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Student senators took a break from normal business on Tuesday evening to hear from their prospective leaders. With Student Government elections less than a week away, the three presidential and three vice presidential candidates stood before the group to present their platforms and answer questions.
Opening the speeches was presidential candidate Kate O’Brien, current vice president of the student body. O’Brien said her goal as president would be to inform the student body about their government, making the organization more available to students.
“I want to engage students,” O’Brien said.
To accomplish this, she intends to continue speaking to various classes about the General Student Senate, a project she has been involved with this semester.
She also wants to increase administrative connections through open forums. O’Brien said she wanted to change the stereotype that students are lazy or apathetic by encouraging their campus involvement.
“I think we’re highly, highly underestimated,” she said.
O’Brien said her four terms in student senate are just one of the qualities that she would bring to the position.
“I will bring experience, enthusiasm and dedication back to this organization,” she said.
Presidential candidate Eli Young said that he differs from his opponents in that he has already heard what students need.
“What I bring that [other candidates] do not is a vision for Student Government,” he said.
Young said his plan was to make students’ education a priority, second only to health and safety. He said subjecting students to safety hazards such as cold weather and poor driving conditions is unacceptable and something he hoped to change.
He also spoke of the language barrier that sometimes occurred between students and teaching assistants, and his plan to make these issues known.
“A simple conversation could resolve the situation. It’s a problem that should be handled before the TA reaches the classroom,” he said.
Presidential candidate Dallas Phillips said that he was in some respects, much like his competitors.
“All three of us share the same reason for running. All of us have a desire to serve the student body,” he said. Phillips said that one trait makes him stand apart from the others.
“I’m a regular student. But I am above average in one respect,” he said. “I strive to represent.”
Phillips said his primary goal as president would be to make student government more accessible to students, which he would accomplish with extended office hours. He said this will help to put the focus on the students, which he said has not always been the case.
“In the past, presidents have worked for the administration and themselves. I want to change this. I want to work for the students,” he said.
Chris Hill, O’Brien’s running mate, said that coming into a position with a set agenda is not always the best plan.
“Vision is a good course. But what better way to serve the students than to ask them what they want,” Hill said.
Hill said he intended to find this out by meeting with every student club.
“By doing this I will best be able to serve the student body. If I don’t do this I will be leading with just one view,” he said.
Also running for vice president is Brigham McNaughton, who shares the ticket with Young. McNaughton said his role as vice president would be to lobby for students, not to push his own agenda.
“I don’t have a platform,” he said. “What I hear too often is that vice presidents ram agendas down senator’s throats. When it comes to the senate floor, I’m going to be neutral.”
Vice presidential candidate Patrick O’Shaughnessy said he understands that the main purpose of the student government vice president is to run the student senate. O’Shaughnessy said that his leadership skills, as well as his knowledge of Robert’s Rules of Order, would improve the efficiency of the senate.
“I know Robert’s Rules inside and out. I want to run meetings effectively so we can get things done,” he said.
O’Shaughnessy said he hoped to educate all senators about these rules.
“Every senator coming in has to be prepared,” he said.
On several occasions, the fact that all candidates but one were Greek was mentioned by several current senators. Kate O’Brien said that this fact did not make a candidate, or group bias towards Greek organizations.
“Greek Life is not the only hat I wear,” she said.
Dallas Phillips said that while he was Greek, he would still be just as available to other students.
“I’m not just a Beta,” he said. “It’s about being accessible to everyone and not just focusing on one aspect.”
Chris Hill, the only candidate who is not Greek, said that this was not an issue that would have negative effects on the elections.
“It’s not Greeks versus non-Greeks. We’re all students and we all want to serve,” he said. “If you look at the six of us, we’ve all said similar things. I think whoever is elected Student Government will be well off.”
