???The upcoming Student Association (SA) election, which many have considered notable for its large quantity of candidates compared to last year, has lost two contenders for SA seats.
???Current Black Student Union (BSU) President Darnell Cummings and current BSU Publicity Coordinator Yasmin Paula were disqualified from the race for failing to obtain the required amount of signatures on their application petition.
???Cummings was running for the position of president and Paula was running for vice president.
???Student Association election rules stipulate that all candidates for student office must acquire 150 undergraduate signatures in order to be considered a candidate for office.
???While reviewing the petitions, the SA Elections and Credentials Committee noticed that Cummings and Paula's petition appeared to have less than the required amount so they decided to take a closer look.
???"Over the past three to four days we've been reviewing all petitions," said Joshua Boston, member of the SA Elections and Credentials Committee and former managing editor of the The Spectrum . "This one stood out to us on Friday and we continued to look over it over the weekend."
???Closer examination found that the petition only contained 149 signatures and one student was also found to have signed twice. The student's signature was disqualified, bringing the total amount down to 147 signatures.
???"They miscounted, it was an honest mistake on their part," Boston said. "[Cummings] was very disappointed, but was a good sport about it."
???The committee will continue to review all petitions to ensure they are all valid, according to an SA press release.
???"We hold all students to the same standards," Boston said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
