By Jack Brady and Zöe Percival.
SU Election Candidates faced repercussions yesterday over an unofficial endorsement email sent to Science and Health students by SU executive Alex Candon.
On Monday morning, Candon sent the entire Science and Health faculty an email which named a number of candidates “whose manifestos contain specific commitments that directly affect Science and Health students”.
The email stated that the message was ”not a formal endorsement but rather an informed overview”.
While setting up their campaign stands in the U building this morning, those candidates received an email from DCU Student Life informing them that they would not be allowed to campaign on the Glasnevin campus until 3pm as a repercussion of their mention in the email.
Candon has not sent any further election-related emails, and when asked for a comment by The Bulletin, he replied, “As it has been addressed through the elections process, I don’t have any further comment”.
Two candidates mentioned in the email, Vincent Hynes running for Academic Life, and Angelina Zhao running for Diversity and Inclusion spoke to The Bulletin on how their day of campaigning was affected.
Hynes stated that he wasn’t aware he was going to receive any endorsement. “I knew he was going to do something on voting, but I wasn’t expecting a biography”.
“It was personal preference”, said Hynes when asked why Candon mentioned him. “Alex is a lone wolf, I definitely wouldn’t tie him to the SU, that’s his own independent judgement”.
“He represents the SU, but he’s not representing the SU’s thoughts on the election”.
Zhao shared that “It’s disappointing I suppose, and it could’ve been rectified”.
The candidates told The Bulletin that the situation could’ve turned out differently had Candon sent another email to the faculty endorsing the rest of the candidates running, which he refused to do.
“Its a dire situation, and it really did affect the campaign. I hope students still voted, that’s the main thing. I was hurt by what happened today, and I do think it threw me off a bit, and I think it may have thrown off the other candidates a bit, but I can’t speak for them”.
Although she wasn’t mentioned in Candon’s endorsement, Presidential candidate Katherine McBride gave a statement on the situation.
“It was really disheartening to see that after working so hard over the last few days, someone can just waltz in and commit election fraud and only be punished by a slap on the wrist. How is this fair to students when executives have one rule and we have another?” the candidate said
Podge Sheehan, Deputy Director of the DCU Office of Student Life, confirmed that, “the faculty-wide email is considered an endorsement and is a breach of the “free and fair” election ethos”.
He described his role in this situation as making sure “no candidate, regardless of intent, receives an unfair advantage through institutional channels that others cannot access”.
He referred to the campaigning ban given to the candidates this morning as “corrective rebalancing”.
“If a referee awards a free kick because of an accidental handball, they aren’t punishing the player’s intent; they are restoring the fairness of the game. We are focused on ensuring that every student can trust the final result, knowing it was achieved on a level playing field,” he added.
With regard to Candon’s involvement, it’s out of Sheehan’s jurisdiction.
“While Union officers are expected to be neutral, I do not have the remit to hold them to account; that is a matter for the Class Representative Council (CRC),” the deputy director explained.
Voting closes at 3pm today, with the results to be announced by 4:30pm.
Image Credit: DCU SU
