Story by Sarah Grace Taylor/ Editor-in-Chief and Brinley Hineman/ News Editor

Updates:

May 2, 2:39 p.m. to include response from Katey Brosche.

May 2, 5:09 p.m. to include response from Dalton Slatton 

Following allegations of campaign violations, SGA President Courtney Brandon and Vice President of Campus Relations Timothy Bassett responded over the weekend with statements denying all allegations. In her statement, Brandon also accuses SGA Senator Katey Brosche of bias and bribery, also claiming she has been harassed and her car vandalized since the allegations surfaced.

From Brandon on April 28:

The Alleger and Supporters

Katey Brosche is the girlfriend of the presidential candidate who lost the election. Her statements are full of emotion and biased comments. Brosche interviewed for the Philanthropic Coordinator position on April 18th. The interview included myself, Jackie Victory (CSIL), Maliyah Bass (2016-2017 PHIL Coordinator), and Timothy Bassett. Upon entering her interview, she congratulated me on winning the presidency. In her interview, she didn’t quite understand the meaning of philanthropy. Philanthropy is the desire to promote the welfare of others, expressed through donations (monetary or not). Although she had great social ideas for events, the committee concluded she was not prepared to coordinate philanthropic events. She expressed that she only knew of one event that the committee coordinated, The Big Event. When interviews concluded Friday, April 21st, I contacted Brosche via phone and explained to her that she did not receive the position. Because I knew she had a lot to offer SGA, I encouraged her to be on the committee and to try again after gaining some experience. Five to ten minutes after getting off the phone with her; her post, filled with false allegations, was posted to Facebook.

A similar situation occurred with Dalton Slatton. Slatton is one of the main supporters speaking out for my resignation. He also interviewed for a seat on the Executive Board for Attorney General. He tried to aid in my campaign with a phone call warning me to file a receipt for the golf cart I used during campaigning. He wanted to ensure that I turned in a receipt because “He knows I worked very hard for my campaign”. I have this conversation recorded. He was also not chosen for the position in which he applied. Both Katey and Dalton are young, freshman students. They are eligible to obtain leadership positions, though they’ll both have time at MTSU to acquire more experience to be able to fully fulfill their potential roles.

If these two believed that I acted unethically in any way, why would they both apply for positions on the Executive Board in which I will lead? Why did they call for my resignation only after they both found out they did not get the Executive Board positions they applied for? I would love to believe they are motivated by the sincerity of their heart, but the fact they only saw an issue with my presidency after I told them they were not selected to my Executive Board speaks volumes as to their true motivations.

Allegations

I will now address each allegation separately.

1. No receipt for the golf cart

• A receipt for the golf cart was turned in on Wednesday, April 12th early afternoon. A video was taken as proof that the receipt was turned in. During this time, the executive board was in a meeting. Therefore, receipts were handed to Abigail Tabor, the SGA Executive Assistant. The golf cart was used late afternoon on April 10th and the morning of April 12th. The Electoral Act states that forty-nine hours are given to turn in a receipt after an item is utilized in a campaign. This timeframe was met. Confusion about the receipt arose when Slatton emailed the SGA advisor, Dr. Kelley, later that Wednesday asking if a receipt regarding the golf cart was turned in. Dr. Kelley spoke with Kenneth Anthony during the meeting on that Wednesday and asked about the receipt. During this time, Anthony’s response was that no receipts were turned in, because Anthony did not know the receipts had been during the E-board meeting. Therefore, when Dr. Kelley responded to Slatton at 3:21 pm after the meeting, Slatton was incorrectly told that receipts had not been turned in and he had the option to file a complaint to Anthony.

1. Campaigning in the library and forcing students to vote

• These allegations are false. Yes, recently I have spent much time in the library, both during the campaigning and after voting ended. Because campaigning became my priority, I got behind on a ton of school work. I was in the library until closing many nights and still have been after campaigning and elections ended. During the week of voting, I felt as if I was being watched while in the library, to the point that I could not focus to study. Many other candidates addressed me, asking my reasoning for being in the library. My purpose for being in the library was to catch up on my school work. To be absolutely clear, at no point in the campaign did I ever campaign in the library.

1. Allegations brought up after results

• The Electoral Act sets the rules in we follow for elections.
  In the Electoral Act, it states that any alleged campaign violation complaints must be made within 48 hours of the alleged incident. The oddest part of this entire situations is that these allegations were brought up only after election results were posted and all the positions for the new Executive Board were determined.

