham were previously issued another level one violation for campaigning before the beginning of the campaign period. They were given a 24-hour suspension and were not allowed to engage in any campaign-related activities on Monday, Feb. 25.

On Feb. 25, a student posted a campaign photo on their personal Instagram account and tagged Meissner and Meacham's campaign account in the post, Speaker of Senate Cole Hankins said.

Meissner argued that the student was not a member of her campaign staff. Hankins and the ASG Elections Committee disagreed. In the view of the committee, the student was a member of Meissner's campaign staff, and therefore the post was a violation of the 24-hour campaigning ban.

Thus, Meissner and Meacham were given another level one violation.

Hankins and Meissner refused to release the identity of the student who made the post.

According to the SBP elections packet, "All candidates are responsible for the actions of their staff members ... A staff member is defined as any person engaging in open campaigning on behalf of and with clear association to a candidate."

Meissner maintains that the student who made the post was not a part of her campaign, so she appealed the violation to Miami's student court.

"We respect the election committee and their decision," Meissner said. "However, due to the unpredictable nature of social media, we believe there are certain things that are simply out of our control, and at the very least we think that this violation should be discussed further."

The second 24-hour ban will not be enforced until the case is decided. The trial is scheduled for 10 a.m. Friday, March 8.

berryrd@miamioh.edu