The Forward Foret-Tatman campaign for Student Government was disqualified Monday following an election court order finding the ticket liable for bribery.
The decision stems from a complaint filed by Lavar Henderson and Abry Layrisson of the Henderson-Layrisson campaign alleging Nick Foret, Forward’s presidential candidate, extended an offer to take any member of LSU’s chapter of Alpha Tau Omega who was interested in supporting their campaign to dinner. The offer was relayed by Jake Zubrzycki, president of ATO, at a weekly chapter meeting.
The campaign’s actions provided an advantage in garnering support not afforded to other tickets, according to a unanimous decision from the SG Judicial Branch Election Court.
“An offer to take anyone in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity to dinner does constitute a benefit holding more than a de minimis value under 6 S.G.C. §817(2),” the order read. “[4] Under 6 S.G.C. §817(2), the Forward ticket is liable for an act of bribery resulting from Mr. Zubrzycki’s statement at the Alpha Tau Omega chapter meeting.”
Forward released a statement Tuesday addressing the decision, vowing to continue its campaign.
“Despite a recent decision made by a select few, which bypassed the voices of over 40,000 LSU Tigers, the spirit of this campaign remains unbroken,” Foret said in a video posted to Forward’s Instagram account. “This decision does not deter us from our mission to serve and advocate for every student.”
Foret said the campaign will be appealing the decision, which assessed Forward 10 penalties, two more than the eight required for disqualification. If upheld, all Forward candidates will be forbidden from running in the upcoming SG election.
The campus-wide SG election will be March 20-21. Registration is closed with the official campaigns set to be revealed Friday. Besides the Henderson-Layrisson ticket, the Unite and Forward Qureshi-Gray campaigns will also be on the ballot.