The United States is not the only government with a newly-elected controversial leader this year; in fact, Texas A&M’s student body presidential race created chaos as well. The original winner of the election, who claimed the popular vote by 750 votes, is Robert McIntosh. Dallas’s McIntosh family already has considerable political clout in the Republican world due to his mother’s fundraising for the party. However, McInstosh’s status was not enough for the student body and the board at A&M to let him slide by without disclosing one hundred percent of his campaign expenses. More specifically, he failed to turn in a receipt for glow sticks that were utilized for a mere eleven seconds in a campaign video during a presidential race that lasted for months. As a result of his termination from the race, the runner-up Bobby Brooks (junior) was elected to lead the student body. This is where the most controversy sprung up.

Bobby Brooks is the first openly gay student body president, which led politicians to comment on the issue, including Rick Perry. Perry asserted that the election was “stolen” from McIntosh in a “quest for diversity,” and because of “political correctness.” McIntosh agrees and is considering suing the university because he believes he lost the title of Student Body President due to his “heterosexual, white, Christian male” identity. A legal investigation, led by Gaines West (McIntosh’s lawyer), has already sprung up to explore whether or not his instincts about discrimination are true.

Meanwhile, Bobby Brooks, the newly elected president and the VP of diversity, wants Rick Perry to stay out of a collegiate level election and focus on issues pressing our nation. In addition, he even invited Perry to Texas A&M “to meet with [his] team and [him] as [he] take[s] office later this month to discuss how [they] can work together to achieve [a] common vision.” It seems like Brooks is taking the mature route in this situation, but will Perry return the favor? Brooks furthered by indicating that his campaign platform was centered around “mak[ing] diversity and inclusion a hallmark of [his] time in office.” Within the next few weeks, the public will see this legal fight follow through and both Brooks’s and Perry’s reaction to those actions. The faculty at A&M have remained pretty silent over the dilemma as I assume no one wants to get stuck in this sticky battle.