 

Internal Affairs Committee

The Internal Affairs committee voted 6-1 in the affirmative for grounds of impeachment for myself and Bassett. This 6-1 vote is also biased. The 6 voting in the affirmative were Abbi Tracy, Raquel Magana, Nathan Wech, Jordan Malpass, Nathan Watkins, and Skye Irish. Most of the six committee members who voted to impeach me had openly and strongly supported my opponent in the election, which should have led them to seriously consider recusing themselves from the vote due to a lack of impartiality. According to individuals inside the room during the meeting that night, many committee members wanted more information before making their final decision, such as interviewing myself and Bassett and being able to hear both sides of this story. There were certain members of the committee, however, who through blinded passion pushed for an immediate vote without allowing myself or Bassett any true due process. This process was so slanted, that members of the Internal Affairs committee expressed to the Executive Vice President either after the meeting or the next day that they were not comfortable with how they voted and felt pressured into making a vote about a subject without enough information.

No Election Commission

The stance that no complaints could be filed because there was no election commission is blatantly not factual. There has been an Election Commissioner since Kenneth Anthony was sworn in April of last year. The election commission for the Spring 2017 elections were voted on by senators April 13th during a senate meeting. They had to receive a 2/3 vote from the senate to be confirmed and they were confirmed almost unanimously. Yes, the 13th was the last possible day to vote, but no complaints were filed to Kenneth Anthony, VP of Campus Relations. Had complaints been filed or sent to Anthony, the election commission and Anthony would have had to provide due process to each situation before results could be released. I would have welcomed an attempt to defend these false baseless accusations at an election commission hearing; however, throughout this whole process, neither I nor Timothy Bassett were given the chance to defend ourselves in any official setting.

Upholding Ethical Standards

I, Courtney Brandon, would never take unethical measures to obtain the position of presidency. From the moment I began to consider a run for President, I was discouraged due to running against Peyton Tracy, the more popular candidate. Because his sister is currently the SGA President, it was obvious that many felt that Tracy was almost entitled to the position (hence, the backlash towards me once he was not declared the next president- elect). I have made myself a part of the SGA family since my freshman year in high school. That passion I built drove me to continue once in college. I wanted the position of president because I want to be the voice of the entire student body. I want to teach my peers how to make the changes that they want to see on campus, because empty promises from anyone, including presidential candidates, don’t make the changes on campus. Bills and resolutions do. So, it’s been my intent from the very beginning to hear from the students and push the changes they want us to act on.

Harassment/ Vandalism

Since the false allegations arose, I have received numerous phone calls, emails, text messages, direct messages, and notes from students I do not know. I am still unsure how so many students got access to my personal phone number. Numerous phone calls have been from an Unknown caller ID. On Sunday, April 23rd at 5:33 pm, I answered one of these calls. It happened to be two female students who openly expressed their support for Tracy but thought that I should be aware of some information brought to them. They would not reveal their names but expressed that they had been offered $100 from Katey Brosche to provide false allegations against myself and Bassett.

These threats are not the only backlash I have received. On the morning of the SGA banquet, April 24th, my tires were flattened at my home. Three of my caps were removed and a screwdriver was stuck in my front right tire. Also, the car of a current 2016-2017 Executive Board member was vandalized on campus after this individual was pressured, but refused, to call for my resignation.

Closing

As individuals have stated, SGA does need transparency. Students also need transparency on the motivations of some of the students making these baseless allegations. Due to the recent negativity, I was advised to ignore the false allegations. Now, however, I feel compelled to tell those that have read and believed these false words exactly what has taken place. Essentially, this situation is a product of some strongly opinionated students that either didn’t agree with the election results because the candidate they campaigned for lost or they were upset they did not get an Executive Board position they were in the running for. If these students truly were concerned about there not being an election commission in place to take complaints, why didn’t they bring that up before a week after voting ended? The problem here is that their favorite candidate did not win his expected position, and that is the only true complaint they have. I will not resign from my position due to others being upset. I will not resign my position because some students did not get appointed to the Executive Board positions they wanted. I worked very hard to obtain this position. I have been involved in student government for seven years now. I spoke to more students within the two weeks of campaigning than I have in my prior three years as a student. I look forward to being the representation of the student body for the 2017-2018 academic school year. I take pride in the changes we will make to improve this campus and university, and I look forward to working with the Senate and every student on this campus to making MTSU the best school in this great state.

