Commission Upholds 2 Election Violations More Than 20 Other Violations Dismissed Or Withdrawn During Nine-Hour SG Meeting
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UNIVERSITY OF NORTH FLORIDA November www.unfspinnaker.com 7 Volume 31, Issue 14 2007 Wednesday Commission upholds 2 election violations More than 20 other violations dismissed or withdrawn during nine-hour SG meeting BY TAMI LIVINGSTON Government” candidate, filed the ma- ensure all procedures were followed NEWS EDITOR jority of the violations. Arsenault was properly. elected to the Senate after the election “As a whole, the committee deliber- After an Oct. 31 hearing that lasted results were validated Nov. 5. ated and did their best to preserve the almost nine hours, the University of “Basically, the violations were filed statutes and keep the will of the stu- North Florida Student Government not only to show how people weren’t dents in mind,” Henry said. Election Commission dismissed all but following the rules during elections, Henry filed complaints against all two of the 24 violations filed against but also to show how difficult the rules candidates for failing to properly file fall 2007 election candidates. are to follow,” Arsenault said. expense documentation. Had Henry’s One of the two violations upheld He said he filed the violations to complaint been upheld by the com- was against “Smart Government” “show SG and the student body that mission, every candidate would have candidates Nelson Hernandez and changes [to the election code] need been disqualified and the elections Nelson Lady for not turning in re- to happen.” invalidated. ceipts on time. The other was against Arsenault came to the violations Sen. Christiana Patterson also every “Smart Government” candi- hearing late and said he withdrew all filed violations but said she was date except Brandon Eady for not the violations he filed. It was unclear unable to comment about the violations time-stamping every page of their whether this occurred before or after without first consulting SG Adviser financial statements. Because the the commission heard any of them, but Laurel Kendall. two violations were minor, no action none of his violations were ultimately was taken. upheld. Staff Writer Jessica Medina Three people filed the violations Elections Supervisor Chelsi Henry contributed to this article. JEN QUINNMembers of the Student Government Elections against candidates from both par- said the hearing went smoothly, E-mail Tami Livingston at Commission review electoral complaints and inquiries during ties. Chris Arsenault, a “Smart and the commission took its time to [email protected]. an Oct. 31 violations hearing. UPD looks into armed not welcome robbery on campus BY TAMI LIVINGSTON NEWS EDITOR TASERS:BY LOUIS SUFFREDINI CONTRIBUTING WRITER force used by campus police, Dean weapons, Foxworth said. University of North Florida said the Florida Department of Law If the situation escalates, the officer police officers are currently In the wake of the University Enforcement would be called in to re- will use pepper spray or an extendable investigating an alleged armed of Florida tasing controversy, the view the case. baton and physically take down the robbery in the Crossings that University of North Florida Police If a case is reviewed and the defen- suspect. occurred Oct. 30. Department stands by its rules for deal- dant is not satisfied with the outcome, If the situation becomes more dan- A Crossings resident reported ing with insubordinate students, said they can take the case to the FDLE for gerous and the use of deadly force that being robbed at gunpoint by two Assistant Chief of Police John Dean. review. According to Dean this has nev- is likely to result in death is needed, the white males at approximately 10 UPD does not use tasers because they er happened in the history of the uni- officers then use a .22-caliber gun. p.m. The suspects reportedly ap- are not approved as lesser lethal weap- versity to his knowledge. Each year officers receive training proached the victim in his dorm, ons, which are described as weapons Foxworth said that in the past, he on new uses for lesser lethal weapons demanded his property, and fled designed not to kill, said Police Chief has only heard one complaint about the and train 8 hours per month on the use the scene with it. The suspects Mark Foxworth. use of excessive force during a UPD- of force. are both described as 6 feet tall UPD officers use other approved involved situation. The police officers are given scenar- and 150 pounds, with short brown weapons like pepper spray and expand- The situation occurred in 2000 when ios and told to react appropriately and hair and clean-shaven faces. able batons, which are classified as an officer threw a student against a are then graded on how they respond. “We are looking at lesser lethal weapons. They also carry wall during an alcohol investigation in Last week, UF police dropped all several individuals,” said Lt. .22-caliber guns in situations where a dormitory. charges against Andrew Meyer, the Tammy Oliver. more force is needed. The