LATEST : Trev’s JCR Presidential Scandal

Adam Thompson has been announced as next year’s JCR President after winning the third consecutive Presidential race in which only one candidate has stood.

Victorius Adam Thompson

After what has been a difficult week, the JCR executive will be glad to see a happy and certain end to this election and will take confidence from the way in which the college’s political community rallied around their officials amidst an onslaught of fierce criticism.

The future of electoral standing orders forbidding social media campaigning, which were at the core of the controversy, remains uncertain. One would expect passionate opponents of these orders, such as ‘lairy’ Mary Offutt-Reagin, to question their legitimacy in the near future. However, the most important challenge for the JCR executive in the aftermath of the election will be to prove that their credibility and long term standing have not been diminished.

Earlier this week, The Tab told the full story of the Presidential scandal, and JCR member Mary Offutt-Reagin wrote a scathing open letter to the JCR published both on Facebook and The Tab.

What will they say?

THE TAB’S ‘FINGER ON THE PULSE’ LATEST :

Friday

• JCR Elections for the Presidency and welfare positions come to a close at 6.30pm today – they all feature just one candidate. The results will all be announced this evening at 7.30pm
• JCR Chair Benjamin Lambert gives an interview to the Tab in which he defends both his actions and those of the Steering Committee, as well as answering some of the accusations levelled at the administration by JCR members.

Thursday

• Former JCR Chair Ian Williamson gives the following comment on the situation:

“I’d suggest that whilst the Mr Lambert’s actions were quite stern, and his tone less than helpful at times, the ruling is probably fair. As Chair you are often damned if you do, and damned if you don’t.
When things go wrong in elections lots of people get upset, and there’s no easy answer to the social media question: for all the benefits it offers, it does make it a lot easier for mistruths to abound and candidates to be disadvantaged.
If I were Adam, I would have seriously considered withdrawing my application and allowing the election to be rerun without a cloud hanging over it. At the moment, he’s basically damned if he wins (presidency under question), or damned if he doesn’t (i.e. is RONed).
The thing I am most surprised not to have seen is talk of a concerted effort to RON Adam to allow the same: at the end of the day, if the election is rerun then Jerry can run again. If I supported Jerry, that is what I’d consider doing.”

• A ‘Vote RON’ Facebook page is set up encouraging JCR students to re-open nominations in the presidential election as ‘RON’ is the only candidate that supports online campaigns.
• Trevelyan College Gossip Magasine HEX announces that it will be releasing an exclusive interview with Jerry Riad and the anonymous ‘Suzie Sandwiches’.
• The number of ‘likes’ on the ‘Vote Jerry’ facebook page rises to 271 as of 10.30pm
• JCR President Nick Cooper defends the JCR Steering Committee’s decision in the Palatinate, commenting that the chair and steering committee “acted in full accordance with the governing documents of the JCR and have the support of both the Executive Committee and the College Officers in this matter.”
• In the same article, JCR Chair, Benjamin Lambert, points out that any member of the JCR can propose changes to the constitution at Sunday’s JCR meeting.
• Voting opens for the Presidential election the results of which will be announced at 7.30pm on Friday.

Tuesday

• Booing was reportedly heard at electoral hustings which took place at Trevelyan’s Tuesday night formal.
• Adam Thompson runs unopposed at electoral hustings and becomes the third  candidate to run unopposed in as many years.
• When asked directly about Mr. Riad’s disqualification at hustings, Presidential Candidate Adam Thompson tactfully dismissed the issue, commenting that it was not an issue personal to his campaign.