###

Allegations against Senators Katey Brosche and Dalton Slatton

SGA Senator Katey Brosche posted a Facebook post on the MTSU Class of 2020 Official Page that sparked controversy with some calling it “emotionally driven.” Brandon states in her comment that Brosche interviewed with Brandon for the SGA Philanthropic Coordinator position on Tuesday, April 18. On Friday, April 21, Brandon called Brosche to inform her that she did not receive the position of Philanthropic Coordinator but encouraged her to join the philanthropy committee and apply again the following year. According to Brandon, Brosche hung up on her after hearing the news.

Brandon says minutes after getting off the phone with Brosche, Brosche posted a status “filled with false allegations.” Brandon accuses Brosche of offering people $100 as a bribe to create false stories about Brandon’s campaign violations. Brandon says that she was contacted on her personal cell phone on Sunday, April 23, by an anonymous number at approximately 5 p.m. and was informed of this by the caller. However, Brandon could not trace the call and could not provide Sidelines with any information about the caller. She also was unable to provide proof backing up the claim of Brosche attempting to bribe voters.

Brosche declined to comment because of media rules for another student organization.

Brosche responded with the following Facebook:

“Before mentioning anything, I will address the obvious. I am aware that being in a relationship with the opposing candidate for president makes me look as if I am only doing this because he lost. However, Courtney Brandon is using the excuse that I could be biased as an easy way out. Everything that has been posted about this situation is based on facts, not opinions. In addition to every declaration being supported by evidence, if Brandon were to listen to the students and Internal Affairs Committee members calling for her to resign, the Executive Vice President would become President. Consequently, neither I nor any candidate I supported would benefit from her resignation as MTSU’s Student Government Association has a clear line of succession in place. As a female member of SGA, I despise that another female SGA member made comments pertaining my personal life as an effort to belittle me and the career I am working for; I am not blinded by relationships, I know how to think for myself and others do not affect that. Additionally, I am not a member of the Internal Affairs Committee and did not vote to impeach her, nor was I involved in the vote to impeach her.

This year, I experienced my first SGA election at Middle Tennessee State University. Throughout the 13 day campaigning and voting process, I stayed focused solely on my campaign. If I spoke to you or your class on campus, it was obvious how strongly I felt about enforcing open communication between members of SGA and students not involved in SGA (attached is a copy of my campaign flyer). On April 13, I handed in my application for Philanthropic Coordinator. On April 21, President Courtney Brandon called me to say that I was not chosen. Before hanging up, she encouraged me to apply for the Philanthropic Committee. Because I applied to make a difference, I was excited to have the opportunity to be involved in the philanthropic aspect of SGA in any way. Later, Brandon informed me that she had chosen her sister for the position.

Like anyone would, I waited until after the decision for Philanthropic Coordinator (a position I had decided to apply for 6 months ago and officially applied for before the results were announced and evidence was brought forward that Courtney Brandon had broken key campaigning rules) was made so anything I posted about the election situation would not be used against me.

In my campaign for a Senate seat representing the College of Media and Entertainment, I promised to work hard on open communication and transparency within MTSU’s Student Government Association. When I first head allegations of possible wrongdoings by candidates running for executive positions, I became concerned. When those allegations were substantiated, I knew that I had to keep students updated on what was taking place in SGA. The Student Government Association is supposed to consist of the most ethical MTSU students and they are supposed to set good examples for their peers; candidates are expected to maintain those high ethical standards before, during and after the election in all aspects.

In response to Courtney Brandon’s statement, I would like to offer the responses posted below as well as evidence pertaining to each point. Before addressing her claims, I want it to be known that I am beyond proud to have been elected to serve the College of Media and Entertainment. I will continue to accurately reiterate everything that happens in SGA throughout the 2017-2018 school year.

1. GOLF CART RECEIPT: Courtney Brandon did turn in a receipt for her use of MTSU’s golf cart. However, the Electoral Act states that all receipts must be turned in before 49 hours after the distribution of material(s) begins in Article V Section 7. Courtney Brandon said that she turned the receipt in during the Executive Board meeting, which takes place at 2 p.m. every Wednesday, including April 12 (the day she said she turned the receipt in). She began using the golf cart before 10:51 a.m. on April 10, which is proven by witnesses, as well as photographical evidence beginning around noon. In addition to her admitting to turning the donation receipt in after about 52 hours (give or take a few minutes), there is an email from Dr. Kelley at 3:21 p.m., after the Executive Board meeting, confirming that Kenneth Anthony (2016-2017 Vice President of Campus Relations) told him the receipt had not been turned in.

