The university court voted April 5 uphold the election committee’s decision to disqualify SGA presidential candidate Trevion McFarland from running in the upcoming election and remove him from the ballot.

McFarland was found guilty of violating numerous election rules including interfering in the election process and disrupting the integrity of the election.

The court was composed of five justices and SGA Chief Justice Katie Stahl. Three of the five justices were appointed by the SGA General Assembly because only two justices were serving at the time of the appeal.

McFarland’s lone opponent, junior business management major Brad Flittner will be the only presidential candidate on the ballot when the election begins Monday.

The election will run through April 15. Student will be emailed an access code granting them entry to the ballot tomorrow.

McFarland’s statement to The Shield can be viewed below:

“I’m astonished by the decision the court rendered; to uphold a biased decision that was passed down by the election committee with no solid evidence is unjust. Everyone I’ve spoken to is surprised that these allegations have been upheld regardless of the fact that there is no evidence of the alleged recording and supposed text messages. For the record, I have never threatened anyone and I am in full support of the LGBTQ community.

Regardless of these surface claims, attacks on my character and bias decisions, I will continue to advocate for every student, every day on campus. I love USI and I love SGA.

If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to me. To my friends in positions of power, I encourage you to continue to govern in the sunshine.”