E-mails stir controversy amid Latimer’s bid for SGA presidency

Former
President
of
Queer
Action
Jeremy Kidd said Wednesday students
should
not
vote
for
Steven Latimer,
a
candidate
for
Monroe
Park
Campus
student-body
president,
because
of
a
complaint
Kidd
made against Latimer
in
2005.

Kidd
said
both
a
2005
e-mail,
in
which
Latimer
made
a
homophobic
reference
to
the
then-Queer
Action
president, and e-mail
correspondence
Latimer had with a female
student, in
which he called
the
student a “b***,”
indicate
the
candidate
does
not
have
the judgment to serve as student-body
president.

“We
really
need
someone
who
is
more
fair-minded and wouldn’t
stoop
to .
discriminations,”
Kidd said.

Latimer said Kidd’s complaint about
the 2005 e-mail’s language was resolved
years ago, as he formally apologized to
Kidd in 2006 after the issue was brought
before VCU’s Office of Judicial Affairs.
Latimer’s campaign also said the timing
of
the
incident’s
circulation
online
?
days
before
the
election
?
indicates
a
concerted
effort
to
damage
Latimer’s
candidacy.

“I
should
have
chosen
my
words
more carefully,”
Latimer said.
“I
don’t
think it’s
relevant
to my
campaign.”

The correspondence with the female
stud
e
nt
was
taken
ou
t
of
context,
Latimer said. Latimer also said he had
been joking with the student in the emails,
which as of last night were posted
on
a
group
page
on
Facebook.com.
Gonzalo
Aida-Brescia,
Latimer’s
vicepresidential
running mate, said Kidd’s
efforts
are politically
motivated.

“We
know
those
wh
o
really
are
concerned
with
the
issue
will
talk
to
Steven
(Latimer)
directly,”
Aida
said.

Ki
d
d,
w
ho
i
s
now
a
f
irst-y
ear
medical student,
said
the 2005
e-mail
expressed Latimer’s objection to a letter
Kidd wrote that was published in The
Commonwealth Times.

Kidd
said
he has
no
connection
to
the
campaign
of
Latimer’s
opponent,
presidential
candidate
Jibran Muhammad.
Tho
ugh
Muhamm
a
d
said
he
has
been informed of the
information
c
ircul
a
ting
abo
ut
L
a
time
r,
he
a
lso
maintains
his
Students
for
Positive
Change
campaign
and
Kidd’s
efforts
are separate.

Muhammad
said
his
campaign
is
focusing
on
the merits
of
its
platform
inst
ead
of
usin
g
n
eg
a
t
iv
e
ta
ct
ics,
and
he
harbors
no
animosity
toward
Latimer.

“Steven (Latimer)
is
a
good guy
.
I
like him,”
Muhammad said.

Efforts to inform students about the
e-mail
incident
stem
from
concerns
if elected, Latimer might
withhold funding from
progressive organizations
on campus, Kidd said.

However, Latimer said
he has homosexual friends
who support his candidacy,
and he considers himself a
proponent of diversity on
campus.

“I’ve never waged a
campaign to de-fund any
progressive organizations,”
Latimer said. “It’s a dishonest
smear campaign. I add
to the diversity of VCU,
and I appreciate what they
(progressive organizations)
do to add to the diversity
of VCU.”