The results are in -- at last.
After a three-and-a-half-hour hearing and more than five hours of deliberation, the Nominations and Elections Committee disqualified five of the 14 student-government candidates accused of using popular networking Web site facebook.com to campaign early.
Eighteen charges had been filed against candidates, all of which resulted from campaigning on the Facebook before Sept. 20.
The disqualifications, as well as the winners of the elections, were announced in the early hours of the morning.
The Class of 2009 president will be Wharton freshman Jon Hefter, and the vice president will be College freshman Irmina Gawlas.
One of the charged candidates, Wharton freshman Ricky Walters, did not show up to Sunday's hearing and was automatically disqualified. College freshman Steve Martucci withdrew his candidacy before the hearing began.
Others were disqualified for creating Facebook groups, joining support groups created by friends and posting supportive messages on their profiles.
"It's clear from our decision that we only disqualified those candidates for whom we had conclusive proof that they participated in an activity that we considered to be early campaigning," NEC Chairman and College senior David Diesenhouse said.
However, many former candidates are not satisfied by the hearing's final outcome.
"I started my own Facebook group, and another candidate had the same charge. She wasn't disqualified, but I was," College freshman and former candidate Gabriel Gilinski said.
"All I'm asking for is for there to be ... an explanation on how they came to their position. I'm not saying they're wrong, but I want clarification," he added.
"An explanation is due, and it's unfair" to disqualify students inconsistently, College freshman and new Undergraduate Assembly member Ben Cirlin said.
Diesenhouse said that the NEC considered details specific to each candidate, such as whether or not they joined a Facebook group that supported their candidacy, in order to come to a consensus.
Gawlas, who is now also a UA member and was charged due to a supportive Facebook group created by a friend, said that the hearing process intimidated candidates and prevented them from defending themselves well.
"The way the questions were phrased, we were being prosecuted by the jury, which doesn't make any sense," she said.
Additionally, many former candidates feel that the disqualifications violated the election's democratic process, since the NEC did not release vote totals for disqualified candidates.
Out of more than 1,600 original voters processed during the online elections, the results published by the NEC contained 669 votes for College representatives, 762 vice-presidential votes and 1,023 presidential votes.
"All [the other] votes were just thrown in the trash can. ... How could [the NEC] possibly think this was fair?" asked College freshman and former candidate for class president Dan Tavana.
Gilinski said that by disqualifying students, the NEC disenfranchised much of the freshman class.
"Since opponents were disqualified, it makes me feel guilty because maybe I don't deserve this," Gawlas said.
She added in the future she hopes that the NEC will have more consistent policies regarding online campaigning.
Diesenhouse said that, due to the Jewish holidays this week, he and NEC Vice Chairman of Elections Eli Hoffman have not been able to respond to candidates' inquiries. He added that the NEC will send out a statement to former candidates after the holiday.
Election Winners - Bing Chen, UA representative - Wilson Tong, UA rep. - Jay Patel, UA rep. - Hayling Price, UA rep. - Ben Coulter, UA rep. - Elizabeth Good, UA rep. - Ben Cirlin, UA rep. - Catherine Safaya, UA rep. - Jon Hefter: President - Irmina Gawlas: Vice president - Tommy Lumpkin: VP of corporate sponsorship - Brittany Cooper: Secretary - Ben Cirlin: Treasurer - Jonathan Gertman, SAS rep. - Sarasijhaa Desikan: SAS rep. - Jeff Tornick: SEAS rep. - Ben Coulter: Wharton rep. - Emily Deutsch: Nursing rep.
The Daily Pennsylvanian is an independent, student-run newspaper. Please consider making a donation to support the coverage that shapes the University. Your generosity ensures a future of strong journalism at Penn.
DonatePlease note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.