2008 Woodie Awards
Itami target of Olson and Knapp Supreme Court case
Ryan Hunter
Issue date: 2/21/07 Section: News
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Todd Itami, the newly appointed ASISU senator filling the Arts and Sciences seat vacated by Tara Rowe late last year, was the target of two Supreme Court cases last week. The two cases, filed by ASISU executive ticket candidates Shawnee Knapp and Elizabeth Olson on Feb. 13 and Feb. 15, also targeted Jennifer Brown and Brian Wheat, who are also on the executive ticket for the upcoming election. These cases allege impropriety on the part of Itami in utilizing "undue advantages" for himself, as well as for Brown and Wheat.
The case filed on Feb. 13 alleged that Itami used the image of Benny the Bengal, ISU's official mascot, to inappropriately imply that the university supported the Brown/Wheat campaign.
The image appears on the "Benny" MySpace page, showing what appears to be the ISU mascot holding a sign that states "Vote Brown/Wheat."
Itami, who was actually wearing the "Benny the Bengal" suit, created the image. According to Itami, the image he used is not copyrighted and therefore does not constitute a violation of ISU policies concerning the usage of the university names or trademarked images.
Olson and Knapp asked the court in the Feb. 13 filing to remove Itami, Brown, and Wheat from the ASISU ballot, stating, "there is no [other] immediate remedy that will restore justice due to the unfair advantage that has been created by this violation."
The ASISU Supreme Court immediately threw the case out on grounds that the case had no merit, and supporting Itami's assertion that the image posted on the MySpace page had not violated any ISU policies or regulations.
The second case, filed Feb. 15, alleged that Itami had abused his position of maintaining the ASISU Election website to give "undue advantage" to himself, Brown, and Wheat through the use of bold and underlined words.
In the court filing, Olson and Knapp claim that there is "a clear opportunity for advantage and potential abuse…and unfair advantage has already been given as evidenced by the Candidate Information webpage that contains highlighted and underlined text occurring only on Itami and Brown/Wheat candidate information."
The case filed on Feb. 13 alleged that Itami used the image of Benny the Bengal, ISU's official mascot, to inappropriately imply that the university supported the Brown/Wheat campaign.
The image appears on the "Benny" MySpace page, showing what appears to be the ISU mascot holding a sign that states "Vote Brown/Wheat."
Itami, who was actually wearing the "Benny the Bengal" suit, created the image. According to Itami, the image he used is not copyrighted and therefore does not constitute a violation of ISU policies concerning the usage of the university names or trademarked images.
Olson and Knapp asked the court in the Feb. 13 filing to remove Itami, Brown, and Wheat from the ASISU ballot, stating, "there is no [other] immediate remedy that will restore justice due to the unfair advantage that has been created by this violation."
The ASISU Supreme Court immediately threw the case out on grounds that the case had no merit, and supporting Itami's assertion that the image posted on the MySpace page had not violated any ISU policies or regulations.
The second case, filed Feb. 15, alleged that Itami had abused his position of maintaining the ASISU Election website to give "undue advantage" to himself, Brown, and Wheat through the use of bold and underlined words.
In the court filing, Olson and Knapp claim that there is "a clear opportunity for advantage and potential abuse…and unfair advantage has already been given as evidenced by the Candidate Information webpage that contains highlighted and underlined text occurring only on Itami and Brown/Wheat candidate information."
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