Yard Council Validates Elections, Dismisses Charges of Fraudulency

The Freshman Council validated the freshman elections for the HUC and the SFAC last night in the face of charges that the elections were "fraudulent" and "undemocratic."

L. Edward Roberts '72, president of the Council, admitted to the freshman representatives that violations of the Council's election rules had occurred. Roberts claimed, however, and the Council over-whelmingly agreed, that these violations were not serious enough for the results to be scrapped and another election to be called.

Coalition Successful

Freshmen demonstrated strong support in the election for the radical five-man Student Initiative Coalition, choosing four of them for positions on the HUC-Stephen J. Ellman, Richard Zorza, Chad K. McDaniel, and Michael I. Smith. The only independent to win a place on the HUC was William H. Guenther.

The Class of '72 elected Joseph B. Gurman, Michael J. Ryan, and John F. Gillespie to the SFAC. These three were the only freshmen listed on the ballot for the three SFAC positions.

A three-man write-in slate for the SFAC--Samuel Z. Goldhaper, James T. Healy, and Thomas Price--denounced both the HUC and the SFAC elections, charging inadequate publicity, improper handling of the ballots by candidates, and illegal voting before and after Wednesday, the official voting day.

Circulate Petition

The group circulated a petition in the Freshman Union, before the Council's meeting, disputing the legitimacy of the elections and calling for new elections under more stringent supervision. They collected 172 signatures in an hour.

The Council, however, voted unanimously to validate the HUC election. And, after an impassioned speech by Gurman, secretary-treasurer of the Council, the representatives decided by a vote of 14-6 to validate the SFAC elections.

However, they did leave some doubt as to how long Gurman, Ryan, and Gillespie would serve on the SFAC. The Council did not decide whether they would serve for the entire year or only until the school-wide SFAC elections, scheduled for late January.