An election to remember

sent an e-mail retracting his statements

Weinstein was, of course, wrong to make disingenuous statements. He never should have involved Diemand-Yauman in his own endorsement of Weinberg, especially without giving Diemand-Yauman any notice. In circulating incorrect information, he undermined the integrity of the vice-presidential election. He forced the elections manager, Braeden Kepner-Kraus '10, to choose between two bad options. Kepner-Kraus could have disqualified Weinberg, who seems to have been uninvolved in Weinstein's actions, and named Nick DiBerardino '10 the winner, essentially taking the election out of the hands of the voters. Kepner-Kraus opted instead to allow the election to continue while forcing Weinstein to retract his statements, an action that did not completely ameliorate the damage done to DiBerardino's campaign.

Weinstein's actions broke a long-standing precedent that the USG president refrains from publicly endorsing candidates. But he was not wrong to endorse someone. While the inappropriate way in which Weinstein offered his endorsement created a debacle, there are good reasons to permit a USG president to endorse a candidate. The president might be the person who is most intimately aware of the qualifications of certain candidates, especially if the candidates have worked in the USG. Some voters would welcome the perspective of a past USG president on a candidate's leadership qualities. Furthermore, if a USG president finds a candidate who has the same vision for the USG and would build on the president's work, there is no reason the president should have to stay silent.

Several USG members publicly intimated that Weinstein endorsed Weinberg because of their membership in the same fraternity. If this was the sole reason for Weinstein's endorsement, the board is deeply disappointed, as it would mean Weinstein placed fraternal affiliation above his duty to serve the interests of the student body. On the other hand, Weinstein is very familiar with Weinberg, and the board finds it perfectly plausible that Weinstein believes Weinberg has the skills to be a good USG vice president. Though the uproar about the endorsement might have been much quieter if both Weinstein and Weinberg had known each other from the Chess Club, Weinberg's membership in the same fraternity as Weinstein has no bearing on Weinberg's competency.

It is concerning that both Weinstein's e-mails to students exhorting them to vote and his endorsements came from his personal e-mail account. In the future, USG presidents should be given an official e-mail account, thus reserving their personal accounts for non-official purposes such as election endorsements. Furthermore, the disorganization of the USG during the elections process and its confusion on election rules is distressing. One of the first priorities of the new administration should be to review this election and enact appropriate measures to make sure something like it never happens again.