2 of 5 qualify for Student Body President ballot

Students will have at least two options when choosing the next student body president.

The Board of Elections certified juniors Will Lindsey and Christy Lambden to be on the ballot for student body president Tuesday night. Lindsey’s campaign collected 1,927 petition signatures while Lambden had 1,890.

Candidates had one week to obtain the required 1,250 signatures to be placed on the ballot.

Candidates Hetali Lodaya, Rob Jones and Kevin Claybren didn’t meet the threshold.

Lodaya had 1,230 signatures, Jones had 1,195 and Claybren had 1,018. The candidates are given a 24-hour extension and have until 5 p.m. today to meet the number.

“Our on-campus presence was our biggest draw for signatures,” Lindsey said. “We had a strong team on campus, mostly around the Pit.”

Claybren said he is still collecting signatures and talking to students about his platform.

“I think being very transparent about what you want to do for the University and how to make that happen will be important,” he said.

Candidates said their teams were crucial in making the ballot.

“I think the campaign team we’ve been able to build is diverse,” Lambden said. “They gave up time to help me get on the ballot, and I appreciate everything they’ve done.”

The candidates said they have teams ranging from 15 to 100 people.

Lodaya said she hopes to talk to more students and discuss the key points of her platform.

“This is the part of the process I like because I get to meet (students) and talk about what is important to them,” she said.

The first debate will be held today at 7 p.m., hosted by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies, for only certified candidates.

But two complaints filed Monday are sure to distract, at least partly, from the issues.

Jones and Lambden filed two joint complaints against Lodaya and Lindsey. The complaints accused them of unfair campaign practices in violation of Title VI of the Student Code.

“We just wanted to make sure everyone was on a level playing field,” Jones said.

Lambden said he and Jones filed the complaints together because they wanted to uphold the race’s transparency.

“I think Carolina deserves to have the best student body president campaign,” he said. “We should act with integrity and be held accountable for our actions.”

Shruthi Sundaram, chairwoman of the Board of Elections, wrote in an email that the defendants had responded to the allegations and will likely have their hearings on Tuesday.

Lodaya said she did not expect the complaint, but she is taking it in stride.

“There was not any malicious intent in anything that happened — all of it was either a miscommunication or a honest mistake,” she said.

Lindsey said he was confused as to why the complaint was filed.

“I’m a policy-minded student who is distressed when we have issues like this that take away from the interest of student government,” he said.

“I honestly think this is going to affect the race,” he added. “It takes all interest away from making Carolina a better place.”

Contact the desk editor at university@dailytarheel.com.