ustxtxb_obs_2009_04_17_50_00007-00000_000.pdf

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April 17, 2009, 12:00 AM, CDT

1,, 5 :10k444 ‘144g .: 44%. ia” TILE 1514 QUM 5TION WHO WILL OWN THE TOXIC ASSETS? gil

<div id="pico"><p>1,, 5 :10k444 ‘144g .:  44%. ia”  TILE 1514 QUM 5TION WHO WILL OWN THE TOXIC ASSETS? gil<E1:  POLITICO ...411101111110PAIMIIIMOIAMINN1011111101N0110 crazy" In a sad stab at Obama-esque exhortation, Martinez  wrote, "This is the time for action, this is our call:'  One recipient was outgoing student body President Keshav  Rajagopalan, who appointed Martinez to the election board.  Rajagopalan later claimed he hadn't opened the e-mail. He also  claimed it hadn't been disclosed to protect members of the  Eyes of Texas, a secret organization of which he and Martinez  are members.  Few on campus had heard of the Eyes, founded in 1978.  In his e-mail, Martinez asked his posse for help as a "favor  for Eyes." Critics detected proof of long-held suspicions that  student leaders are chosen in advance. "I think [the Eyes] do  stupid things like clean off the kiosks," says  Daily Texan  editor  Leah Finnegan. But its also this established network where  they can cherry-pick the next SG presidents."  The plot thickened when the  Texan  followed up with another  bombshell: Rajagopalan himself had solicited support for  O'Rourke and other candidates from five fraternity presidents  the day before the election. His e-mail warned of "outsiders"   winning.  As that story went to press, the  Texan  started receiving  threatening calls. Finnegan jotted down on a Kleenex what one  caller said: "Someone's going to kill your story. They're in the  building." Five minutes later, someone called and played "The  Eyes of Texas" over the phone. A campus police officer watched  the  Texan  offices that night.  Despite calls for Rajagopalan's resignation, a do-over election, and even the abolition of student government, little  has been done to address the tainted election. Rajagopalan  appointed a task force, which he will oversee, to review the  process. "There wasn't really a ton of fallout besides public  outcry," Finnegan says. "No one got punished. No one suffered  any consequences."  In the end, the satirical  Texas Travesty,  UT's equivalent of  The Onion,  may have best captured the mood on campus in  a post-election headline: "Dozens shocked by improprieties  perpetrated by quasi-important 'Student Government: "  Forrest Wilder  7 THE TEXAS OBSERVER APRIL 17, 2009 
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