When Above the Law—a website that publishes news and drama in the legal world—caught wind of the controversy, it published and mocked Shah’s letter, calling her “’Joanne Galloway’ (after the character from A Few Good Men who is a total drag).” The blog also introduced Gelfand as “The Joker” and predicted that everyone who agreed that Vargas and Shah had acted “like little babies” would vote for Gelfand.
To prove it, they administered a poll. Gelfand received 90 percent of the 1,162 votes.
“It of course cannot be denied that I was helped by what happened between the other campaigns,” Gelfand said. “As that stuff sort of developed, I realized that my chances might be considerably higher.”
As the campaign spun out of control, Vargas and Shah attended several emergency meetings with Dean of Students Ellen M. Cosgrove, including one the night before the election to discuss postponing voting.
Gelfand sent an email to the Dean stating that the campaign had stressed the student body enough and that the election should go forward. She agreed.
The election took place the following day, and Gelfand won.
“THE MIDNIGHT JUDGES SCANDAL”
After the election some members of student government did not welcome Gelfand with open arms.
A week after the election, a series of last-minute amendments were proposed that would significantly impede Gelfand’s ability to enact his reforms.
For example, one amendment would have given current officers—including the Vice President Shah—a continued role after the official turnover on April 1.
Another amendment would have allowed students to attend meetings, but forbid them from speaking or participating in any way.
In an email to The Crimson, Shah wrote that the amendments had been “meant to allow for the transfer of institutional memory and aid in the transition process.”
A note written next to a provision giving the outgoing president and vice president a role reads “expire Commencement 2012?,” implying that the policy was crafted to apply specifically to Gelfand’s presidency.
“There is no way for me to read that amendment as not being motivated by at least somebody backing it with an interest in retaining power for themselves to prevent me from doing what I wanted to do,” Gelfand said.
Shah was listed as first signatory of the proposed amendments, followed by a list of nine other representatives of student government.
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