NAHJ’s 2007 Student Representative Election Incident

NAHJ’s 2007 Student Representative Election Incident
August 9, 2007
In a piece published in the August 2007 issue of the CotoBuzz Journal titled The National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ)- a Platform to Promote Alternative Lifestyles?, we make references to a candidate, who successfully vied for a position as Student Representative of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. The National Association of Hispanic Journalists certified the election of its new region directors and student representative to the board of directors on Tuesday, July 31 2007
Days before the 2007 election, the student sent an email soliciting support describing herself as a senior at Lehman College in New York, majoring in Multilingual Journalism, the president of the NAHJ Lehman College Student Chapter, which she helped establish and having received two NAHJ scholarships, as well as being the Editor-in-Chief for The Meridian, the Lehman College student newspaper.In the email, she states: “many in the NAHJ Board of Directors are know me and support my candidacy. This includes NAHJ president Rafael Olmeda, Region 2 Director Joanna Hernandez, and Parity Project Director Kevin Olivas. Executive Director Ivan Roman and Veronica Villafañe also know me personally over these past three years that I have been involved with NAHJ”. We asked president Rafael Olmeda if he indeed supported a candidate promoting the NAHJ’s (Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender) caucus.
Mr. Olmeda promptly responded, indicating he does endorse the caucus, but did not endorse any candidate. Mr. Olmeda then sent a clarifying note stating in part: “I wanted to send this message out because a statement that went out from one of the candidates for student rep might give the impression that I've made an endorsement in this race. Please be assured that I have not done so…I apologize if I gave the impression that I favor one candidate over the others. It was not my intention”.
We asked both Mr. Olmeda and the student representative the reason for the endorsement controversy: Was it a misunderstanding? Was it a mistake? Was it done consciously?
We have not heard from the student representative after various attempts. Mr. Olmeda’s response: “Either she mistakenly believed I had endorsed her or she accidentally made it seem like I had done so”
On the heels of Mirthala Salinas’ tryst with Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, at the time she announced the news of his separation from his wife of 20 years on local Telemundo station KVEA, Channel 52, and her subsequent suspension from Telemundo, the NAHJ student representative incident is troublesome: If a senior majoring in journalism sends out self-serving misleading information, consciously or not, the act reflects bad on the university’s school of journalism, as well as on the NAHJ and sets a terrible precedent if not addressed properly, properly and decidedly.















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