Editor’s Note from News Director Areebah Bharmal: The recent Student Government election has been met with court appeals, tears and calls for the disqualification of the winners. Given the nature of TSTV News as being composed of student reporters who are also involved with other organizations and the campus community it has become almost impossible for us to report the fallout from the election due to our ties to the situation. However, it is still our responsibility to report the facts. In order to reconcile these contradictory situations, Associate News Director Justin Doud and I are outlining what we know about the race, and our ties to it, in the following letter from the news directors.

Hudson Thomas and Thierry Chu were named the next Student Body President and Vice President elect Monday afternoon over objections from the Student Government Supreme Court. The day before the announcement, the court held a hearing regarding a complaint filed against Thomas and Chu’s campaign. Following the hearing and extensive deliberations, they issued a decision to disqualify the candidates. TSTV News was first made aware of this situation due to Associate News Director Justin Doud’s position as a justice on the court.

At Student Government, Justin and the other justices’ role is limited to hearing appeals on election related issues. We want to make clear that Justin has never been involved in Student Government coverage at TSTV News, nor will he in the future, and Areebah will expand on this below. Due to his role with TSTV News and the conflict of interest that poses, as well as the impossibility of differentiating what information has reached us due to his role and what information has reached us through other channels, we decided it was best not to report this story in the format we normally would, and Areebah will expand on this below as well.

Here is a quick summary of the events that have transpired as we are aware of them. We provide further details below.

• Presidential candidate JD Romero, who is also a member of the Texas Student Media board, filed a complaint against Thomas and Chu with the Election Supervisory Board
• The complaint was dismissed at the direction of the Dean of Students Office
• The complaint was appealed the the Student Government Supreme Court Friday
• The court held a hearing and issued a decision Sunday
• Dean of Students Office staff notified the court they would be invalidating the court’s decision Monday
• Thomas and Chu were named president and vice president elect Monday afternoon

The complaint against Thomas and Chu was filed by presidential candidate JD Romero, who currently serves as ethics and oversight chair of the SG assembly. Romero also currently serves as the vice president of the Texas Student Media Board of Trustees which oversees all TSM entities, including Texas Student Television. TSM student board positions are often held by members of Student Government, and Areebah expands on how this does not affect TSTV News’ reporting below. 

Romero alleged that Thomas and Chu broke guidelines around mandatory financial disclosure of campaign materials, and alleged the alliance failed to properly disclose the “in-kind” cost of filming equipment used in the creation of the alliance’s campaign videos.

However, according to the majority opinion of the court, Thomas told Chief Justice Isaiah Mosley in what the opinion refers to as an “ex parte communication,” that he had sought approval from Dean of Students Office staff.

Per SG election code, the case was first referred to the Election Supervisory Board, who dismissed the case. Thomas said in the hearing that the dismissal came at the direction of the office of the Dean of Students. Romero filed an appeal to the Supreme Court, who has sole appellate jurisdiction over election matters. The Court accepted the appeal, which alleged that the case was wrongfully dismissed, and scheduled a hearing for Sunday morning at 9 a.m.

The question of whether or not the court has jurisdiction over the case was raised by Dean of Students Office officials. They said that because a hearing was not held by the Election Supervisory Board and the case was just dismissed, it could not be appealed to the Supreme Court.

Following the court’s hearing and decision, the Dean of Students Office staff notified the court and both parties involved in the case, that they would be invalidating the ruling due to their belief that the court did not have jurisdiction.

An hour after the Dean of Students Office’s communication with the parties in the case, Speaker of the Student Government Assembly Nidhi Chanchlani sent an email to the SG executive and legislative branches informing them of the court’s decision and the DOS’ subsequent invalidation of the decision.

Chanchlani said in the email that the court’s hearing was “in accordance with the SG constitution and governing documents.” She also acknowledged that the events surrounding the hearing raise many questions that remain unanswered.

Chanchlani also linked the court’s final ruling, Justin’s partial concurrence and partial dissent opinion and a recording of the hearing, which you can view now.

