Ian Lee says he isn’t running for student body president to enhance his college experience or pad his resume.
Instead, he’s running because he can’t stand not to.
“I get upset when there’s so much more you could be doing that you’re not doing,” he said.
As student body secretary, Lee is the only candidate to have served as an executive officer. With this knowledge of student government, Lee said he felt strongly earlier this year that much more could be done for students.
So in October he decided to campaign for student body president in hopes of doing it himself.
“Being the oldest of five, I’ve always tried to lead the way and show by example, to push the limits so that someone else can see what’s possible,” he said.
“I’m always the first to try something new.”
Lee created a system for collecting petition signatures online this year, drawing the ire of other candidates. His campaign has been the subject of three investigations by the Board of Elections, including one that is ongoing. The first of those complaints challenged Lee’s eligibility on the grounds that the Student Code prohibits the student body secretary from campaigning during his tenure. Another challenged his online petitioning.
Title VI, Article IV, Section 408 of the Student Code explicitly prohibits the student body secretary — and students holding other select positions — from participating in a campaign for any elected position. The code becomes murky in one clause, which states that student government officials, when participating in elections, must clearly speak only for themselves and not the student government.
