Image description: The Pelican banner for 2020, featuring a camel-coloured background, and minimalist writing.
By Bayley Horne and Stirling Kain
The UWA Student Guild administration has confirmed that as of midday today (11/09/20), it will dispense tougher penalties on politically-affiliated individuals who demonstrate misconduct in the Guild elections.
Politically-affiliated students who engage in what the Guild determines is unacceptable behaviour will be banned from participating in their party’s campaigns for a length of time determined by Guild administration. The length of the ban will be made at the discretion of Guild administration, and will range from between one hour, to one week.
These bans also extend to the presidential candidate with which the banned individual is politically affiliated. The politically-affiliated presidential candidate will be banned from their party’s campaign for the same length of time as the banned individual.
The terms for what constitutes unacceptable behaviour are based on the Student Codes of Conduct. Unacceptable behaviour includes bullying, both online and offline, and shepparding students into polling booths, among other behaviours.
If the unacceptable conduct is found by the Guild administration to be systemic within a party, the entire party may be banned from campaigning for length of time, which will be determined by Guild administration.
If banned individuals are found to be campaigning before their ban has ended, individuals, and the presidential candidates with which they are politically affiliated, will be banned for the entire week of polling.
Guild administration wishes to emphasise that there will be no tolerance or leniency if individuals act unacceptably.
Pelican understands that this is the first time in seven years that measures such as this have been implemented, reflecting the especially tense environment of this year’s elections.
Pelican wishes to express that we rely on tickets and individuals to inform us when politically-affiliated students have been banned, which we will then confirm with Guild administration, and subsequently report on.