I was happy to read about my Judicial Board case against the Arts Undergraduate Society last week (“Bangs v. Calver/Cheng J-Board preliminary hearing held,” News, September 24, page 4). The reality is that the election period last year featured serious electoral misconduct, which neither former President [Jade] Calver nor former CRO of Elections AUS [Victor] Cheng denied in their response to my petition. In fact, I would draw attention to how closely our accounts lined up, with one or two minor exceptions, leaving the many incidences of electoral violations more or less uncontested.

As for me, I am very excited that we get the chance to go forward here. This case is not just about the individual questions at hand, but about a larger belief in the need for accountable student unions. Of course I do care deeply about the questions I am contesting. But I would remind you that democracy – even the kind we practice in a university – does not run on impartiality, nor should it.

AUS members deserve a fair election, regardless of the outcomes. The integrity of our student union processes, especially in the tail-end of a massive student mobilization campaign centered around student-union syndicalist organizing, is extremely important. Far too often we disregard the goings-on in the AUS, preferring to focus on SSMU or external news, and every year that I have been at McGill there has been at least one major scandal involving the AUS. Up until a couple of years ago, the AUS didn’t even pay their taxes! We need to stand up for the integrity of this organization, and encouraging fair, responsible elections is just one step forward.

—Chris Bangs
U3 Economics