officer was issued a written student tased during a speech by Sen. Oliver said that while the “It’s pretty uneventful here [at warning, which is one step below sus- John Kerry, after he apologized to the investigation is still in the fact- UNF],” Dean said. After an incident, he pension. The officer no longer works for university, the UF Police Department, finding stage, all indications are says there is always a review of force the university, Foxworth said. and the president of the university. that this was an isolated incident, used by a lieutenant, response officer, Dean said UPD assesses situations There has never been a disturbance and officers believe the suspects chief and assistant chief.” by using a force matrix, which is a scale like the one at UF during a speech at did not come from off campus. After these offices individually of appropriate force use that helps of- UNF, according to Sharon Ashton, assis- There are no other wit- review the force that was used, they ficers determine what is appropriate. tant vice president of public relations. nesses to the crime at this time, review the information together, The first level on the force matrix is “If there was a disturbance, we would Oliver said. according to Foxworth. the presence of an officer, and the levels call the University Police Department,” Anyone with information Each year he reviews incidents in- increase as more intense physical force Ashton said. regarding the alleged incident volving force to study whether there is is used. or the suspects is encouraged to an over usage of a certain weapon. After the first level is the use of pas- E-mail Louis Suffredini at contact UPD at 620-2366. If death occurs as a result of sive physical restraints that don’t use [email protected]. E-mail Tami Livingston at [email protected]. Soldiers back in the classroom Parks are for more than picnics. Learn how to play reflect on Veterans Day, page 9 Read what Jacksonville parks have to offer, page 11 racquetball, page 20 PAGE 2 Spinnaker’s Picks � BEST � WORST � FIX More students with disabilities are A resident in the Crossings reported Students living in dorms should be more attending the University of North having been robbed at gunpoint by aware of suspicious-looking people, Florida to take advantage of the suspects that police believe live since they are more at risk of being full-staffed Disability Resource Center on campus. followed to their homes. than in past years. vvvEditorialsvvv Wednesday, November 7, 2007 Long meetings, red tape hinder elections Awarded first place for Best of Show at the ike painted campaign signs paperwork verifying campaign their hopes with inconsequential 2005 National College Media Convention by the and free pizza, the violations expenses. snippets of red tape. Associated Collegiate Press hearing is a staple of the While the violations were Instead, candidates must be wary v v v L University of North Florida ultimately dismissed, the implica- of bureaucratic pitfalls without Student Government electoral tions are frightening. guidance from elected officials process. Considering every one of the until it’s too late. Spinnaker Staff A candidate with enough votes candidates failed to turn in paper- Matters like these plague the SG can’t officially be considered a sena- work by the required deadline, there electoral process. tor until their paperwork is thorough- was an obvious breakdown in Year after year, a host of violations Editor in Chief Matt Coleman ly inspected and their documents communication. are brought to the commission’s door- Managing Editor Holli Welch pass muster. When elections officials realized step and resources are unnecessarily Art Director Robert K. Pietrzyk The Fall 2007 General Election no candidates had submitted forms, wasted in lengthy, petty debates. Business Manager Adina Daar violation hearing was a massive nine- they should have acted proactively An impartial commission is News Editor Tami Livingston hour undertaking that consisted of and alerted the candidates via e-mail. necessary to review the appearance numerous minor and major charges The Elections Commission ruled the of sketchy campaign practices and Features Editor Ross Brooks levied against various parties and candidates were not in violation, but hold candidates to an appropriate Sports Editor Kaelena Incinelli candidates. the fact these charges made it to the standard. Discourse Editor Jenna Strom The meeting might have been epic violation hearing is indicative of a However, forcing the commission to Copy Editor Ace Stryker in length, but that was far from the convoluted system that sets spend nine hours poring over docu- most concerning aspect of the candidates up for failure. ments that include canine outfits and Web Editor Meghan Dornbrock hearing. Election officials should be sup- other thinly veiled partisan attacks Photo Editor Rebecca Daly A number of the violation inqui- porting candidates in their pursuit is counterproductive to promoting a Graphic Designer Jen Quinn ries smacked of partisan motivation of public service, not trying to derail healthy government.