Maverick Alliance appeals flyers

VP candidate depicted negatively in materials found across campus

Katie Leibel
Staff Writer

Flyers potentially created to slander the Maverick Alliance vice presidential candidate were found in female restrooms in the CSU and some parts of the residence halls Tuesday during voting hours.

Flyers of Jeremy Loger were found around campus that included screenshots of his Instagram posts taken out of context with a message that reads, “Is this who you want as vice president of MSSA??? – A concerned Maverick.” The women in the pictures had their faces blurred out, but Loger’s was visible.

Nayeem Imtiaz and Loger placed second in the election to MeMe Cronin and Katelynn Ogunfolami of the Mavericks United party.

The people in the pictures were his best friends and one was his sister. The Instagram captions included, “These hoes ain’t loyal,” and “Roaring 22 with this skank,” which Loger said were meant to be jokes and not taken literally.

“I believe that it is harassment in the highest regard. I believe that they are not only slandering my name, but it is also defamation,” said Loger.

After seeing the flyers, many alleged that Loger was a sexist and homophobic person and spread rumors of him having paid for sex. Loger said that these rumors are not true.

“This is a major violation,” Andrew Trenne, a ResLife senator candidate for the Maverick Alliance party said. “A major violation entails swinging massive amounts of votes in an illegal manner.”

This can be considered a rule violation if it is found on campaign material for a number of reasons.

“It is campaign material,” Trenne said. “Under the campaign material guidelines , it says it is to discredit an opponent, which it is. It has not been approved by the elections commission because there is no elections commission stamp on it. There is no one behind this either. You are not allowed to put stuff in the CSU bathrooms…or the Res Halls. It is illegal. It is slander and hate.”

The Maverick Alliance party has formally issued an appeal, according to Trenne. He hopes that the elections commission will work with the university to find out who created and distributed the flyers.

“The University will be able to find you,” Trenne said. “The cameras will be able to see. If you printed it on campus, your days are numbered.”

Mavericks United, the party that ran opposite of Trenne’s and Loger’s party, has stated that it had no knowledge of these flyers or their distribution until an email was sent out by the elections commission informing them of it.

“I think that no one in our party would have done that just because that would not have benefited us in any way,” said Cronin.

“I know I am not affiliated with this and I know that my party is not,” said Ogunfolami. “I pride myself in being a person that can separate professional life from personal life.”

The main question that both parties and the MNSU administration are asking is: did these flyers impact the election results? The flyers were first found around 9 a.m. on Tuesday.

“I don’t think the flyers had enough of significant impact that [they] would have changed the outcome of the elections,” Cronin said.

Trenne believes that the flyers did have an impact on the election. Many posted on Snapchat, warning people not to vote for Loger. Over a hundred people requested to follow Loger’s Instagram after the flyers were found, according to Trenne.

“I want everyone to know that our party stands with Jeremy.” said Ellie Zimmer, another ResLife senator candidate. “He is kind-hearted, understanding and willing to listen and have a conversation.”

According to Loger, this did not just hurt him—this hurt his friends in the pictures, as well.

“I felt offended and betrayed when people thought it was okay to pass around a picture of me and my friend, Jeremy. Even with my face blurred out, a lot of people still recognized the photo. I know Jeremy well enough to make an honest and true statement of his character. Jeremy is a smart, poised, impressive and compassionate individual,” said Angie Tell, one of Loger’s friends who was featured in one of the pictures.

“Hate is never the answer,” said Neil Mendonca of the Mavericks United party.

For more information on the MSSA election results, visit the MSSA OrgSync page.