The Howard University Elections Commission held a public press conference in the Armour J. Blackburn University Center’s ballroom last Friday. Despite sparse attendance from the student body, the commission shared its commitment to transparency and accessibility to Howard students.
The new commission banded together after the spring election season when the entire team was removed by the 64th Howard University Student Association (HUSA) President, Jay Jones.
HUSA’s inaugural press secretary, Ssanyu Lukoma, opened the event with a speech highlighting the long-term impact the new elections commission hopes to inspire in Howard elections.
Last spring’s election commission was removed over concerns from HUSA leadership about how the election was being handled, after various allegations of improper campaigning laid out by Howard University Elections Code. Specifically, there were concerns about the commission not being managed in accordance with established protocols and their subpar communication to both candidates and the student body.
“We can’t just move forward without confronting the past. The problems we saw last year weren’t just the failures of one person,” Lukoma said. “They were a result of a culture that normalized the wrong things; back-room deals, exploitation and barriers that shut out opportunity, and that culture ends now.”
The new commission did not go into specific actions that led to the former commission’s removal, but were clear in their admonishment toward the last commission. Jae’Dyn Smith used his press conference time to reassure the student body that election concerns were a thing of the past.
“The removal of the last [commission], to be frank, was no one’s fault but their own,” Smith added.
The elections commission hopes to regain trust through its initiatives to change the culture of student elections at the university. One of such initiatives includes public documentation for campaign spending.
The new recording process “will require candidates to submit receipts, invoices and documentation for all spending, including donations,” said Director of Communications Tochi Ihekona.
Other initiatives include the establishment of an investigations team for election violations, boosting civic engagement, more graduate student election inclusion, a hub for all campaigns and better communication for both candidates and the general student body.
“In ensuring that there is oversight, first of all, we are making changes to the code just to ensure that … when there are violations that are presented, it’s easier to clarify,” Co-Director of Violations Autumn Wall told The Hilltop at the press conference.
Wall also announced the creation of a violations appeal board.
The director of Election Commission Communications, Tochi Ihekona, said the commission’s key to avoiding internal conflict was a balance of power between the directors of the commission and a continued effort to collaborate between election departments.
“But we will always make sure that we come to the conclusion that is with the student body in mind,” Ihekona said.
A large part of the press conference centered around a reinvigoration of communications and connection with the student body.
However, a representative for New To The Mecca, a social media platform used to centralize all things Howard-related, highlighted the lack of student attendance at the event, which was around 20 people.
Ihekona said to attract a larger crowd the commission intends to publish events better and look for alternative sources, such as possible collaboration with New To The Mecca.
New To The Mecca also shared concerns over the commission’s endorsement rules after an issue in regards to the group reposting various campaigns last spring, which was ultimately resolved.
The commission plans to continue allowing New To The Mecca to repost campaigns without strikes to counter what they call “campaign elitism,” which was characterized by Ihekona as both fiscal privilege playing a role in campaigning, along with one’s social media followings.
“We recognize that while the campaign limit for HUSA executives is $5,500, not everyone has $5,500 to put towards a campaign,” Ihekona said.
They aim to address such matters by posting all campaigns on their hub and providing education materials and events for candidates on running a campaign.
Cameron Sanders, a freshman political science and environmental double-major from Chicago, said he felt the press conference was informative as a prospective candidate for COAS Student Council.
“I don’t think I’m really worried about [a removal] happening this year,” Sanders said. “[They] really push for transparency.”
Myra Gohring, a sophomore political science major from Pittsburgh said she believes there was corruption and lack of transparency in last spring’s elections and remains pessimistic about the fairness of this year’s elections, specifically in regards to accessibility.
“I feel like the way Howard is structured with everything is a pipeline to introduce you to ‘this organization’ or ‘this society,’ ” Gohring said.
Gohring didn’t know about the press conference, but would have gone had she seen the communications.
“All I can do is hope that it’s free and fair but like, in the end, …they can be [corrupt] and just say ‘oh this is free and fair.’”
Copy edited by Damenica Ellis
