ASO Elections

Editor's Note: The fully redacted 218-page report has now been posted. The delay in posting was to ensure all names and identifying information was redacted from the report. We value and respect our students' and employees' privacy and will do everything within our power to protect that privacy.

November 14, 2019

The spring 2019 Associated Student Organization election at Southwestern College was suspended by Superintendent/President Dr. Kindred Murillo after several tumultuous days during which a number of bias incidents were alleged. 

Subsequently, the Southwestern Community College District hired Kelly R. Minnehan, with the Erickson Law Firm, to investigate the multiple allegations.  The investigation began late in the last academic year and was finished at the end of October 2019. 

During the course of the investigation, 37 faculty, staff and student witnesses were interviewed to determine the merit of each allegation.  The investigator also reviewed video, audio and written materials.

While the investigation was ongoing, Superintendent/President Dr. Murillo approved a Coalition government to continue the work of the ASO until the results of the suspended election could be tabulated, and until the allegations regarding the election could be resolved.

The 13 allegations that were investigated, some of which included multiple accusations, include complaints of biased language, preferential treatment of Team Green and Team Elite by school officials, violation of election rules and claims that funding and scholarship decisions were made in a discriminatory and/or biased manner.

The investigator found several allegations to have merit, but she characterized the majority as having no merit, including the allegation that scholarship decisions were handled in a biased manner. 

The community can access the redacted versions the 218-page report of the investigation (PDF) and the 19-page summary of the findings (PDF) of the independent investigator by clicking on the hyperlinks. Both the full report and the summary of findings detail each specific allegation and the investigator’s ruling on it. As you read the report, please remember it is a tool to help us all improve as a community, it is not meant to place responsibility on any single person. Our hope is that this report will allow us to learn from past mistakes and create a more inclusive environment.

Superintendent/President Dr. Murillo met with each person who was interviewed during the investigation prior to the public disclosure of the investigation results.  She also met with members of the Coalition government to let them know the results of the ASO investigation and the results of the voting in the suspended spring election.

On Nov. 14, 2019 she held a campus forum, along with members of the ASO, to review the results of the investigation and to answer questions. Following the forum, Dr. Murillo sent a letter to the college community summarizing the forum and next steps.

On a go-forward basis, Superintendent/President Dr. Murillo has affirmed her intention to conduct future investigations as quickly as possible and to disclose their results through a similar combination of personal meetings and forums, broad email distribution and dedicated web pages.

 Archived articles

Superintendent/President Nullifies ASO Election (PDF)

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