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april 2, 1982 the concordian page 11 Council rules on SA campaign violations fice by interjecting comments and interfering with technical equip-ment at KORD during a broadcast of the debate on March 14. Allegedly, Kris Hiepler, KORD station manager, requested that Tolo deliver the debate tapes to th...

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Language:unknown
Published: 1982
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Online Access:http://cdm16921.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p16921coll4/id/18921
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Summary:april 2, 1982 the concordian page 11 Council rules on SA campaign violations fice by interjecting comments and interfering with technical equip-ment at KORD during a broadcast of the debate on March 14. Allegedly, Kris Hiepler, KORD station manager, requested that Tolo deliver the debate tapes to the radio station, she having other obligations that evening. Follow-ing instructions, Tolo, a KORD employee, brought the tapes to Al Bain, an evening disc jockey. Craig Johnson, a KORD employee was also in the station. A communication breakdown caused a scramble of events: Bain and Johnson assumed that Tolo was to run thejjebate broadcast. Tolo assumed that a disc jockey was going to arrive to run the pro-gram. The scheduled deejay never appeared or called the station. Bain began the tapes at 9 p.m. and departed with Johnson, leaving Tolo alone in the station. v Tolo, concluding that he could not leave KORD with the tapes in progress, decided to "fill air time" during tape pauses by speaking at the "appropriate places". Three witnesses — Johnson, Tommy Cronk and Eric Burros—listening to the aired debate testified that Tolo interrupted several times when the candidates were speak-ing. Tolo admitted to the following: only interupting to give the time, to clarify which candidate was speaking, and—at the end of the debate—giving the results of a survey that Verby and he had con-ducted. * Chuck McNeise, disc jockey and sports director at KORD testified that _ Tolo had no knowledge of how to handle the ^technical equipment inside of thg v. /TrTe^WoTrir"According to- McNeise, judges lowered Tolo's fine to ten Tolo reads his sports material in by Cassiette Angela West The evening of March 24 closed the final chapter for the 1982 Stu-dent Association presidential elec-tion violations. Thor Tolo and Karl VerJ>y, former candidates for SA presi-dent and vice president -were assessed two fines concerning alleged violations of election rules in this year's campaign. Thor, ap-pealing both fines in a four and a -half hour session, the panel of fine judges declared the final Verdict: "guilty" for the first offense and "not guilty" for the second. Tolo felt that the first trial "was basically a decision aimed to satisfy everyone. Cutting the fine in half was a token' gesture to erase guilt of intent. If the P.O. stuffing had indeed played a role in the primary outcome, then an election injuction should have been issued by Election Marshall Diane Robely. Since she did not take such action, I assume in-nocence and the charge should have been dropped." The first trial dealt with the or-dinance in the ^by-laws which states that P.O. stuffs aren't allowed after 10:30 a.m. the day before an election. Tolo claimed to receive an incomplete copy of the by-laws [missing Article IV] and thus claimed "ignorance of the law." The morning of March 8, Tolo's campaign committee received a twenty dollar fine from Robely. Verby states that "the stuffing of the P.O.'s was not a malicious attempt to sway the voter's minds; we only wanted them to know about the up-and-coming primary; because of our poor dollars. Robely said she was satisfied with this decision. The second trial dealt with the ethics in a political campaign. Tolo was charged with distorting the campaign debates between the respective officials running for of-another booth in which the con-trols are pre-set; therefore, Tolo was supposedly not aware of how to control the volume control, microphone switch, or any other type of equipment in the disc jockey booth. Skiers begin trip The Minnesota Lappland Ex-pedition began skiing on March 13 from Kirkenes, Norway. The skiers began on the Barents Sea and will continue