Echols returns to Student Trustee ballot

By Felix Sarver

Student Assocation President Elliot Echols is now back on the ballot as a Student Trustee candidate.

Echols was initially removed from the ballot by Jasmine Harvell, Board of Elections Commissioner, for not having the 2.5 GPA required by SA bylaws to run for Student Trustee in the executive elections. The Board of Elections decided to allow Echols to run for student trustee provided he achieves a 2.5 GPA the Friday after finals, said Brandon Grosz, Chair of the Board of Elections.

Echols said while SA bylaws require a 2.5 GPA before applying to run for the executive elections, under Illinois law requirements, a person may still run for Student Trustee as long as they achieve the GPA requirement before they take office on July 1.

Echols said his current GPA is a 2.49. Last year, he could not turn in a paper for a course and he received an incomplete grade. The professor allowed Echols to turn in the paper for this semester and receive a grade for the class.

“If this Board were to allow me to run, I would have a 2.7 or 2.8 accumulative GPA by the time I take office,” he said.

Harvell said she was content with the board’s decision to allow Echols to run and believes the appeal process to be the fairest way to settle this issue.

“I hope in the future we can get the Illinois law and SA constitution in sync,” she said.

The other candidate for Student Trustee is incumbent Jaemin Robertson.