Three leave tickets for GUSA exec

Content Warning: References to Sexual Assault 

Julio Salermon-Perla (SFS ’22) announced on Feb. 3 that he would be suspending his campaign for the GUSA Executive. This comes on the heels of Salermon-Perla’s co-presidential candidate, Gabby Elliott Brault (SFS ’21), dropping from the campaign on Saturday, Feb.1. Vice presidential candidate Isbel Deleon (COL ’21) also announced on Feb. 3 that she would be leaving her ticket. 

These departures leave Nico Ferretti (SFS ’21) and Bryce Badger (MSB ’21), Arisaid Gonzalez Porras (COL ’21) and Anahi Figueroa-Flores (COL ’21), and Joshua Marín-Mora (SFS ’21)—currently running without a vice president after Deleon’s withdrawal—as the candidates for the GUSA Executive.

Elliott Brault focused her resignation on two articles written in The Hoya about her and Salermon-Perla’s campaign. In a statement, she accused the newspaper of inconsistent reporting on her sexual assault platform as the reason for her departure. “The newspaper attacked and grossly misrepresented my sexual misconduct policy ideas.”

Additionally, Elliott Brault was disappointed in references to her history as a survivor of sexual assault. “I mentioned my status as a survivor to The Hoya, without details, during our interview with The Hoya. However, they did not ask my permission to publish it, as they should have done with such a sensitive matter,” the statement read.

Following this, Elliott Brault decided to remove herself from the election. “I no longer feel comfortable continuing in this race,” she wrote.

The Hoya offered a comment on the matter, acknowledging that, while the interview was on-the-record, they never want to publish sensitive information against someone’s will. “We would like to take a moment to reaffirm our commitment to being a survivor-focused organization, and we believe that it is our responsibility to spotlight all voices and hold institutions accountable,” the statement reads. “We have removed that portion of the quote from the article upon request. We are deeply sorry for the harm that this situation has caused Gabby.”

Two days after the departure of Elliott Brault, Salermon-Perla published a statement officially suspending his campaign, citing individual actions at Georgetown, without delving into specifics. 

“I believe that these events are indicative of the brokenness and dishonesty in our student government, which my campaign set out to address,” his statement reads. 

Deleon referred to mental health reasons as to why she will be leaving her campaign with Marín-Mora. “I don’t believe my mental health will allow me to be the leader Georgetown students deserve to have as well as be the best partner for Joshua,” she wrote in a statement. 

She also stated that she is standing by her own words to prioritize her own mental health, which was a key tenet of the duo’s platform. Deleon will continue to advocate for Marín-Mora. “I have no doubt that all of the time and care that Joshua has poured into this will show throughout the next few days. I also have no doubt that he is the perfect person for the job.”

At the time of publication, Marín-Mora could not be reached for comment.

The 2020 GUSA Executive election will take place on Feb. 6. The presidential debate will take place on Feb. 3, followed by the vice presidential debate on Feb. 4.