Students have been campaigning for elected positions in the Student Confederation, AU's student government, since the nominating convention last Wednesday, but since that week the campaigns have taken interesting turns. As 10 days remain until voting begins, the contest for SC president has changed with the withdrawal of candidate Noah Black and continued actions against the campaign of Polson Kanneth and his running mate for Vice President, Jason Trombley.
Candidate leaves race
Black's campaign manager, Todd A. Levett, issued a press release Monday morning stating that Black was leaving the race.
"It is with great regret that I must withdraw from what I am sure is to be a wonderful series of debates on ideas and the future of AU," Black said in the release.
The withdrawal came as Black received notification that he was accepted for an internship in Brussels, Belgium, where he will work for NATO through the U.S. State Department. He will be staying in Belgium through AU Abroad, Black said.
"I didn't want to make the same mistake Haley [Stevens] made," Black said of the decision. Stevens won the presidency last year but resigned shortly after her inauguration in order to study at Oxford University in Great Britain.
Black has not decided if he will endorse another candidate for the presidency, he said. He would only endorse a candidate if he takes up the same "club-centered focus" he was campaigning on.
Damage to publicity
Presidential candidate Polson Kanneth's and Vice Presidential candidate Jason Trombley's promotional materials were vandalized this week, including the burning of two large posters on the Quad and the tearing down of many flyers in the residence halls and academic buildings.
"If they want to go ahead and burn the poster, go right ahead [and] do so," Trombley said. "I'll make sure another one gets put up within 24 hours. I didn't come 3,000 miles away to college for four years to be stopped by an individual who wants to burn some piece of property that's only going to be up for about a month anyway."
On Feb. 12, a 6-foot-by-6-foot sign was burned on the Quad. A second poster, this time on a plastic tarp, was hung in its place. The second poster had a large hole melted in the center of it Monday morning. Public Safety is investigating the destruction of the poster.
"There is an active investigation ongoing," said Leonard Jukkala, coordinator of Public Safety Administration. "Nothing has come of it yet, although there are some leads."
The second Quad poster was taken down Wednesday afternoon and a third poster will be put up soon.
"People have been giving me suggestions, such as buy a fire blanket and spray paint on that," Kanneth said. "We're going to put another banner there and if that gets burned, we're just going to put another banner there."
In addition to the burned posters, several flyers have been torn down in various parts of campus, Kanneth said.
"I've heard [posters have been torn down in] mostly South side," Kanneth said. "Sometimes, our posters just get covered over. We're just going to keep on putting posters up"
