Students are criticizing the Carleton University Students’ Association (CUSA) election office’s decision to bar campaigning on Reddit as censorship of student voices.
The election office did not include Reddit on its list of permitted social media platforms for campaigning.
In an email to the Charlatan, Chief Electoral Officer Alexa Camick said the election office chose platforms “that have a reputation for respecting the conduct of positive politics and positive campaigning.”
“As stated in the Electoral Code, the role of the Electoral Officers is to act with fairness and impartiality,” Camick said. “We have, and will continue, to discharge the above listed duties of the office.”
In a separate statement, Camick said campaigning should inform students why they should vote for a candidate, instead of why they should not vote for a candidate.
“The electoral officers urge candidates and students … to act respectfully and responsibly, so as to minimize bullying, slandering, harassment, and negative comments,” Camick said.
“It’s no secret that the current CUSA executive knows they’re not well liked in that area of Reddit,” Ravens United presidential candidate Matt Gagné said in an interview, adding that negative campaigning is not exclusive to Reddit.
“Whether it’s on Reddit or Instagram or Facebook, the same issues occur,” Gagné said.
Gagné said he raised the issue with the election office but they were not receptive to making changes to the social media policy. Gagné also said he called on all candidates to ask for the election office to reverse their decision.
CUSA president and Students First presidential candidate Kathleen Weary did not respond to a request for comment.
A moderator of the r/CarletonU subreddit posted a statement criticizing the decision as censorship and favouring some candidates over others.
“Our community plays an important role in Carleton’s community,” the statement read. “CUSA should be using our platform to reach out to students, not limiting it.”
