Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Copyright 2013 Students for Justice in Palestine at University of South Florida, All rights reserved.
The ballot and the university news outlets made it clear that this was a vote on whether the student body wanted to divest from corporations with known affiliations to Israeli apartheid Sabra Hummus, Hewlett-Packard, and Wellington Small Cap and Value.
Copyright 2013 Students for Justice in Palestine at University of South Florida, All rights reserved.
Goff simultaneously released Executive Memorandum #12 which formally pressured the Election Rules Commission (ERC) to declare the results invalid. SJP called in lawyers from the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR). CAIR brought in its legal team. The legal team also consulted the American Civil Liberties Union and the First Amendment Center. The legal team made it clear that the argument was invalid on several counts. The student body is not composed of government employees, therefore this law does not apply to the non-binding student referendum. The referendum is non-binding. The referendum is legal and simply an outlet to exercise first amendment right as Americans to freedom of speech.
Copyright 2013 Students for Justice in Palestine at University of South Florida, All rights reserved.
Election results
On March 1st, it was still unclear whether the results would be announced and the results certified. The election results were set to be announced at 3:00 PM. At 2:46 PM, a mass email by the Goff was released to the entire university student body and faculty. The email announced that the referendum would not be certified and the results would be annulled. At 3:00 PM, the results of the election were announced. This was a surprise victory for SJP. Referendum #1 Yes 2575 60.45% No 454 10.66% No Preference 1231 28.90% Total 4260 For Referendum #1, 2130 votes needed for passage Referendum #2 Yes 2111 49.55% No 609 14.30% No preference 1540 36.15% Total 4260 For Referendum #2, 2130 votes needed for passage
But the results were not certified. Goffs email did not explain why the results were decertified and attacked the referendum allegedly due to a large amount of confusion, the lack of notice and the inconsistencies in the referendum. Goff hid the actual reason it was decertified. It was decertified by a technicality that Student Government failed to follow. One of the requirements for a referendum was publicly announcing the referendum 1 week before elections and informing the student body. But student government was never interested in explaining the referendum to the student body. It was too busy doing everything it can to prevent the referendum from entering the ballot.
Copyright 2013 Students for Justice in Palestine at University of South Florida, All rights reserved.
Furthur information
Kumar, Divya. "Hillel lecture supports Israels right of defense." The Oracle. University of South Florida, 20 Nov. 2012. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usforacle.com/hillel-lecture-supports-israel-s-right-ofdefense-1.2796163#.UXM-j4b4aHs>. Rosenthal, Alex. "Group petitions for Palestinian resolution in SG senate." The Oracle. University of South Florida, 2 June 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usforacle.com/group-petitions-forpalestinian-resolution-in-sg-senate-1.2808222#.UXNdFob4aHs>. Kumar, Divya. "Divestment referendum ignites debate ." The Oracle. University of South Florida, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usforacle.com/divestment-referendum-ignites-debate1.2814076#.UXQQf4b4aHs>. Kumar, Divya. "Divestment referendum discounted from ballots." The Oracle. University of South Florida, 1 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usforacle.com/divestment-referendumdiscounted-from-ballots-1.2814589#.UXQRPIb4aHs>. Tarabishy, Dana. "Students should be able to decide where the money ... goes." The Oracle. University of South Florida, 4 Mar. 2013. Web. 21 Apr. 2013. <http://www.usforacle.com/letter-to-the-editorstudents-should-be-able-to-decide-where-the-money-goes-1.2814818#.UXQT0Ib4aHs>.
Copyright 2013 Students for Justice in Palestine at University of South Florida, All rights reserved.