The Michigan Review

MSA Pres-Elect Thompson Denounces Allegations

by Benjamin Kepple

Michigan Student Assembly (MSA) President-elect Trent Thompson has gone on the offensive, vigorously defending himself against charges that he improperly solicited votes at a fraternity party held at the beginning of the recent MSA election.

Asking whether he did any campaigning within 50 feet of a computer having the MSA on-line voting site up and running, Thompson forcefully responded, "No, I did not. That's what I told (The Michigan Daily) again and again."

Thompson also denied allegations made by an anonymous source in a Tuesday, March 24 article of The Michigan Daily that he improperly solicited votes, saying, "I never said, 'Can you vote for me?'" Thompson maintains that all he ever asked partygoers at the closed fraternity party was simply whether they had voted yet.

"The only people that voted were my friends," said Thompson, who also denounced a report in The Michigan Daily, again made by an anonymous source, that he was hawking votes like a "businessman."

"I was not in there all the time. I was not acting like a businessman. I was having fun ... it was just a way for my friends to vote if they wanted to at (midnight)," Thompson said. He estimated that the total number of people who voted at the laptop amounted to, at most, fifteen persons.

Thompson also questioned the decision of The Michigan Daily to run the story. The front-page article's only sources were two anonymous individuals that were present at the party, and the coverage has garnered a great deal of criticism from those in and near the Assembly. Some Assembly members have even called for the Daily reporter, Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud, to be sacked from his MSA beat.

"I think the Daily was looking for a story with teeth when there no teeth there ... they were looking for a story and they forgot about the truth." Thompson said. Along with noting that the sources' decision to remain anonymous "certainly hurts their credibility," he had no idea why the Daily thought it necessary to mention that alcohol was at the party.

"There's going to be alcohol at a party," regardless of where or who is holding it, Thompson said.

Students' Party member Briand Reich also supported Thompson's version of events.

"Trent was the only one at the party," Reich said. "There were rumors that Sarah [Chopp] and Mark Sherer were at the party, but they were at East Quad and West Quad."

While Reich defended the Daily's coverage of MSA, noting that "the editors have been absolutely wonderful," he sharply criticized the reporting of the Daily's MSA beat reporter, Gerard Cohen-Vrignaud.

"He was harassing our people. He was trying to put words in my mouth," Reich said.

Daily Editor-In-Chief Laurie Mayk declined to comment on the issues surrounding the story, saying that the Daily had not yet taken an official position on the story."

Josh Trapani, Chair of the MSA rules and Elections Committee said that depending on the violation, Thompson could face either a penalty (for campaigning within 50 feet of a polling site) or expulsion (for unduly influencing voters).

"[If] ... Trent campaigned within 50 feet of a polling site, [that] has a penalty of 3 demerits. That, by itself, would not result in anyone being removed from the election," Trapani said. A total of 5 "demerits" is required to bring about expulsion from an election. The greatest possible penalty for violating Paragraph 41.62 of the MSA Compiled Code is 5 demerits.

"I only want to emphasize that we are trying to conduct a thorough but fair and unbiased investigation of what went on. I also want to emphasize that everyone is innocent until proven guilty, and that even if we do decide to file a complaint or levy a penalty, it is up to CJS to make the final decision," Trapani continued. MR

This article was published in the 1 April 1998 edition of The Michigan Review (Volume 16, Number 9).
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