down the Pasvik Valley along the Norwegian- Russian border. The group spent two days at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden where the In-stitute's physiology department tested the skiers. The tests includ-ed arm strength tests, muscle biopsy samples and cardio-vascular endurance. The Physiology department at Kirolin-ska hopes the information gained from this study will aid in the development of more natural body movements. The skiers also spent five days at Olgino, Russia, a ski and sports center near Lenningard on the Gulf of Finland. Paul Erickson, expedition leader, reports that "the group is very excited and anxious to begin the journey. The weather is ex-cellent and appears to be good for the rest of the journey. We have been warned to avoid crossing the Norwegian-Russian border by Norwegian border guards." The first leg of the journey will take the skiers from Kirkenes, Norway along the Norwegian- Russian border to Inari, Finland. Business office robbed . Last Friday at 12:30 p.m. an undisclosed amount of money was stolen from the Concordia business office. Currently a search is underway for the hidden money, according to Dean of Students Morris Lann-* ing. A suspect is now being held in the Clay County Jail in connec-tion with the incident. Robely contended that it was under her jurisdiction to fine Tolo for not complying with campaign regulations. She felt that it was improper for him to be at KORD during the time the debate was be-ing aired. Though the campaign by-laws failed to state what is "ethical", Robely persisted that as election marshall, she had the power to fine Tolo for d6ing what she termed as "wrong." Tolo pleaded with the court to unders-tand that his situation was one of crucial circumstances. At 10:27 p.m. Chief Justice Peter Coen announced the ver-dict, "not guilty," to a crowd of twenty-two spectators. Coen ex-plained that it is not within the campaign by-laws to have anyone —election marshall in-cluded— interpret the by-laws from an unstated ethical perspec-tive. He suggested that the cam-paign rules need to be revised and clarified for future elections. Coen also cited "gross negligance" on KORD's behalf; he stated that "these people definitely have to get their act in gear in terms of efficiently handling im-portant situations with com-petence and responsibility in the future." Verby's reaction to the courts decisions coincided with Chief Justice Coen's remarks: "The by-laws were not clear about the so-called unethical practices that we allegidly committed. The panel could not really prosecute us ac-cording to the by-laws*, because this was an unprecedented activity and the jucicial council can not make up laws as it sees fit. It must decide whether the accusations ^which were made towards Thor "and I were actually valid. I think that the panels unanimous deci-sion of "not guilty" proves that Thor was truly a victim of cir-cumstances and not as the plain-tiff stated, "intentionally trying to negatively influence the broad-casted debate over KORD." The saga ended with mixed emotions, signs of relief, subtle growls and hisses being exchang-ed. Robely commented following the trial: "I feel angry because Thor Tolo believes what he did was totally acceptable and it was not! I am disappointed Thor Tolo got off scotfree. I do, however, understand the judicial decision. Sometimes on occurences such as this it is needed to improve the by-laws. When the by-laws are chang-ed, I will feel somewhat relieved. I will know future candidates won't ,believe Tolo's actions can be con-doned." Tolo summarizes his campaign ordeal: "I am not bitter, only disappointed with irrational and unavoidable actions of late. I am very grateful for the service pro-vided by my second representative Scott Gutjar, because he put everything he had into defending this case and succeeded." No one benefited from the events spanning over the last three weeks or so. People working on both sides of the campaign were hurt and this was nor a goal of Concordia's student government. Adjustments must be made, cooperation emphasized, and ex-plicit communication must be established between students, can-didates, and Student Association officals for a positive outcome in future campaign elections at Con-cordia." - MAJORITY OPINION: STUDENT ASSOCIATION vs. THOR TOLO and KARL VER-BY- MARCH 