As if stealing 2,000 newspapers and refusing to admit they were wrong wasn't bad enough, the nine members of the Connection slate are now appealing their $325 slap on the wrist.
Sure, their actions were illegal and, more important, unethical. But they claim paying an $85 fine, losing a $250 stipend and developing a voter outreach campaign is just too high a price to pay for their transgressions.
It's ridiculous that 18 of the 20 senators, the vice president and president all came from this dubious slate. Eight of them have made the concept of fair and honorable election practices at UNM a farce.
This group stole 2,000 newspapers from doors outside the Daily Lobo's offices, stuffed them with their own material and redistributed them as they saw fit. Their actions forced the Lobo to reprint 2,000 copies, pay extra delivery fees and work to appease advertisers hurt by the delay in distribution - not to mention the impact on students who were unable to pick up the newspaper.
I was even willing to brush this off as a ridiculous incident and didn't expect to see the candidates removed from office. I figured this group was mature enough to accept what they did was wrong, apologize for their transgressions, pay for the newspaper's expenses and take steps to make sure it didn't happened again. Apparently, I overestimated them.
The candidates' appeal of their fines is rife with hypocrisy, absurd and an insult to all students. Two of the nine candidates are current senators who are well aware of the law, University policy and newspaper advertising prices, which they all ignored for their own benefit.
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The group claims it has a right to access the Daily Lobo however they see fit by virtue of paying student fees. By the same token, I should be able to take medication from the Student Health Center whenever I feel like it because I am a student and I pay my fees. It's preposterous.
The candidates also claim they had no idea inserting advertisements in the Daily Lobo carried a fair market value that resulted in part of their fines. Sen. Evan Kist, who sits on the Senate Finance Committee and was involved in the incident, talked about the Daily Lobo's funding, advertising revenue and our ivory tower endlessly before the election but now claims he had no idea advertising in the newspaper came with a price. Sen. Kist cannot have it both ways and his weak excuses, along with those of his peers, are revolting.
To top it all off, the Dean of Students Office and campus police promised to look into the matter, but no one from the administration has said a word. We have not heard a peep from those who are supposed to discipline students for conduct violations.
As a result, we are left to interpret this as a disturbing endorsement of the theft on campus.
Iliana Lim¢n
Editor in chief
