The University Board of Elections sponsored Student Council candidate debates for the spring elections last night. The University Judiciary Committee debates scheduled to occur beforehand were cancelled because none of the UJC candidates were in attendance.
Through several rounds of debates, candidates for vice president for organizations and Council president spoke on their qualifications for the positions and their ideas for the future of the Council.
Candidates running for College representative, executive vice president and vice president for administration fielded questions from the audience and members of the UBE, but did not engage in debates because their opponents were not in attendance.
Second-year College student Victoria Ingenito was one of seven candidates running for the position of College representative to attend the debate.
Likewise, Nicholas Jordan and Okey Udumaga were the only candidates to attend who are running for the contested positions of EVP and VPA, respectively.
Jordon said he would like to implement dorm talks as EVP, while Udumaga talked about revamping and making more use of Council programs.
During the VPO debates, second-year College students Catherine Tobin and Ryan McElveen and third-year College student Anna Popova emphasized the need for the Appropriations Committee to use its excess money to fund CIO's.
The evening concluded with the Council presidential debate. Third-year College students Darius Nabors and Sam White, and third-yearEngineering student Gregory Jackson each responded to a number of questions ranging from long-term goals to problems with ISIS.
Jackson said one of his main concerns is making Council a serious organization.
"A lot of people don't take it seriously," he said. "It's frustrating to see that."
White emphasized his laid-back leadership style and his willingness to involve others throughout the debate.
"It's more about my style of leadership than the initiatives. We need to make the Student Council experience enjoyable," he said. "If more first years get involved, I'll feel like I've accomplished my goals."
Darius Nabors, currently the Council executive vice president, cited his work on late night busing as an example of his ability to accomplish goals.
"The Student Council president needs to have the ability to get stuff done," he said. "It matters if you can deliver. When you bring me an idea, I'll do it. It's about getting the ideas done."
UBE member and fourth-year College student Scott Jones said the cancellation of the UJC debates was not worrisome.
"There are only two contested elections," he said. "The majority of candidates had other obligations tonight."
UBE Chair Sara Anderson was pleased with the debates.
"We had some really good discussions," Anderson said. "It's helpful for the people who came to hear different perspectives. It's hard to hear what their ideas are just from a flyer."
Polls for the spring elections will be open Feb. 24 to March 1.
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