US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry is accusing Texas A&M
University of rigging its student body elections so a gay student could
be president.
Bobby Brooks made history as the the first openly
gay student body president at the university and Perry, a former
governor of Texas, is taking issue with how it all happened.
Brooks
was the second-highest vote-getter but declared the winner when the
school administration and and Student Government Association
disqualified the original winner.
Robert McIntosh was disqualified
for not providing receipts for glow sticks used in a campaign video. He
had appealed charges of voter intimidation which were later dismissed
on appeal.
‘Brooks’ presidency is being treated as a victory for “diversity,”‘ Perry writes in the Houston Chronicle.
‘It is difficult to escape the perception that this quest for
’diversity’ is the real reason the election outcome was overturned. Does
the principle of “diversity” override and supersede all other values of
our Aggie Honor Code?’
Perry went on to write that McIntosh was essentially being discriminated against because he is a white male.
‘Every
Aggie ought to ask themselves: How would they act and feel if the
victim was different? What if McIntosh had been a minority student
instead of a white male? What if Brooks had been the candidate
disqualified? Would the administration and the student body have allowed
the first gay student body president to be voided for using charity
glow sticks? Would the student body have allowed a black student body
president to be disqualified on anonymous charges of voter
intimidation?’
McIntosh wrote in the student newspaper that he is
‘humbled’ by Perry’s support. He is the son of a prominent Republican
fundraiser in Dallas who campaigned for Donald Trump.
Amy Smith,
spokeswoman for Texas A&M, said in response to Perry’s claims: ‘The
disqualification of the leading vote-getter resulted in the
certification of Bobby Brooks as the next Student Body President
effective April 21, 2017. To suggest that the same decision of
disqualification would not have been made if the roles were reversed is
to deny the Texas A&M of today where accountability applies to all.’
GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis was more blunt in her reaction to Perry inserting himself into the situation:
‘It
takes a lot of nerve for 67 year old Secretary Perry to bully a college
junior for fairly winning an election,’ she wrote on Twitter.
‘As
a mother who works daily to protect children, I am disgusted that a
father like Secretary Perry would stoop this low. Some advice for
Secretary Perry: Kids like Bobby Brooks are the future, and should be
encouraged, not harassed.’
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