SGA election rules fly in the face of free speech | Eur Ing Dr James P. Howard II SGA election rules fly in the face of free speech | Eur Ing Dr James P. Howard II

Dr James P. Howard, II
A Mathematician, a Different Kind of Mathematician, and a Statistician

SGA election rules fly in the face of free speech

  • James P. Howard, II, “SGA Election Rules Fly in the Face of Free Speech,” University of Maryland Diamondback, Apr. 13, 2007.

As a 2002 graduate of the university, I am saddened and disturbed by the treatment of Jahantab Siddiqui and the shrouded mystery of the Student Government Elections. The fact that Bret Cullinan has declared himself to be the arbiter of what is and is not campaigning is reminiscent of a military dictatorship, not a freely elected student government in a free country. Clear rules must apply, and even then it is abhorrent that at a university of all places free speech is stifled.

Moreover, I am disturbed by this newspaper’s sloppiness in publishing a confidential source. The press should be the watchdogs for freedom of speech, not those who abridge it.