The 2009 debate for the upcoming student body presidential and vice presidential elections, put on by the EDC (the Elections and Disputes Committee) was held at 6:30pm in the Johnson Center Atrium.

The four campaigns running for office include Anthony DiCarlo and Krista Muse, Josh St. Louis and Amanda Johnson, Dev Dasgupta and Tyler King, and Kyle McDaniel and Jillian Ferron.

The candidates, along with their vice presidents, answered a series of predetermined questions related to eight main topics–Mason culture, food, finance, student activities, parking and construction, security, the environment, and a miscellaneous category.

Each campaign was allowed five minutes for introductions and campaign statements, three minutes to answer each question presented to them, and four minutes for closing remarks.

The campaign platforms are mainly centered around helping and working for the student body. McDaniel’s campaign is not necessarily running on the basis of change. “I’m not running because I’m proposing to radically change everything,” McDaniel said in his closing remarks. “I want to do whatever it takes to help students.”

DiCarlo and Muise echoed the sentiment. “I’m in student government not for my own personal gains, but because I definitely and honestly want to help the students,” said DiCarlo. Their campaign offered concrete plans for issues such as student activities on the weekends, meal plan selections, making housing more affordable, and better communication with Parking Services.

St. Louis and Johnson feel that the current student government is “out of touch and doesn’t do what the average student wants,” as he noted in his opening statement. Johnson agreed. “Josh and I have the same vision…a student government working to serve every student.” St. Louis’ plans mainly include polling students to find out their interests.

Desgupta and King based their campaign on three specific principles: transparency, outreach, and action. “What we need is a leader who will represent diverse interests and take pride in being president of the number one up-and-coming university in America,” Desgupta said. He is pushing for a new website that would both streamline and consolidate student activities and events so that the student body is more aware of campus happenings.

A full recap of tonight’s debate will appear in Monday’s issue of the Broadside.

By Hayley Roder
Broadside Staff Writer

Posted on April 3rd, 2009 by Aram Zucker-Scharff
Filed under: Mason Learns, Top Stories