USG candidates make last efforts in campaigning
March 9, 2009
Forum doesn’t produce answers
When Andrew Clark, vice president of College Democrats, and Max Harrington, vice president of PRIDE!Kent, planned a UN1TE forum for the Undergraduate Student Government candidates, they wanted to ask the candidates questions to make them think creatively and show their true personalities – not just recite USG by-laws.
| Students to vote
on referendum On today’s ballot, students can vote to approve four new senator positions. If approved, the positions, referred to as senators at-large, will replace senators for international students, non-traditional students, diversity and one of the two senator positions for off-campus and commuter students. Executive Director Jonathan Bey said the changes are necessary because he would like to give the senator positions more flexibility. Bey said the positions basically ended up doing odd jobs, so it would be more reasonable to put a broad title with the position. The changes will be shown and explained on the ballot which can found by clicking on the USG link on FlashLine. |
UN1TE, a group made up of members from College Democrats, PRIDE!Kent, Black United Students and Amnesty International, held the forum in the Student Center last night to learn more about the candidates and decide who will work best for them and their groups.
When it was clear after a few questions that candidates weren’t meeting UN1TE’s expectations, Dylan Sellers, a member of BUS and UN1TE and a mediator for the event, asked them to stand up and take a breath.
“Answer the next question in your own words, not what you would read on the Internet,” he said.
Sellers asked them to describe their position.
After this, the answers were livelier, but Clark said he still didn’t get the results he had hoped for, and he still has not made his decision about who he will vote for in today’s election.
“I still don’t know who I’m voting for,” Clark said. He said he was looking forward to hearing how the candidates define service to students and the university. “They took it as an opportunity to promote themselves rather than show us what kind of person they are and the message they embody.”
Clark said he is still undecided, not because all of the candidates are amazing, but rather because there is no one who sticks out as perfect for the job.
Although Clark said the forum wasn’t enough to help him make the big decision, Sellers said he knew exactly who he would be persuading his group to vote for.
“I definitely know who I am voting for now,” Sellers said. “Since we are having a mass meeting after the election, I will be sending out text messages, Facebook messages and personal e-mails about who I think would best benefit (BUS).”
Harrington said he will also attempt to get out the information to his organization about who he thinks will best represent the LGBT community and campus organizations.
Also in attendance were BUS President Ashley Tolliver, Kent Interhall Council President Avery Danage and members of PRIDE!Kent and College Republicans.
After the mediators finished grilling the candidates, Tolliver and Danage voiced their concerns about student involvement, an issue both the candidates and organizations would like to resolve with next years’ USG term.
Contact student politics reporter Melissa Dilley at [email protected].
