Three members of the Students First! slate agreed to write two letters of apology as part of an informal resolution to allegations that they used A.S.-funded media for their campaign, which is forbidden by election bylaws.

Under the settlement, independent candidate Brian Uiga, who is running for commissioner of communications, withdrew a formal grievance he filed with election officials on April 1.

The complaint accused Harish Nandagopal, running for president, Hillary Elder, vying for commissioner of communications, and Ted McCombs, competing for Revelle College senior senator, of using copies of the New Indicator and Voz Fronteriza as weights to help display campaign posters in violation of article V.C.1.c. of the A.S. Elections Bylaws. The provision prohibits A.S.-funded or A.S.-backed organizations from using student fees to support or endorse candidates or slates.

“I was kind of angry, as I see student media really having a hard time on this campus,” Uiga said. “This current crop of politicians is promising a whole lot of things for student media and here they are using [them] for ballasts.”

During negotiations mediated by A.S. Elections Manager Tom Chapman, the Students First! slate agreed to remove the poster weights and make an apology to both publications in writing.

The three candidates named in the grievance said they found the papers in recycling bins of the Cross-Cultural Center, where they held meetings, and decided to reuse them to reduce waste. All three didn’t think at the time they were doing anything wrong, they said.

“It’s pretty standard practice,” McCombs said. “Once those old issues are recycled, they’re pretty much in the spirit of public domain, so we really didn’t think we were doing anything inappropriate. But we can see how [the publications] could feel bad.”

Based on the evidence presented at the informal meeting on April 2, Chapman said that he, too, saw few grounds for the grievance, though explaining that, had Uiga chosen to proceed with the complaint, the final determination would have been made by the A.S. Elections Committee and not himself.

However, the candidates agreed to apologize as gestures of good will after Uiga, who writes for the New Indicator, explained that members of the publications were offended, Nandagopal said.

“I think I partially agree [with the compromise], in that we probably shouldn’t have used anything that could’ve caused problems. I feel bad that the editors of the publications were a little offended,” Elder said. “I think the formal letters of apology to the publications are in order, and I have no problem with that.”

The candidates praised the process of informal conflict resolution, instituted for the first time in this year’s elections.

“I was very pleased that we worked this out in an informal hearing, because it’s important to show that the informal hearing system works, and that grievances can be resolved to the satisfaction of both parties without mass disqualifications,” McCombs said.

[Ed. Note: Brian Uiga is a staff writer for the Guardian.]