2. CAMPAIGNING IN THE LIBRARY AND FORCING STUDENTS TO VOTE: Multiple students have written witness statements confirming that Courtney Brandon campaigned to them in the library. Those witness statements make it clear that Brandon and the newly elected Vice President of Campus Relations asked whether they had voted for the SGA Election yet and when someone would answer that they hadn’t, they asked for their vote. In addition to the written witness statements, there is a photograph of Brandon in professional attire with the newly elected Vice President of Campus Relations speaking to a student on a computer. There is also a witness who was in a class with the newly elected Vice President of Campus Relations when he taped a note to his phone with how to vote and passed his phone around the entire class, which is prohibited by the Electoral Act in Article VII Section 2.

3. “ALLEGATIONS BROUGHT UP AFTER RESULTS”: The evidence of illegal activities was brought to Dr. Kelley during the election, but there was no official Election Commission to turn in official complaints to. Yes, Kenneth Anthony was the Election Commissioner, but he was also impeached by the Internal Affairs Committee (7-0) at the conclusion of the election for failing to fulfill his position. This makes it obvious why candidates and concerned students were hesitant to turn evidence in to him.

4. INTERNAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE: All votes are supposed to remain confidential, so it would be interesting to know how and why Brandon knows who voted to impeach her and another executive officer. Because it is supposed to be a confidential vote and the current Executive Vice President assured that all member names would be deleted from the SGA website, it is hard to imagine how an individual could have felt pressured while voting. Seeing as how all votes are to remain confidential, it is also beyond unprofessional that Courtney Brandon publicly posted the names of those who, based on factual evidence, voted to impeach her and the other individual. Ideally, those two would have been able to present their “side.” However, for some reason they decided to remain silent the entire time instead of speaking out. There have also been claims from their campaign that it is unfair to vote without allowing the two to defend their actions, but that is a SGA rule, not something that the Internal Affairs Committee decided. I would also like to make it clear that I am not a member of the Internal Affairs Committee, therefore I did not vote to impeach her.

5. THERE WAS NO ELECTION COMMISSION: All election complaints are to be directed towards the Election Commission, but one did not exist until April 13 after 4 p.m., less than 8 hours before voting ended. Because a Commission did not exist, all complaints would have been turned in to the current Vice President of Campus Relations, Kenneth Anthony. Brandon said, “Had complaints been filed or sent to Anthony, the [E]lection [C]omission and Anthony would have had to provide due process to each situation before results could be released.” Again, there was no official Commission to file complaints to. Brandon also said that she would have liked an opportunity to defend herself at a Election Commission hearing (a hearing that never took place due to the fact that the Commission did not exist).

6. UPHOLDING ETHICAL STANDARDS: Courtney Brandon says that she “would never take unethical measures” to become SGA President, however it seems apparent that she failed to uphold SGA’s Constitutional value of honesty during and after her campaign.

7. HARRASSMENT/VANDALISM: If her tires were damaged, I sincerely express empathy as it is not right to take physical action against another person in any situation.

As for her claim about me offering students $100 each to lie about her and another candidate, that is completely, 100% false. I have never and would never offer anyone money in exchange for information, nor have I ever/would I ever suggest anyone to lie. In addition to the fact that I am a broke college student and do not have $100 to give out, this claim is based on an anonymous source that can not be confirmed in any way. I have posted about the severity of the situation a couple times on Facebook while offering to provide evidence of what happened, but I have never and would never encourage anyone to lie about anything. I would never condone the spreading of false information, which is made clear by the fact that my entire campaign and future SGA Senate career is based on open communication. Her claim that I ever acted unethical is an attempt at defamation and it is simply not true. Brandon also goes on to say that she has “received numerous phone calls, direct messages, and notes from students [she does not] know.” As for that, that is exactly what it means to be president of the student body. Students should always feel comfortable contacting their president and the president should expect concerned students to contact them. Additionally, elected officials are supposed to have the highest ethical standards so that they can set examples for their peers.

The election results are final and now it is time to move forward. While this situation represents SGA in a poor and negative light, I can promise that I will be working even harder with the other newly elected senators to make SGA a clean, honest and transparent organization by passing bills to prevent any situation like this from happening again. It is more important now than ever before that all senators work together to ensure honesty and accountability while working for the students. With this situation put behind us, the Student Government Association of Middle Tennessee State University is once again able to continue focusing on what it stands for, which is improving the lives of students, faculty, and alumni. I wish everyone good luck as finals week begins and a happy summer break!”

