Many of you may have noticed the posters plastered across campus denouncing Eric Hopfensperger and Chris Smith as candidates for president of the Student Senate (see related article on page 1). The posters were posted anonymously, credited only to “The Coalition of Concerned Students Against ‘Chops’ and ‘Burns.’” As it turns out, the coalition consists of two students: Sen. Jeffrey Schwan and Sen. Jordan O’Connell. The posters themselves could be seen as unethical: they used a copyrighted photo without permission, they were anonymous and they made statements that were inaccurate and misleading.

While these are glaring offenses, one of the worst offenses about the poster campaign is that the senators who posted them refused to own up to them and be upfront with their constituents or the media. When initially approached about the posters, both Schwan and O’Connell refused to comment. As student senators, they have an ethical responsibility to serve their constituents in the best manner possible, and a large part of that is sharing their concerns openly and also being held accountable for their own actions. They participated in a dirty, dishonest political tactic that reflected poorly not only upon themselves, but upon the Student Senate and UW-Platteville in general.

While Schwan and O’Connell are within their First Amendment rights to print such posters, it is not a matter of what is legal, but much more of what is ethical. As a member of the student body, I hold my elected officials to the standard that they behave honestly, openly and in the best interest of their constituents, as doing otherwise would only contribute to the mistrust and contempt that is often associated with politicians.

While the posters have allegedly been taken down due to copyright infringement, I can only urge that these two senators come forward about their actions and apologize for the dirty tactics they employed in their campaign against Hopfensperger and Smith. By doing so, they can help earn back the trust of not only myself, as I’ve always held both senators in a fairly high esteem, but also of the rest of their constituents.