Three candidates received three violation points each Monday night for solicitation in the Honors Residence Hall — presidential candidate Taylor Wright, vice presidential candidate Mills Hayes and speaker of the senate candidate Patrick Ellis.
At 8:30 p.m. on Feb. 21, Wright, Hayes and Ellis entered Honors with about six staff members using the Carolina Card of Surge staff member Brice Smoker. According to their representatives' estimates at the hearing, the candidates split up and spoke with a combined 24-27 students over the next half hour in hallways and common areas, distributing cookies and fliers. When a staffer on another campaign told them they couldn't be there, the candidates returned to the lobby and then canceled two other planned residence hall visits.
"We made a mistake and I'm sorry for it," Ellis said. While Ellis serves on the senate judiciary committee, he said, the solicitation policy is separate from the codes he works with on the committee.
Speaking on behalf of Ellis at the hearing, first-year political sciences student Davis Latham said that he had helped come up with and supported the idea for the event.
"I take responsibility myself personally for not going through all the codes," Latham said.
According to Wright, Ellis's staff had reached out to Wright and Hayes about visiting residence halls together, but they didn't plan the Feb. 21 event until a few hours before it took place.
First-year international studies student Marriana DiPirro testified at the hearing, saying that Hayes approached her outside her room and pushed her to talk about the Surge campaign. DiPirro told Hayes that she had been forcefully approached on Greene Street by the campaign multiple times and wasn't interested in hearing any more.
According to DiPirro, Hayes then said, "That's when you put your headphones in, sister." Hayes disagrees with DiPirro's wording of statement, saying instead that she was sharing how she pretends to put in headphones when she's avoiding people.
"I feel kind of badly that she feels that way," Hayes said. "I was joking, and that's literally what I do." Ellis and Latham were also present at the encounter and did not feel that it constituted harassment.
Honors resident mentor Michaela Mabry, a witness at the hearing, said that as many as seven residents had come to her expressing concerns or discontent with the candidates being in the residence hall.
Also at the hearing, the Elections Commission heard a complaint against Hayes for her banner placement, which was moved by Russell House staff due to concerns over a safety box it originally covered. The commission assigns an order for the banners that is binding for all candidates, and gave one point to Hayes.
"I'm honestly really confused with the whole banner situation," Hayes said. She communicated with Russell House, the elections commission and several other candidates to try to get the banner moved.
"I don't know what else I could have done," she said. While she disagreed with the verdict, Hayes said she was unlikely to appeal because she is focusing on the election.