Three candidates running on the Change UofT slate in the University of Toronto Students’ Union (UTSU) elections allegedly entered university residences with the intention of distributing campaign materials on Monday night.

Andre Fast, a Change UofT Board of Directors candidate for Innis College, and Robert Fan and Victor Lee, Change UofT Board of Directors candidates for Victoria College, were reportedly spotted campaigning at their respective college residences.

Campaigning is not allowed within six metres of a student residence during the voting period, which began Tuesday at 9am.

However, Katz-Griffin alleged that in the packages that candidates were given, it states that they are not allowed to campaign door-to-door in the residences.

“Campaign displays and distribution of literature on campus are also subject to the individual rules and regulations of residences, Libraries, Buildings on Campus and campuses,” the Elections Procedure Code also reads.

Brianne Katz-Griffin, a resident of Innis College, says she became aware that Fast had checked into the college residence late Monday night. When she approached Fast, he allegedly said that he was there to take down his own campaign posters.

Katz-Griffin says she later heard from friends in the residence that Fast was distributing flyers and going from door-to-door.

She estimates that Fast could have reached 300 or more students by knocking door-to-door, a sizeable advantage over his opponent Nicole Thompson of Brighter UofT, who according to Katz-Griffin, has not campaigned in this way.

Fast says that he had entered the residence to take down his posters, which must be removed by the time voting opened the following morning. Fast confirmed that he talked with students in the process. He says that as a commuter, he has had difficulty connecting with Innis students.

“I’ve been trying really hard to connect with as many Innis students as I can because I want them to be engaged,” Fast says. “However, when I ran into a fellow candidate in residence who told me she had not campaigned there, I felt it would be unfair to her for me to continue to do so and I left.”

Rowan DeBues, president of the Victoria University Student Administrative Council, alleges he was made aware of Change UofT candidates in a Victoria College residence when Lee knocked on his own door and “tried to campaign.”

DeBues alleges that he heard reports from students that Fan was simultaneously in one of the Upper Burwash houses “giving out business cards.”

Both Lee and Fan were reportedly campaigning in residence between 10:30pm and 11:00 pm.

Debues alleges that Fan had offered letters of recommendation to students looking for work in exchange for votes.

DeBues says he spoke with some staff members in the office of the Dean of Students of Victoria College, and that none reported having knowledge that campaigning had been authorized. “I was a Don on residence last year, and to have students that are not [resident] students going through late at night, that is definitely not allowed,” DeBues says.

Victor Lee says that he was campaigning in residence, but left when he discovered it was against the rules. “To be honest, I thought the no campaigning rule for residence applied to the voting period. I knocked on one door and realized it was a problem and stopped immediately,” Lee says.

Fan did not respond to requests for comment.

Katz-Griffin also indicated that Fast may have broken residence rules. “Not only was Andre campaigning door-to-door in the residence, he was also unattended which breaks residence policy,” she says.

Katz-Griffin says that her concern stems from the fact that, in elections, all candidates should be expected to play by the same rules. l’m not trying to attack a student, I am trying to bring light to unfair campaigning,” says Katz-Griffin.

As of press time, the Chief Returning Officer for the UTSU election has not ruled on this incident nor responded to a request for comment.