Comments on: Troy ASB Election Rigged: Whistleblower Takes Fall

By: Local HS Teacher

Local HS Teacher — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 13:23:13 +0000

I am a teacher at a local high school. We use the same database – Illuminate – that Troy used to tally the votes for the election. This is the database that the Bigham kid “hacked” into. Just so everyone knows, if the Bigham kid was able to view the vote totals, we would also very easily be able to change the votes. All it would take would be a couple clicks of the mouse and he could change hundreds of votes in a matter of minutes.

I understand that the district is still investigating. Let’s wait for the investigation to be complete before we tag this kid a “hero.”

The teacher is a liar and a fool either way. She sucks.

By: CNorby

CNorby — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 22:02:47 +0000

Section 18000 of the Elections Code uses the expansive phrase “all elections” in defining election fraud. It has been invoked in College student government cases (Cal State San Marcos last spring) though apparently not in high school elections.

A bill could clarify the code to include all governmental elections, including those of student governments at public schools.

Public school districts are under no legal obligation to hold student elections or even have student governments. However, any such elections must be honest and not subject to falsification—especially by administrators.

By: S. Harris

S. Harris — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 21:12:33 +0000

Reported on page 8 in today’s OC Register: “An investigation into potential cheating on standardized exams at 147 CA schools will delay the annual release of scores”. QUESTION: If a Troy teacher & her superiors think it’s ok to cheat then should we really be surprised by this?

By: Greg Diamond

Greg Diamond — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:24:34 +0000

I don’t think that high school elections are covered by the Elections Code; high school student governments don’t actually have any independent power. Nevertheless, the guy who did this should be taken to task. They may well be teaching a lesson in “how the world really is,” but if so then we have to change that world.

By: martha

martha — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:14:55 +0000

Sick! The bureaucrat thought it was OK to choose for the students in an election. Kids who win for President or other ASB leadership positions get special consideration when applying to college. Universities want ASB Presidents in their student body make up. Winning an election demonstrates leadership and communication skills, in the best case scenario. It’s a contest in organization skills, and if you run on your principles, it’s a contest in the marketplace of ideas.

What this adviser did cheated all of us in the big scheme of life. The student who uncovered and exposed this fraud is a hero! If the ASB President was party to the fraud, he or she should be stripped of title, and ASB V.P. would then become President and

Jacob Bigham should be reinstated his position as ASB V.P.

By: JustUs

JustUs — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 20:01:12 +0000

Why should student candidates have a stellar background to be considered for a student office? Most of the people who run for political office in the real world aren’t stellar by any stretch of the imagination. In fact, most are crooks. Look at Mary Hayashi – a former assemblywoman in the Ca legislature – who got busted stealing $2500 worth of clothes from Nieman Marcus. Now she’s apparently going to run for a Supervisor’s seat in Alameda County vacated by Lockyer’s wife (which is a story all it’s own).

I think any kid in school should be able to run for a student office. If a gangbanger with a 1.0 GPA wins – well, that’s democracy in progress. Either abide by the rules of democracy or toss the whole system out. But at least be honest about it.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 18:18:19 +0000

Fullerton School District needs to have a policy BEFORE the elections. The student must have a 3.0 GPA, no referrals to the principals office, no unsatisfactory comments on the citizenship grade, a good attendance record, two or three teacher recommendations etc. Wasn’t this done before the election? This “confidential crap” that the school is talking about is silly. If Jacob was such a hoodlum his request to run for VP should have been nixed before his name was ever put on the ballot. Why bother with elections at all. Just have the ASB advisor pick who she thinks should be on the ASB cabinet and quit wasting the students time. there are lots of times I’m unhappy with election results, but as long as someone wins fairly I’m okay.

By: JustUs

JustUs — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:49:18 +0000

“This young man is just like one of us in that hates corruption and cronyism so much that he’s willing to do something about it”

This young man learned a BIG LESSON about how the REAL world operates at a formidable age, didn’t he? He learned that good people are punished and bad people are protected by the very ones who claim to live by a code of honor and on higher moral ground. He learned that much of life is a lie. And he learned to be very careful going forward about doing the right thing and reporting wrongful acts to those with power. He learned it could have dire consequences. Welcome to the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave’.

By: JustUs

JustUs — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:44:08 +0000

Yep. You pretty much nailed it. It’s the new American way. No good deed goes unpunished. The kid should be hailed as a hero. But the leaders are afraid it might catch on and others would start snitching out those who practice unethical and deplorable acts in local government. It could result in a feeding frenzy. Better to punish the honest ones who publicly expose wrongdoing. That way none of the dirt gets uncovered and the status quo lives to see another day.

By: karma

karma — Wed, 25 Jul 2012 17:33:35 +0000

those who can do……