Two of presidential candidate Frank Cirinna’s answers during the election period have revealed a discrepancy regarding his dismissal as president of Sigma Chi fraternity in November.
At the Wilfrid Laurier University Students’ Union presidential debate on Jan. 28, Cirinna was questioned about his presidency at Sigma Chi.
“Could you speak to the possible concern voters might have regarding your dismissal and why your next presidency will result in a complete term?” moderator Dani Saad asked.
In response, Cirinna said he stepped down from the position so he could commit more of his time to campaigning for Students’ Union president.
“I stepped down because it makes the most sense for me to have the most time to go after my passion and help as many students as possible,” he said.
Also contributing to this decision, Cirinna said, was the trust he had in his vice-presidents to continue to support the chapter following his leave.
During an interview on Radio Laurier on Jan. 30, Cirinna was again questioned about his dismissal from Sigma Chi.
Following questions from several students, station manager James Blake asked him whether or not he had been impeached from the position.
While Cirinna initially declined to respond to the question, he did clarify that he officially stepped down.
He then went on to explain that there had been a false claim made against him and it “was better for [him] to step down than let it stew.”
After stepping down, the claim was revoked.
When asked why he didn’t explain this at the debate, Cirinna said, “Because I don’t want to keep dwelling on the past. And I don’t want the person who said what was inappropriate and not true to feel like I kept bringing it back up to them because I promised I was going to stop talking about it. Because they feel just as bad as I do.”
Following both of these instances, Cirinna was given a chance to comment on the discrepancy between his answers regarding his reason for stepping down from president of the fraternity.
“It was a false accusation,” he said.
“No one wants to draw attention to themselves on something that’s a false accusation, especially when it’s been proven to be untrue.”
He noted that Sigma Chi is an off-campus organization, separate from the university.
“I think one of the main things we have to keep in mind is that that is my personal life,” Cirinna said.
“And I know that in this position and during this election my personal life does become the public limelight. But at the same time I would request a little bit of respect because not everybody knows the absolutes of what goes on within the organization and even then not every single person in our organization was at that meeting.”
