Editors Note:
Claims made in this article are the sole opinions and beliefs of the author. The Daily 49er does not endorse any one candidate nor does it corroborate with political candidates. The Daily 49er stands by what it reported April 14 in the article “False claims made by ASI candidate.” The Daily 49er chose to print this article in the interest of free speech; claims made by the author are not supported by Daily 49er reporting.
There has been a lot of controversy surrounding my personal life lately. First and foremost, I please ask for everyone to respect my privacy. Criticize my beliefs all you want, but can we stop these personal attacks and just get along? Investigating whether or not I lied on an application is clearly based on a personal agenda to get me expelled from Cal State Long Beach. Is the free press only going to investigate my financial background or are they going to investigate all the candidate’s finances?
Evidentially, I’m the only one being investigated. My opponent, Sen. Jameson Nyeholt, and Associated Student Inc. Chief of Staff James Ahumada did everything they could to keep me from running for ASI President because I did not fit their ideological template.
Most students already know about the allegations regarding Vice President Omar Gonzalez and Attorney General Paxcley Marquez joining the ASI Presidential race in order to intimidate me. They panicked because I could have had a chance at winning.
After this, I decided to run for ASI Treasurer. I realized that Nyeholt’s campaign started to worry that I might have a chance to win that election, too.
As a result, his campaign released allies to investigate my background in order to send it to the Daily 49er during election week. His campaign did this to discourage voters from voting for me, while claiming that he played no part in it.
The latest controversy about me deals with an April 14 Daily 49er article titled “False claims made by ASI candidate” addressing whether I lied on my Phillips Foundation scholarship application. There are many misleading claims in that article, but I will just name a couple. By the time I turned in the scholarship application, I was already told that I would be appointed senator of the College of Mathematics and Sciences. I was also told I would be sworn in soon. So, I did not hesitate to write on my application that I was an ASI Senator because I was almost certain that I would be the senator soon. However, due to circumstances outside of my control I was ineligible according to the dean of students.
The Daily 49er also addressed my presidency of “Bring Back 49er Football.” I wrote on my application that I was the leader of a “Bring Back Football” group, but I never mentioned that it was a club. It is clearly a large movement that I am president of and an acceptable credential for scholarships. I decided not to make it an official club because there would be too much bureaucracy to keep it running.
Furthermore, I don’t want the amount of members in this club to be used against bringing our school’s football program back. Even if 500 students were in the group, ASI would still say that the group does not represent the roughly 30,000 students at CSULB. Students from all over the United States write on their applications that they are part of specific movements.
This negative article about me was clearly based on a personal agenda aimed at getting my scholarship removed, getting me to lose the ASI Treasurer race, jeopardizing the 49er football referendum and potentially getting me expelled from the great CSULB. No man will ever stop me from pursuing what I believe in. Only the law and God can stop me from pursuing my dreams legally.
Jason Aula is a senior business finance major. He ran for Associated Student Inc. treasurer and is the president of the Conservative Student Union.
Disclaimer: The Daily 49er is not responsible for comments made on www.daily49er.wpengine.com. Persons commenting are solely responsible for comments made on this Web site. The Daily 49er strongly advises individuals to not abuse their First Amendment rights, and to avoid language suggestive of hate speech.