Facing T-shirt trouble

They say that money is the root of all evil. \nSometimes evil comes in a poly-cotton blend. \nIf the Big Red party executives were aware of this danger, perhaps they would have been more cautious with the 1,200 T-shirts purchased for their campaign. The IU Student Association Elections Commission found 600 of the now-scandalous shirts were not listed on finance reports and would have knocked Big Red over its spending limit. The commission ruled Big Red intentionally falsified its campaign reports and disqualified the ticket from the election. \n According to the Indiana Daily Student (March 4), Big Red Vice Presidential Candidate Angel Rivera maintains he was not required to report the extra 600 shirts because they were never used for campaigning. The T-shirts were still in sealed containers when Rivera turned them over to the commission. Door hangers were also missing from the ticket's finance reports. Rivera claims this oversight was just a simple mistake. \nRegardless of Big Red's intentions, a rule is a rule, and all candidates should be held to the codes that apply to them. But the punishment should fit the crime. The ticket's error would be justified by a standard fine -- and they wouldn't be the only ticket getting one this year. Denying the party the offices they earned, though, doesn't just punish the candidates involved. It punishes the student body who chose them as their representatives. \nName recognition is a key element in winning an IUSA election, and money can undoubtedly enhance the ability to advertise. It is essential tickets compete on equal grounds, and it could make a significant difference in an election if one party unjustly outspent the other.\nBut money just wasn't the deciding factor in this case. Big Red didn't even use the items that would have put them over their budget. The campaign they did run was perfectly fair, and it was successful enough to win them the election. That's what really matters. \nWe see this explosion of election complaints every single year. The IUSA Election Commission list of complaints from this election alone list looks like a political square dance -- Fusion v. Big Red, Big Red v. Fusion, Big Red v. Crimson, Hoosier v. Crimson, Hoosier v. Big Red -- once you've danced with one opponent, swing that plaintiff and grab another!\nWhile some of these claims are more justified than others, all of them are essentially penned by the same person -- the soon-to-be sore loser. It's time for candidates to end this tired trend. You don't need to file a petty complaint every time an opponent jaywalks or doesn't wash his hands in the restroom. Using this practice to win an election isn't respectable, and it doesn't reflect well on your motivation for running. You're in this to serve your fellow students, right? \nIf so, more than 3,000 of them voted for Big Red. Your duties can begin with giving them what they asked for.