The change will take effect by the upcoming Spring term election cycle, EPAC Chair Richard Stephenson '12 said. The statement will require a student to explain in his or her own words "rather than the rumors and the gossip" the details of their violation, Stephenson said.
"People think this will increase gossip, but it will cease gossip because you'll get one true story about what's going on from the candidate's mouth," he said.
Unlike last year, this change will allow candidates to disclose relevant information and move forward with the election, he said.
Last spring, Will Hix '12 ran for student body president as a write-in candidate after being deemed ineligible to run under a previous EPAC rule that prevented students who had been suspended from the College from running for student body president or vice president.
Stephenson said EPAC decided to make the change because they felt it was part of their responsibility to create a fair election environment.
"This decision is the best option," he said. "It's not a compromise. It allows those that are worried about what a candidate has done in the past to get that information, but still allows the candidate to go forward with his campaign."
He added that EPAC sees this decision as a "dialing down" of how "strict and stringent" previous rules were while abiding by College privacy policies.
"Due to the sensitivity of privacy issues, the rule had to be drafted through the College's general counsel to make sure no students' privacy rights are violated," he said.
After deciding to change the rule, EPAC proposed the change to their adviser Eric Ramsey, who then brought the idea to the Office of the General Counsel, Stephenson said.
Students who run for student body president and vice president must be in "good academic standing," and any candidate who wants to run will have his or her status confirmed by the College, according to the Assembly's constitution.
Under the new policy, a student will fill out the document and College officials with access to the appropriate records will check that the statements are accurate.
"EPAC won't see judicial records," Emma Fidel '12, a Palaeopitus senior society representative on EPAC, said. "They won't be privy to any personal information."
Fidel is a former member of The Dartmouth Senior Staff.
If a candidate indicates that he or she wants to run without disclosing his or her previous disciplinary history, the College vetting process that already exists will find out and notify EPAC, Fidel said. EPAC will then ask the candidate to fill out the required document or be disqualified.
The decision is also a response to campus dialogue surrounding the issue of election eligibility, especially after Hix's campaign to run in last year's election, Stephenson said.
"It's really up to the voter to decide," he said. "That's really why the full disclosure policy resonated so well. We're not saying you can't run. We're not barring you. We're asking that you give the voters full disclosure on what's happening."
The decision also addresses claims that EPAC abused its power last year, he said.
The new policy will allow voters to get "all of the information they need to make the best decision," he said.
The 2012 EPAC first met in January and began reviewing existing election rules, including last year's rule that prevented students who had been suspended by the College from running for student body president or vice president, Stephenson said. EPAC is a five-member body comprised of representatives from various student groups, including Paleopitus and the Green Key Society, and is "charged with creating and governing campus elections," according to the press release.
At a Feb. 7 Assembly meeting, Hix proposed a failed amendment eliminating all eligibility requirements except on-campus residence for student body president and vice president positions, in addition to prohibiting the Assembly from setting further eligibility requirements. Following Hix's proposal, EPAC began to draft the current changes, Stephenson said.
Student Body President Max Yoeli '12 said he was glad that EPAC rather than the Assemby made the decision to change eligibility rules.
"I think that's the right procedure," he said. "I don't think there should be artificial barriers, but I think it's very important they have a disclosure policy."
Hix said he was glad EPAC decided to change the rule, but still believes that setting eligibility requirements is beyond its authority.
"It's still more restricted than it needs to be, but it's an improvement," Hix said. "I have faith in the Committee on Standards to decide whether or not a student can be admitted back into the College and if they can, they should be back as a full student who can run."
EPAC also voted to change rules for proxies at informational meetings, Stephenson said. Previously, a person could act as a proxy for an unlimited number of candidates. EPAC voted to allow a proxy to represent a maximum of two people to "remove error out of the process as much as possible" and ensure that all candidates get accurate information about running in the election. EPAC will also allow a publication, defined last year as any sort of paper or document that has 50 or more subscribers, to endorse a candidate as many times as it wants as long as it is not receiving funds or other assistance from candidates to do so, Stephenson said. This addresses issues that surfaced in the spring 2010 campaign, the first year student organizations were allowed to endorse candidates, he said.
