Ugh, AMS Elections Administrators seem to hate VFM. Whether its the neglect and mishandling of Brendon, or the intransigence of Isabel, the chief electoral officer of the Society seems to hate the idea of open debate.
AMS Council, because it decided that it didn’t want to do the job of the Elections Administrator for the Elections Administrator, effectively cut off funding for VFMs on World Press Freedom Day, one of the more ironic decisions that the AMS has ever made, to be sure. But it’s not really Council’s fault, as they are not really supposed to be making regulatory decisions for administrative bodies of the AMS. If they WANTED to make some changes, they’d impose them through the Code of Procedures, but since they didn’t, the EA must assume ‘Qui tacet consentit’, that their silence implies a level of consent to regulatory actions.
Given that the EA is an independent body of the AMS, I don’t know where Mackinnon gets off taking orders from the President. It is grossly irresponsible, especially considering that Bijan had not ruled himself out as a candidate.
To make clear our position, Black Box is a legitimate media source, and so long as they provide such solemn affirmations that they are not one of the parties proscribed from participation, they should be allowed to compete. They are also cowards. Here, we sign our name to things (when we write them).
However, it would be a totally legitimate decision to decide that anonymity was unacceptable, and make the opposite decision. What was inappropriate was the abrogation of the regulatory responsibilities of the EA.
There are a lack of rules and regulations for VFM because it was intended that there were to be very few barriers to entry. Maclean’s was one of the entrants in the first year of VFM. Anyone should be able to enter, as I trust that with the right voting system, appropriate allocations will be made by the voters.
Unless, of course, there’s nothing to allocate.
The Radical Beer Tribune 