Similarly, Brandon says, a situation occurred with Dalton Slatton who openly has called for Brandon’s resignation. Brandon says that Slatton interviewed for the Attorney General position, and like Brosche, did not receive the position. Brandon says that neither Broshe or Slatton had a problem with her campaign until after they were informed that they were not receiving the positions they applied for. However, Slatton spoke with Sidelines about campaign violations on Thursday, April 20, before he was notified of not receiving the position.

“During the campaign, it seems like he was trying to aide in (my) campaign… I didn’t really understand where that opposition came in,” Brandon said.

Slatton provided the following statement in response to Brandon’s allegations:

After reading the statement by SGA President Brandon, I feel the need to clarify her remarks about myself. I was the first person to turn in my application for Attorney General. This application was turned in at the end March before the deadline for senate and executive board packets. I applied for Attorney General because I believed I had the capabilities to do the job. I talked to Sidelines on April 20th before being interviewed for the Attorney General position on April 21st. I found out that I did not get the position on April 21st. At that point, I had already spoken with Sidelines so not getting the position played no part in going to the media. I chose to leave my application for Attorney General after seeing campaign violations by Courtney Brandon because the proper channels of action against President Brandon were still being pursued. I interviewed because I hoped to provide a fair and judicial mindset to the Executive Board ensuring trust and honesty when I could. I did have a conversation with President Brandon about her golf cart receipts being turned in. She assured me that she turned them in, but my continued inquiries into the situation never produced any receipts turned in by President Brandon. I had a written complaint to file on Brandon to the Election Commission, but upon finding out that there was no Senate approved Election Commission to file the complaint to, I turned that evidence over to Internal Affairs. If Brandon had attended the last Senate meeting of the semester, she would have known that the Election Commission was confirmed after 4:30 pm the day the election closed. The drive behind my actions against President Brandon is ensuring fairness in elections and that all rules are followed. I had to turn in receipts like every other rule following candidate. In Texas, an elected SGA President was disqualified for not filing receipts for glow sticks used in a video. Our SGA President, Courtney Brandon, failed to turn in receipts for a golf cart she used to campaign in on two separate days. The evidence against President Brandon’s violations far outweigh her denial without proof that she did not commit campaign rule violations. With that, I will continue to call for her resignation as she is not fit to serve as SGA President and will fight to pass legislation from my role in the Senate to ensure that no rule-breaking student will be allowed to ascend to the highest position wishing Middle Tennessee State University’s Student Government.

Slatton included the following screenshot of his conversation with Brandon

“At no point in the campaign did I ever campaign in the library”

Brandon addresses the allegations made against her campaign, including the issue of not turning receipts in and campaigning in the library. During the week before voting, Brandon and Bassett campaigned on a golf cart to earn student votes. Slatton, along with several other members of SGA who spoke to Sidelines, accused Brandon of not turning a receipt in for the golf cart within 49 hours of use, which would have immediately disqualified her from running for office. Slatton reached out to SGA Adviser Danny Kelley via email on Wednesday, April 12, questioning if a receipt had been turned in, which Kelley replied to, informing Slatton that one had not been turned in.

Brandon suggests this was a misunderstanding, explaining that a receipt was turned into Executive Assistant Abigail Tabor on the afternoon of Wednesday, April 12, at approximately 1 p.m..  Brandon says that the reason the receipts were turned into Tabor was because of a meeting taking place for the Executive Board. At this time, Sidelines has not been able to confirm if an Executive Board meeting was taking place during the time Brandon allegedly turned in her receipts.

“(The Executive Board) was in a meeting, so (Bassett and I) didn’t get to hand them directly to Kenneth Anthony, who we’re supposed to turn our receipts into,” Brandon said.

Kelley asked Anthony about the receipts during the Executive Board meeting to which Anthony informed him that none had been turned in. According to Brandon, the reason Anthony did not know about the receipts is because he, too, was attending the Executive Board meeting. This lead Kelley to email Slatton incorrect information about the status of the receipts.

Brandon told Sidelines that she had a video of her turning in the receipts as proof, taken by Bassett. However, after viewing the three-second video, Sidelines could neither see the face of the person allegedly receiving the receipts or the content of the paper being put in the envelope, therefore could not confirm the validity of said video. The location of the video cannot be confirmed, nor can the time of filming.

Brandon says that she never campaigned in the library despite three signed statements from students saying they were approached by her and enticed to vote.

“Just a little of what’s happened afterwards makes me feel that they were persuaded to come out with those statements,” Brandon said, referencing her accusation of Brosche attempting to bribe students. Brandon said that once other SGA members started questioning her motives behind going to the library, she stopped going completely.