Areebah will continue to provide updates as more information on the election and case are available.

From News Director Areebah Bharmal:

I want to first address TSTV News’ previous coverage on the SG elections. Just as no student reporter with TSTV News reports on any organization or campus event they are connected to, Justin was in no way involved with our coverage of the election or any other Student Government related stories, nor will he be in the future.

Student reporters belong to other organizations on campus and engage in other campus events. In order to uphold journalistic integrity, it has always been TSTV News policy that no reporter covers campus affairs they have any connections to. Justin and his limited Student Government involvement are the same way.

Additionally, TSTV News’ coverage of SG is always minimal and mostly limited to the election, which Justin was never going to participate in coverage of.

In regards to JD Romero’s position with Texas Student Media, the board does not have any say in the reporting of TSTV News and does not see our coverage prior to its publication.

As for my involvement in election coverage through the debate and Tower Talks episode, both of those events occurred prior to the case’s appeal Friday, and therefore our knowledge of the case. My interview with the current Student Body President and Vice President was also conducted prior to Friday.

Last year, I covered the SG elections and it was my intention to do the same this year. While I was present at the announcement and conducted an interview with Thomas and Chu, as the court’s involvement became more and more clear I made the decision to step away from our coverage.

Justin is my partner at TSTV News and also one of my best friends. One of the challenges of student journalism is balancing working, going to class, making some of your best friends and reporting all at the same university. Due to our close partnership in news and our friendship outside of the newsroom, I thought it was best for me to stop reporting on the election. 

However, TSTV News has a very small team and Justin’s involvement in the court should not stop us from reporting the facts. That is why we chose to deliver this information in a letter from the directors format, instead of a traditional news story. I will continue to provide updates on the election through this format as things progress.

From Associate News Director Justin Doud:

I want to reiterate my complete separation from all content and coverage of Student Government or its elections. When I began my time as Associate News Director, I continued removing myself from any coverage of any entity I was engaged with in accordance with TSTV News’ policies and my own journalistic ethics. That includes Student Government. I also swore in my confirmation hearing before the SG assembly that I would not report on SG in any capacity while serving on the court, and I have upheld that promise.

I also wish to reiterate the role of the Court in SG — we provide clarification on and interpretation of the governing documents and handle appellate matters regarding Student Government elections. We are in no way engaged in the policy creation of the organization, nor are we connected in any way to the legislative or executive branches other than to administer the oath of office for confirmations approved by the assembly — an administrative action with no editorial privilege. 

I love journalism to my core, much as I love government and law. College is a time for me and all students to explore our interests and find our passions in a way we otherwise can’t once out of an educational space. That’s what I’ve pursued while at UT, and I feel I’ve learned a lot about my priorities, convictions and interests as an individual. Above all, I believe in the truth and in justice, hence my participation in the two entities as I’ve explored where I hope to go professionally in the future. 

While I don’t believe I crossed any line at any point through either of my positions, I do believe that as a journalist, my duty is to serve my campus and community in the best possible manner available to me. As the events of this decision have unfolded, both in regards to my role as a journalist and in my role on the court, I’ve reached the conclusion that the most effective way for me to serve is not as a justice.

Effective upon the Speaker’s receipt of my letter of resignation and my public comment at the March 11 assembly meeting, I will no longer serve as a justice on the Court, which I believe will allow me to more effectively represent the needs and perspectives of our UT and Austin community as a journalist. I will continue to refrain from any Student Government coverage to avoid any conflict of interest or overlap through my personal relationships with the organization’s members or my past experience within the organization.

In closing:

TSTV News always strives for fair and accurate reporting. We also believe that transparency in the reporting process is necessary to achieve this. It was in this mission that we chose this format of coverage for this story, so we could lay out all the facts, and also make note of our ties to it.

As always, we encourage readers to reach out to our team at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Areebah Bharmal
TSTV News Director

Justin Doud
TSTV Associate News Director