Candidates vying for several Student Council positions had an opportunity to address voters last night during a debate hosted by the University Board of Elections.
Candidates for Student Council president who were in attendance included third-year students Matthew White, Ryan McElveen, Daniel Dooley, Dan Newland and Lauren Tilton. Third-year candidate Jeff McLaughlin was not present.
White discussed the importance of engaging in dialogue with the administration and discussed ways to improve appropriations.
"You can make a lot of changes structurally to how it's run, but as far as changing how we cut, we can't," White said.
McElveen spoke about his ideas for creating monthly reports detailing the Council's activities and appointing a press secretary.
Dooley discussed his desire to have students work more closely with the administration on issues including course registration and international studies opportunities.
He also said that the Council needs to be more transparent.
According to Newland, an important issue facing students is "self segregation."
He also emphasized the importance of "honesty and accountability" within the Council.
Tilton spoke about Student Council's responsibility to seek out the concerns of student communities. She emphasized issues such as student safety, suitable appropriation cuts and affordable housing.
The debate also included addresses by second-year College student Melissa Warnke and third-year College students Ryan Taylor and Todd Eley, candidates for executive vice president.
In their opening statements, the candidates discussed the need for more interaction between the student body and Student Council.
These candidates also discussed the role of the executive vice president in Student Council and agreed that communication must be increased between administrators and students.
The debate was scheduled to be preceded by an discussion of the four referenda on the ballot. Speakers on behalf of referenda were present; however, the discussion was canceled because of a lack of student turnout, according to UBE chair Steve Yang.
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