Jordan/Garrett: ‘Maltreatment,’ ‘lynchings’ need to end

No longer a student body vice president candidate, Donald Garrett asks a question of executive candidates at the March 28 Student Government debate. (Jake McLernon)

With no further recourse, ousted student body president and vice president candidates Michael Jordan and Donald Garrett released an official statement Wednesday saying they are now “throwing full support” behind Liam Hennelley and Mohamed Ahmed ticket.

The duo also again expressed strong emotion regarding student governance at Mason, which they equated to ‘maltreatment’ and ‘lynchings.’

Jordan and Garrett, whom a faculty review board determined earlier this week to have "exhausted all of their efforts in the Student Government appeal processs," acknowledged in the statement that after meeting with faculty in Student Involvement, they were suspending efforts to get elected—but not to “#changegmu,” a Twitter hashtag used as their campaign slogan. Their support for Hennelley and Ahmed, who now only oppose Alex Williams and Jordan Foster on next week’s ballot, comes after Wednesday’s student body presidential and vice-presidential debate.

“[Hennelley and Ahmed] will change the culture of student governance on campus,” said the two former student senators in the statement.

Jordan and Garrett’s statement, sent in an email from Garrett to Connect2Mason following the debate, also put into print how the two former student senators characterize some action in student government.

“The maltreatment and lynchings occurring in Student Government need to end,” said Jordan and Garrett in the statement.

Garrett used similar language in remarks during discussions in a process to impeach him as a SG student senator earlier this spring, a process that never came to completion because of his resignation before its conclusion.

“I refused to be disrespected, defamed and lynched any more in these impeachment proceedings,” Garrett said on March 2.

Both Garrett and Jordan, who was allegedly mistreated last fall during the student senator appointment process, have recently brought forth questions about whether SG operates within the legal boundaries required by its consideration as a public body.

SG’s Elections and Disputes Commission decision to remove Jordan and Garrett’s ticket came after SG Student Senator Nicholas Guerin filed a grievance regarding a Facebook image uploaded five days before the start of the official campaign period that began on March 19. After review of the tagging and timing of the upload in combination with similarities to Jordan and Garrett’s other campaign material, the EDC decided to the image’s primary purpose was to increase the duo’s likelihood of winning. Both levels of appeal to reverse the decision failed.

Students Gabriel Lavine and Ellie Shahin are running for student body president and vice president as the only eligible write-in candidates.

The statement is posted in full below.

Official Statement from Jordan/Garrett Campaign

The decisions of the Elections and Disputes Commission and the Faculty Review Board were contrary to the plain language used in the Election Code.  After talking with Lauren Long and Melissa Masone from the Office of Student Involvement, we have agreed to disagree.

The maltreatment and lynchings occurring in Student Government need to end.  Since we are disqualified from the 2012 Election, we are suspending our campaign and throwing our FULL support behind Hennelly /Ahmed.

We chose to release this statement after the Student Government debate in order to truly see which of the two campaigns on the ballot has the best interests of the student body in mind.  These two individuals will change the culture of student governance on campus.  Although our names are not on the ballot, that does not mean the #ChangeGMU campaign over.

It is our desire to work with whomever wins President and Vice President next year.  Student Government is a wonderful organization that can bring change to campus.