SPS graduate student Ashlie Oxford is slated to be the next chairperson of NYU’s Student Government Assembly after garnering majority support in its first popular election. The day before polls closed on Saturday, CAS junior Emma Bell — the only other candidate running for the position — was disqualified from the race for alleged “derogatory remarks.”
Joe McDonough, a Gallatin junior and the SGA elections commissioner, told WSN that Bell violated the election’s marketing guidelines, which prohibit candidates from making “any personal references about your opponent, derogatory remarks about school or any group, profanity, and inappropriate language or messages (e.g., references to drugs or alcohol).” McDonough said he was made aware of Bell’s infraction on Thursday evening, after Oxford and Bell campaigned for two weeks.
Bell, who currently serves as a CAS senator and is also running for CAS senior class president, said that the Election Commission’s decision was “very disappointing” and that she was not comfortable detailing her alleged violations of the guidelines.
“Thanks to my supporters and for the people who showed up and participated in voting,” Bell said in an interview with WSN. “I’m going to remain committed to serving the student community at NYU.”
A member of SGA said that Bell had publicized a promotional poster for her campaign in a group chat for a student organization, encouraging members to scan a QR code and vote for her as chairperson — which violates the election guidelines for this year’s popular election. Current SGA chair Angela Chou said that although Bell’s specific infraction is confidential, she confirmed that a candidate would violate the election guidelines by campaigning through “mass texts or calls,” which was reiterated to Bell and Oxford multiple times.
Oxford, who currently serves as a senator-at-large for student activists, said that she still hopes to work with Bell next year as the SGA chair. She said that she plans to get feedback from returning SGA members to help further their goals as student leaders, and feels grateful that the student body expressed its trust in her to lead the student government.
“This was SGA’s first year conducting a popular election, and it is incredibly unfortunate that one of our candidates was disqualified after two weeks of actively campaigning,” Oxford told WSN. “I hope people will realize that it is not a simple task to throw yourself into the spotlight, and I’m unbelievably proud of myself and Emma for embracing this challenge.”
In a recent universitywide debate, Oxford shared her plans to hire a student engagement director, who will strategically analyze trends to better identify the events that attract students’ attention, and implement a “five-point plan” that includes creating inclusive spaces for students and administrators to engage in dialogue. Oxford has also said that she aims to create spaces for students to communicate directly with administrators — a recurring demand of students and faculty at on-campus demonstrations.
This past academic year, Chou has overseen initiatives related to increasing students’ accessibility to basic resources, including the creation of a Basic Needs Center to offer free, short-term housing for students in need and improving mental health awareness. Chou also helped establish an online Swipe it Forward program to incentivize students to donate meal swipes and approved the Initiative Fund to make food more accessible to low-income students.
“I hope that they continue to advocate for that amazing work — for housing security, food insecurity and transportation issues moving into this year as well,” Chou said. “It’s definitely evidence that the student body should be very involved in the elections process, and the SGA is always listening to what students need and want.”
Contact Amanda Chen at [email protected].
