What could have been one of the most successful Michigan Student Assembly elections in recent memory turned out to be surprisingly disappointing - but not for the usual reasons that MSA's critics cite. Voter turnout was the highest in recent memory, new parties emerged with clear-cut goals and both the Michigan Student Assembly and LSA Student Government gained greater recognition among the general student body.

But last week, students, staff, administrators and even alumni received thousands of unwelcome e-mails from parties vying for the hotly contested seats. From preying on political leanings to base appeals to identity politics, these spam e-mails sent a clear message to the campus community: Mudslinging, name-calling and character assassinations are acceptable campaigning tactics for the people ostensibly representing the interests on the student body. These spam messages were significant for more than the sheer annoyance they caused. These attempts by student parties - particularly Students 4 Michigan - to exploit the often-sharp divisions that run through campus in an effort to drum up support for a slate of candidates are disheartening and unacceptable.

The newly founded Student Conservative Party fired off the first shot. SCP sent out one unsolicited e-mail to tens of thousands of students, faculty, administrators and alumni - as well as more targeted messages to conservatives urging them to vote for SCP out of fear that Students 4 Michigan and Michigan Progressive Party would push a "liberal" agenda through MSA.

Students 4 Michigan used a similar divide-and-conquer tactic. S4M operatives created separate e-mail lists for campus conservatives and liberals. Those on the liberal list were sent an e-mail claiming - falsely, as the election results later showed - that early results indicated SCP was in place to lead a "conservative takeover" that could only be prevented by voting for S4M. An almost identical e-mail sent to the conservative list literally contradicted the first, claiming that MPP was gaining last-minute momentum. It is clear now that these S4M e-mails had no factual basis; their authors, including Peter Borock and Allison Jacobs, owe the voters whom they intentionally misled an explanation.

Ironically, even after MPP claimed that its representatives were told not to send out spam, it too capitalized on the e-mail calamity. Late Wednesday night, just as the polls were closing, MPP sent out a spam e-mail to thousands of students promising that, if elected, it would fight to end election spam.

S4M, however, was most shameless in its attempts to appeal to voters as members of specific groups first and students second, if at all. These solicitations ranged from the mundane and perhaps laughable - such as an appeal to those in the LSA Honors program to vote for fellow Honors students - to more invidious distinctions drawn along religious and ethnic lines. Jewish students received an S4M e-mail alleging that MPP would be unable to represent Jewish interests because only one of MPP's 16 candidates for MSA was Jewish. Similarly, e-mails promoting S4M's black candidates were sent to some black students.

Pandering to specific factions by sending e-mails to shadowy lists deleted soon after being created doesn't just reflect negatively on the parties and MSA. More importantly, this campaign strategy furthers divisiveness on campus and interferes with the attempts many members of the University community have made to unify the diverse groups that compose this institution. Some alumni have even threatened to stop donating to the University because of the candidates' tactics.

MSA's reputation predominantly depends on the actions of its members. The actions of this year's candidates and parties to tokenize campus diversity merely widen the lack of trust between the student body and MSA.

Selected quotations from spam e-mails sent during last week's MSA elections:

"As voter statistics come in from the MSA and LSA-SG elections, it's more clear than ever that the Student Conservative Party has gained significant last-minute momentum. There is only one way to prevent a conservative takeover of campus politics: VOTE STUDENTS 4 MICHIGAN! The dangers of SCP winning are obvious. Please do your part to help your fellow Dems get elected."

-Peter Borock, S4M communications director, in an e-mail sent late Wednesday to campus Democrats.

"As voter statistics come in from the MSA and LSA-SG elections, it's more clear than ever that the Michigan Progressive Party has gained significant last-minute momentum. There is only one way to prevent a liberal takeover of campus politics: VOTE STUDENTS 4 MICHIGAN NOW! The dangers of MPP winning are obvious. Please do your part to help your fellow CRs get elected.