MUPD confirms Russian involvement in MUSG presidential election
Evidence emerges linking Russian President Vladmir Putin and recently elected MUSG president, Ben Dombrowski. The international intelligence division of MUPD has reportedly been investigating Dombrowski since his inauguration Friday, after receiving an anonymous tip.
MUPD published this statement earlier today, "Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2017 aimed at the Marquette University Student Government presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the Marquette democratic process, denigrate Adam Kouhel, and harm his electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for president-elect Ben Dombrowski. We have high confidence in these judgments."
According to MUPD's report, Putin executed a full scale cyber attack on Printwise and MU Wireless. In addition to the cyber attacks, Putin also orchestrated the dissemination of fake news, via outlets such as The Marquette Wire.
An anonymous source reported to the Seagull that this is not Dombrowski's first run-in with Russia. According to the source, Dombrowski was once a member of a communist group on Marquette Campus. He is also pictured in an Instagram post captioned, "Team Russia 2016."
The scandal has brought MUSG's integrity as an organization into question. Amy Sunhouser, a junior at Marquette University, said, "I just don't really feel safe knowing that our student government president is hangout out with that shirtless guy on a horse. It's very unsettling."
While many students echo Sunhouser's concerns, others are more skeptical of the accusations altogether. "Honestly, this is probably just a ruse meant to distract us from what's really going on on campus," said Jordan Moulder, senior.
"Forget about Russia, President Dombrowski still hasn't cut his business ties to Mtn Dew," activist Glenn Schwimmer points out. "It's a huge conflict of interest. But I suppose it wouldn't be the first time MUSG was bought by corporate interests."
But regardless of public opinion, MUPD has promised to investigate further. More information will be forthcoming.
