A message sent on ASUO servers has leveled serious accusations against eight student senators, all of whom have denied the charges.
The e-mail was sent Sunday night by an anonymous author who claimed to be an ASUO senator. Sent from the Senate’s e-mail address, the message was addressed to other ASUO senators but also reached members of ASUO-sponsored programs via the programs listserv. The subject line read “asuo in shambles,” and the message called the Senate “disgusting.”

Members of some programs who received the letter said they were shocked by its pettiness and poor spelling and grammar.
“I found it unbelievably disrespectful and inappropriate and unprofessional,” EMU Board member Alexandra Runyan said at the board’s Wednesday meeting. “These people really demand our respect and expect us to be professional when we present to them. I just found it to be really hypocritical.”
No senator has yet claimed authorship of the e-mail, and many said they suspected the author was not a senator. Rather, senators said, the author was likely someone who had obtained the e-mail account’s password.
Until the message was sent, the account password had not been changed for several years, which meant any senator who had recently served on the body would know it. The password was changed in the aftermath of the message. Only Senate President Alex McCafferty and Vice President Emma Kallaway know the new password.
The e-mail charges McCafferty and Sens. Kate Jones and Lidiana Soto with conspiring against Sen. Carina Miller. The author also claimed to have been encouraged by McCafferty, Jones and Soto to run for ASUO president on a slate with them. Jones and McCafferty denied the charges.
“The combination of myself with Lidiana and Alex strikes me as highly unlikely,” said Jones, citing her political differences with those senators.
Jones was also accused of keeping poor track of senators’ office hours, which is her duty as Senate ombudsperson. She said that charge was also false.
The e-mail said Miller was preparing to run for ASUO president next year. She could not be reached for comment.
Several senators said they felt the e-mail was an attempt to damage senators politically and cause unease and distrust among the body.
“I would assume this person has a personal feud or distaste for them or their voting record,” McCafferty wrote in an e-mail. “They also talk about this year’s ASUO elections that are spring term, perhaps they are trying to stir controversy and damage the reputations of those senators for elections purposes.”
The author of the letter also mentioned Sens. Nick Gower, Nathan Perley and Sanford Weintraub. The message accused Weintraub of wanting to double the incidental fee, which finances the ASUO. Weintraub denied the allegation.
“I have absolutely no idea where someone would get that idea,” he said.
The e-mail called Gower “the least respected senator,” to which Gower responded, “There’s no warrant behind anything they said, so I’m not really concerned whether an individual thinks I am the least respected senator or not.”
The message also professed its support for the grievance EMU Board member Michelle Haley filed against Perley and questioned Perley’s dedication to forming a finance committee, which is his obligation as Senate treasurer. Perley said the committee had been formed and would meet this term.
Jones said she is investigating the sender’s identity by tracking down the Internet Protocol Address of the sender, but does not expect to find the author. Many senators doubted the wisdom of apportioning blame.
“I’m glad the Senate has kind of ignored the topic,” said Sen. Derek Nix. He added the message could be used as “a political weapon” if it gained greater notoriety.
Last year, the Emerald reported that Nix sent out controversial e-mails encouraging his political allies to impersonate their opponents in an attempt to discredit them. Nix denied writing the e-mails.
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