Torch

Issue date: 3/12/08Section: News

When the ballots are cast on March 17 and 18 to decide who will stand as leader for the St. John's student body, the result will be the election of either a Trinidadian or Haitian female as Student Government president, a first for the University.

"In my 22 years at St. John's, I don't ever remember there being a woman and a woman [running against each other for Student Government president]," said Dr. Jose Rodriguez, the University's dean of students.

But while the selection of either Daphné Vanessa Pierre, of the R.I.S.E. platform, or Dana Lezama, of the S.E.R.V.I.C.E. platform, can say only good things about the evolution of the Student Government and of government in general, the campaigns have not been without controversy.

R.I.S.E. stands for "Reaching Higher. Inspiration. Student Services. Empowerment," while S.E.R.V.I.C.E stands for "Serving. Enthusiam. Reliability. Vision. Integrity. Commitment to Excellence."

The glass windows of Montgoris dining hall were painted on Sunday night in advertisement of the S.E.R.V.I.C.E. platform and, although Lezama and her ticket followed the necessary steps to receive permission from the University, Pierre had two issues with it. The first was that paint covered too much of the windows, not allowing for the advertisement of her platform, as well as the campaign of Chenele Francis who is running for Junior Senator as an independent.

"It's not so much a complaint, as an observation," Pierre said. "I hope that in the future of student government, they can have equal advertising space."

But, according to Lezama, the dining halls are fair game when it comes to advertising and she does not believe rules were violated.

"We came with a plan to paint the windows and left with painting almost the entire downstairs," she said. "The fact that the [advertising] guidelines aren't as clear as they should be leads to error."

Current Student Government President Lawrence King said that an election committee meeting will be held on Wednesday to discuss the issue.

There was also some controversy as to whether or not Lezama was eligible for her desired position because she is recognized by the University as a Manhattan campus student, according to King. A petition highlighting this was being circulated in Marillac cafeteria on Tuesday, but Pierre said it was not at all associated with her ticket.

But Lezama, who is the current SGI treasurer, was elected last year without issue and King said that the elections would be open to Manhattan campus students this year because they pay the same Student Activities Fee as their Queens counterparts.

Continued...

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