Undergraduate Student Senate held a candidate forum last night in the Rathskeller where candidates presented their platforms and fielded questions from students.

“If you vote for me, all of your wildest dreams will come true,” said Amy Groya, candidate for senator for university affairs.

That is, if your wildest dreams include more stadium buses and a better student orientation, Groya said.

Bill Ross, running unopposed for executive director, was asked if he thought he could fill current Executive Director Gary Broadbent’s shoes.

“As Gary has a size 10 and a half, and I have a size 13, I feel I will not be able to fit into Gary’s shoes,” Ross joked.

The audience consisted of about two dozen students and a video camera. Few students posed questions to the candidates, but several submitted questions to the moderator to be asked of those on stage.

Sunny Brick, who is running unopposed for senator for student relations, said she wants to better advertise Student Legal Services if she is elected.

“You probably paid $7 at the beginning of the semester, and you don’t know why,” Brick said.

Senator for research and development candidate Andrew Meeks told the audience he wants to organize student focus groups and open forums so he can hear students’ concerns and do something about them.

“I will be the ears and the voice of the students,” Meeks said.

He also plans to use surveys to gather information and assess student needs.

Dennis McCann and John McConnell, the two candidates for the governmental affairs position, presented opposing views on McCann’s idea to “streamline the scholarship process.”

“The way this world works, it’s easier to find a date online than it is to find a scholarship,” McCann said.

His solution is to create a service where students would submit a profile and would receive the name of scholarships for which they were eligible.

McConnell called this a waste of money in a time of budget constraints.

Ross Miltner, who is unopposed for the senator for community affairs position, offered several plans to improve the relationship between the city of Kent and university students.

Twelve of the 14 candidates attended the forum. Edward Anthony and Bryan Guffey did not attend. The moderator announced that Anthony was not able to attend because he was driving from New York.

Contact student politics report Jessica Rothschuh at [email protected].