Editor:

I could see from the very start of campaigning that A.S. elections this year were going to be messy and ugly. On the other hand, they’ve also been more exciting this year than any of the previous years that I have been here. What I didn’t anticipate is that they were also going to be dangerous for the candidates involved. After the grievances were heard on Friday and the elections results read, some of the disqualified candidates were yelling death threats at people on opposing slates. DEATH THREATS! Give me a break! Sure, I know that the people involved probably weren’t at all serious when they issued the threats, but the fact that they could even think about saying such things is seriously disturbing. I also know that all of the candidates who ran and the people who helped them put a lot of time, effort and hopes into this election, and I respect that. But it is still just a university student council election, and it’s not worth threatening the lives of other human beings. I also find it bitterly ironic that this comes on the eve of a day when thousands of prospective students and their parents will flood into our campus and hear people tell them how great UCSD is and how much they like being here because the people here are terrific. I wonder if the people who were making death threats — the same people who claim to want to serve the students and represent our school — thought about how such vile behavior reflects on them and on the university as a whole. To any of the people who have given death threats in any form to someone else because of this election, I say: “”Shame on you and get a hold of yourself.”” And most of all, please remember: It is just an election.

— Stephanie Chen

Thurgood Marshall College senior