This year’s Associated Student Government election cycle has been a soap opera. The characters are brilliant — you either love them or you hate them. The drama is top notch, with the election coming down to the wire and a tiny margin separating the candidates. And just when you thought the excitement was over, an election scandal comes out of nowhere and grabs your attention for the second act. I don’t think Hollywood screenwriters could have written a better story.

Now the dust is settling and ASG has to figure out its next step. As reported in The Daily on Monday, ASG’s election commission ruled that Christina Cilento and Macs Vinson violated election guidelines. The election commission is currently petitioning ASG’s Rules Committee for sanctions that could include a revote, public apology or impeachment.

Whatever the Rules Committee’s resolution is, it should meet three criteria: It should be quick, fair, and most importantly, it should avoid alienating the parties involved from future ASG involvement.

This year’s election scandal has already alienated at least one person from ASG. Kevin Corkran, the member of the election commission who leaked information to Cilento and Vinson’s campaign, has resigned from ASG entirely.

Cilento and Vinson have undoubtedly broken the rules, and although Cilento said the information Corkran gave them was unsolicited, they seem to have used information to gain an unfair advantage over their opponents. This is a dictionary definition of cheating, and Cilento and Vinson should be penalized.

However, the Rules Committee should also take into consideration the greater meaning behind Cilento and Vinson’s victory. Cilento and Vinson were unapologetically bold in their advocacy for marginalized students at Northwestern, saying ASG has not served the needs of all NU students. Whether or not they cheated, Cilento and Vinson’s victory is evidence that a significant portion of NU’s student population feels unheard.

In ASG’s mission statement, the group emphasizes the importance of hearing students’ needs first hand and involving the greater student body in ASG’s work, in order to better represent diverse perspectives and shape NU into an environment that serves the entire community. If ASG imposes a punishment that alienates Cilento and Vinson from ASG involvement, they will effectively alienate Cilento and Vinson’s voters by proxy, which would be completely contrary to their aforementioned mission statement.

ASG is at an important crossroads. How can they balance fairness in the election process with their mission of adequate representation for all students? To tackle this question, ASG should think about its trajectory as an organization. I hope ASG remains faithful to their mission statement, and as such, I believe removing Cilento and Vinson from office would be counterproductive.

Whatever the Rules Committee decides will set the precedent for future ambiguous election scenarios. Time is also a critical factor in making their decision. Although the election scandal has proven to be entertaining, a resolution must be reached quickly so that ASG can do its job and begin representing the student body.

Colin Wang is a Weinberg sophomore. He can be contacted at [email protected]. If you would like to respond publicly to this column, send a Letter to the Editor to [email protected]. The views expressed in this piece do not necessarily reflect the views of all staff members of The Daily Northwestern.