An e-mail urging 6,400 Winston-Salem State University students and staffers to support Democratic candidates was sent out by the head of the school’s Division of Student Affairs, the university said today.
The university is saying that Michelle Releford, the interim vice chancellor for student affairs at WSSU, sent out the e-mail for a student without looking at it.
Releford is responsible for sending out e-mails that come from students and student groups as well as faculty and staff, and the request was not out of the ordinary, university officials said.
“It was pure human error,” said Nancy Young, the director of public relations for the university. “She got it from a student (who) wanted to get this out to students to get them to vote regardless of political party. She admitted it was an oversight.”
Releford told Young that she “just didn’t look at” the e-mail, Young said.
The e-mail, sent Monday, invited recipients to “distribute the official Democratic Party candidate listing.” The existence of the e-mail drew fire from local Republican Party Chairman Nathan Tabor.
Young could not say whether Releford faces any disciplinary action, but added that Donald Reaves, the school chancellor, was out of town and would likely want to figure out a way to keep any similar incidents from happening in the future.
The university issued a retraction in regard to the pro-Democratic e-mail, and later sent out one promoting the GOP as an equal-time response. That e-mail was also retracted by the university.
Tabor sent a letter to the Forsyth County Board of Elections today asking that early voting be suspended at WSSU because of the e-mail. The elections board will have a special meeting at 1 p.m. Friday on that request.
Read the emails: http://media.gatewaync.com/wsj/pdfs/2010/10/wssu_emails.doc
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