24, 1982. We the members of the judicial council, by a unanimous vote (5-0), find the defendants, Thor Tolo and Karl Verby, not guilty as charged . with violating Concordia's Student Association By-laws: Specifically, Article IV, Section IV, Clause 1, and also the basic intent of Section IV of the SA By-laws. However, it is the opinion of the Judicial Council that Thor Tolo's actions involving a debate broadcast over K.O.R.D. radio, were somewhat questionable. This decision should not be construed as an exoneration of those ac-tions; rather, it should be viewed as a reflection of the serious short-comings of the Student Associa-tion By-Laws regarding campaign regulations and ethics. Furthermore, it is the view of this council that the plaintiff fail-ed to present a prima-facie case, proving beyond a shadow of a' doubt that the charges for which Tolo and Verby were indicted should stand. ^ This council hereby recom-mends that the legislative body of Student Association, Student Senate, draft guidelines to rectify the present ambiguities in the SA By-laws vis-a-vis election ethics. Signed: Peter Coen, chief justice Associate Justices: Barton Coleman Bradley Schmidt Scott Wonderlich Kristi Winegar MAJORITY OPINION STUDENT ASSOCIATION vs. THOR TOLO and KARL VER-BY: MARCH 24, 1982. We, the members of the Judicial Council, find the defen-dants guilty by a unanimous deci-sion of 5—0 of violating the Arti-cle IV, Section IV, Clause 7, of the Student Association by-laws: "P.O. stuffing will not be allowed on, the day of, or after 10:30 a.m. on the day preceeding any elec-tion." However, we also find the penalty for the offense excessive and therefore we reduce the fine to a sum commensurate with the offense, $10. Signed: Peter Coen, chief justice The Associate Justices: Scott Wonderlich Barton Coleman Bradley Schmidt Kristi Winegar classified* HAVE TYPEWRITER WILL TYPE! All your papers, torms. etc. Ex- 'perienced. Call Reoee • 233-JO96 in advance. TYPINC PAPERS, REPORTS. Fast service, rush OK. Sharon 236-1863. ARE YOU LOOKING FOR EXPERIENCE IN LEADERSHIP PUBLIC RELATIONS COMMUNICATIONS BE A PART OF THE 1982 FAMILY WEEKEND TEAM!! DR. C TILLISCH OPTOMETRIST American Optometric Association Glasses Fitted Contact Jenses Holiday Mall ' , Moorhead, Mn 56560 Ph. 233-2058 Last year over 500 people attended the Family Weekend festivities. This year's program anticipates more. Chairpersons are needed to head the various committees used to plan the weekend. The committees will indlude publicity, registration, campus tours and general events. Applications and sign up for interviews will be available at the Development office in the Ad-ministration building Friday, April 2 thru Wednesday, April 7. Interviews will be held after Easter. Get involved and help make the 1982 Family Weekend one of the best Family- Weekends put on by Concordia. FOR SALE: 236-0282. Ovation guitar. Call CAY STUDENT RAP CROUP. A support group for men and women students who are either openly gay or who are seeking to deal with their sexual identity. Issues of con-cern to the gay community will be discussed. Meetings are run on a confidential basis. If you are seriously interested, call 236-2227 for more information. You are not alone! . . JEFF, to know more, be next to Normandy piano 6:30 p.m. today. WAALEN, Have you found your shoe yet? EARN $4.00 to 5.00 an hour help-ing PIND/ACORN a citizen's organization. Beginning April 3rd. If interested call 293-7463. .,. WANTED: One female roommate for next year to share furnished '/; house with 3 others. Across from Hoyum, about $95/month. Cynthia - 3324 or Beth-4170. NEEDED Summer renters for house across from Hoyum & Music. Fur-nished and a bargain at $220/month, May 1-Aug. 15, negotiable. Cynthia - 3324 or Beth -4170. Summer Cobbers? Act now! Rent the home across the street-912 South 8th. Main floor and downstairs apartment. 232^2154 or 299-3937 The Community Resource Develop-ment (CRD) program heeds Summer Youth Counselors to work one to a town in locations throughtout North Dakota. CRD provides an opportunity to run your Own program and practice decision-making responsibilities. It at-tempts to Involve young people in wor-thwhile recreation and community pro-jects. College credit is available. Early application is required. For more infor-mation, contact Pat Kennelly, NDSU, 237-8381.