Its an outright prohibition of specific speech
To obstruct communication about reform candidates the College prohibits mention of any web site or web based information or any hard copy in the 100 word statement of candidacy that will be snail mailed to the alumni. They are scared that the alumni may agree with reform candidates, hence, notwithstanding Hamilton’s professed allegiance to free speech:
Candidates for Alumni Trustee "may not include any contact information or references to specific hard copy or online resource material..." in their statements of candidacy.
Hamilton College Alumni Association, 2005 Alumni Trustee Election Procedures, June 17, 2005
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Would someone tell me exactly when and how the ability of Hamilton's alumni to participate in the free and open exchange of ideas on campus became seemingly subordinate to… dare we say it…Ward Churchill's? Somehow we don’t see a stampede of administrators, faculty, or indeed trustees rushing out with fire hoses to support the rights of the alumni petitioners to have their say.
Hamilton’s commitment to such free & open exchange is situational at best, and its attempt to suppress the speech of its own alumni-candidates is sobering example of hypocrisy. Its the best example of why we need new governance. hb
hb
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2005 Alumni Trustee Election Procedures
The 2005 Alumni Trustee election will be overseen by the President of the Hamilton
College Alumni Association with the assistance of the Executive Committee of the
Alumni Council. The following procedures will guide the process:
· The election will be conducted by mail via paper ballot. Electronic balloting is not
authorized.
· Each ballot will be accompanied by a letter from the President of the Alumni
Association. Brief biographical information on each candidate also will be
included; it will be in narrative form and contain the following: Name,
Hamilton/Kirkland Class, major, City and State of Residence, Job Title and
Employer, immediate family connections with Hamilton (Ex: father, Class of
1953; child, Class of 2006), and a list of current and former Hamilton/Kirkland
volunteer activities. In addition, the ballot mailing will include a statement of
candidacy by each candidate. Such statements may be up to 100 words in length
and may not include any contact information or references to specific hard copy
or online resource material.
· The name of each nominee will be listed on the ballot in alphabetical order under
the appropriate heading: "Nominated by Alumni Council" or "Nominated by
Petition." The ballot will have a provision for write- in candidates. Eligible voters
will be asked to "vote for up to a total of three (3)" of the nominees and/or writein
candidates.
· Campaigning may be conducted by mail. Candidates and/or their authorized
representatives who wish to send information in hard copy to members of the
Alumni Association utilizing the Association's membership list may do so only by
employing the Mail Box of Ithaca to prepare and mail the material; contact Frank
Leonardo, Mail Box of Ithaca, 1650 Hanshaw Road, Ithaca, New York 14850;
1-800-382-6348. Candidates and/or their authorized representatives will make
arrangements for payment of printing, postage, handling, etc. directly with the
Mail Box of Ithaca.
· Candidates and their supporters may use HOLAC, including the message boards,
in accordance with the "Terms and Conditions for Use of the Hamilton College
Online Alumni Community" which may be found at www.hamilton.edu/alumni.
· Candidates and their supporters will not be provided with e- mail addresses for
members of the Alumni Association and may not use Hamilton College or
Alumni Association listservs. Candidates and their supporters are urged not to
use e-mail for campaign purposes.
Page Two
· Ballots will be mailed and counted by an outside firm that specializes in
supervising elections. The firm will certify the results of the vote.
· Before ballots are sent to alumni, the Secretary of the Alumni Association will
provide to the outside firm a list of the names and addresses of the members of the
Alumni Association. The Secretary should certify that the list of members is
current.
· The ballot mailing sent to each alumnus/a will include an identifier specific to the
alumnus/a. Only the ballot sent to an alumnus/a may be used by the alumnus/a;
reproductions or substitutes will not be permitted. Ballots may not be submitted
by facsimile, as email attachments or by any means other than original hard copy.
· Duplicate ballots will be made available to alumni under appropriate
circumstances. A secure procedure for making duplicate ballots available will be
administered by the outside firm supervising the election.
· Completed ballots must be received by the outside firm by the date noted on the
ballot, which will be about thirty (30) days from the ballot mailing date. An
addressed, unstamped reply envelope will be part of the mailing to each
alumnus/a.
· A ballot which contains more than three (3) votes will not be counted; ballots
containing votes for only one or two candidates will be counted.
· The three candidates with the highest number of votes will be elected to fill the
three vacancies for Alumni Trustee.
· The results of the election will be announced to alumni on the HOLAC homepage
(www.hamilton.edu/alumni) as soon as possible after they are certified by the
firm counting the ballots. Announcements also will be published in the next
edition of the Hamilton Alumni Review and its online supplement (formerly
eNews).
Adopted by the Executive Committee
Hamilton College Alumni Council
June 17, 2005