Devaram named MISC pres.
After a tie, the executive board considered several options before acting.
June 4, 2008
The May Missouri International Student Council presidential election took a turn when it resulted in a tie between the two candidates, Nadege Uwase and Sampath Devaram.
After much debate, the executive board named Devaram MISC president for the 2008-2009 school year, but some are not satisfied with the way the board handled the decision.
“I am disappointed in the decision, because I know that I am the better candidate, but I suppose that is a plausible argument everyone can use,” Uwase said.
Uwase served as president of the African Students Association and STAND Mizzou: A Student Anti-Genocide Coalition last year.
Due to the election’s importance in the future of the organization, the board established an elections committee to solve the issue at hand, according to an e-mail sent by MISC Internal Vice President Adam Lineberry, who could not be reached for comment.
Prior to granting the presidential position to Devaram, the committee came up with four possibilities in solving the predicament, Lineberry stated in the e-mail.
The first solution was to grant co-presidency to both candidates.
The elections committee saw this solution as an eventual concern, due to the possibility of disagreement between the co-presidents on issues throughout the year.
Another vetoed suggestion was to grant both contenders presidency in opposite semesters. However, MISC’s constitution states that a president is to serve one full-year term.
After declining the suggestion to hold another election due to final exams, the committee decided to make a final executive decision and name Devaram president.
“I can only say that the committee had the sole authority to decide,” Devaram said. “And to my knowledge they have been very professional in their conduct during the entire process and educated both the candidates of the procedures and the thought process.”
MISC adviser Handy Williamson could not be reached for comment.
MISC is a student organization that works together with other cultural associations at MU to form relationships between international students and help establish cultural diversity throughout the campus.
MISC holds public forums, open discussion sessions and an International Welcome Party aimed toward uniting the international student population at MU.
“I was told by Adam Lineberry that [Devaram] was chosen of the basis of his familiarity with MISC as he has served as the treasurer this past year,” Uwase said. “I do not plan to appeal, as the decision has already been made and will stay as such. I ran for MISC president because I felt that I had something to offer, and that is still on the table. If Devaram is interested in working with me, I would love to continue working with MISC in any capacity. I recognize that I can lend my expertise and serve the international students’ interest on campus without being the president of MISC.”
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