Internal Affair Committee alleged bias — on both sides

Brandon further alleges that several of those voting on the Internal Affairs Committee had openly supported her opponent Peyton Tracy throughout the campaign and were biased in their voting.

“I had seen each of them with (Peyton campaigning) personally,” Brandon said. “A few of them had been at his table (campaigning)… (SGA members) are not supposed to be biased towards any candidates.”

While Brandon provided evidence of the support with screenshots pulled from the personal Facebook accounts of Abbigail Tracy, Nathan Watkins and Jordan Malpass, all of whom showed blatant support for Peyton, encouraging their friends to vote for him.

Brandon also alleges that several Internal Affairs members shared that they had been pressured into voting for her impeachment. She told Sidelines that a member of the Internal Affairs Committee pressured other members to vote against her. However, Skye Irish, Nathan Watkins, Nathan Wech and Malpass still called for her removal after the meeting, either on social media, to Sidelines directly or both, despite Brandon’s claims that they regretted voting her out.

“They were pressured into voting by one person who was very adamant about getting the votes that night,” Brandon said.

In her statement, Brandon lists the members of Internal Affairs that voted for her impeachment. All Internal Affairs members that spoke to Sidelines stated that the ballot was secret, meaning that no one aside from Internal Affairs Chair Hannah Leyhew and former Executive Vice President Connor McDonald, who was present during the Internal Affairs meeting where impeachment was discussed, knew how members voted. Brandon stated that McDonald shared the results with her.

The only voting member of Internal Affairs that did not vote in favor of Brandon’s impeachment was Leyhew, who Brandon has since appointed Attorney General. According to Internal Affairs member Nathan Wech, Leyhew’s appointment to Attorney General “should raise a few eyebrows considering the other candidates.”

Wech said that other Attorney General candidates were more qualified than Leyhew, who has only served on SGA for one year. Wech said that Nick Lembo also applied for the position but was denied, despite serving on SGA for three years, having previously served as the speaker of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature, as well as the Internal Affairs Committee Chair prior to Leyhew.

Harassment/Vandalism Claims:

Brandon’s statement also includes a claim that her car was vandalized on the night of April 23/ morning of April 24. 

In an interview with Sidelines, Brandon says she drove her car to work on the morning of April 24 and when she arrived her coworker pointed out a flat tire with a screwdriver in it and missing valve caps on her other three tires. In the interview, Brandon said that her boss helped her replace the flat tire. Later that day, Brandon told Sidelines she went to AutoZone and purchased the new valve caps.

Brandon provided the following image of a receipt Sunday night, allegedly from the valve cap purchase on April 24.

AutoZone records show the purchase was made at 5:06 p.m. on Sunday, eight hours after Brandon’s interview with Sidelines and six days after she said she purchased the caps.  Brandon told Sidelines she “knows how bad this looks” but that her coworker Jessica Neely made the purchase on April 24 and then again on Sunday because she lost the receipt and wanted to help Brandon; this contradicts a text in which Brandon said she went to the AutoZone and an email in which she said it was “her purchase” of the valves.

Brandon would not give Sidelines any contact information for Neely, but Sidelines received a call from a blocked caller ID on Tuesday in which the caller identified herself as “Jessica.”

Brandon provided the following picture of Neely sending her the picture of the receipt on Sunday.

While Brandon claims she and another SGA member were vandalized, neither she nor the other student have filed a police report.

From Timothy Bassett April 29: 

As a rising senior at Middle Tennessee State University, serving within Student Government Association is an honor for me.  Since I served on Freshman Council, I understand the policies and procedures for elections at Middle Tennessee State University . Therefore, during the course of my campaign, I followed the guidelines to ensure a fair election. Campaigns began on March 31, 2017 at 12:01am and continued through April 13, 2017 at 11:45pm. During those two weeks, I did not receive a single complaint against me. It saddens me that my fellow peers have commenced allegations against me that aren’t factual. These allegations are coming from my peers who ran in the Student Government Association election and lost or didn’t get appointed to a desired position. From my understanding, I am being accused of these false allegations because I won the election. My character has been attacked for actions I never committed. As the Vice President of Campus Relations, I will continue to foster my initiative to increase student votes and get more students involved with Student Government Association.

For more news, follow us at www.mtsusidelines.com, on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines and on Twitter at @Sidelines_News.

To contact Editor-in-Chief  Sarah Grace Taylor, email [email protected]