Students and faculty gathered for the first two-ticket student presidential debate in four years. Current Vice President Sam Consiglio and Director of University Activities Zach Jacobson are at odds with Director of Intergovernmental Affairs Mae Bean and Director of Academic Affairs Colin Rafter.
The April 10 debate was moderated by MP Luke Mandoli, who set the rules for the afternoon. Before the questions began, each candidate introduced themselves. For each question, each ticket gave his one-minute answer, then left room for a one-minute rebuttal and a thirty-second answer.
The debate began with an opening statement on Consiglio Jacobson's ticket. Mr. Consiglio described his own experiences as vice president and senator. She talked about how she hopes to “help strengthen student resources” and “get students where they want to be.”
The Bean Rafter ticket discussed the importance of “visibility” and said he wanted to elevate the voices of students of color without tokenizing them.
“I'm not doing this job because I want the title of president. I'm doing this to be a beacon of hope for students who are considering giving up on higher education,” Bean said. . “I’m doing this for the future of our campus.”
The parties reviewed their foundations and foundations. Consiglio defined the goal as “creating a campus community.”
“Our goal is to reflect this on our student body to ensure a welcoming, inviting and inclusive place on campus,” Consiglio said.
One discussion that keeps coming up is experience. Mr. Consiglio spoke about his role as vice president and Mr. Bean spoke about his efforts as an IGA board member.
Questions will include how we plan to work with the administration, how fee segregation promotes equity and inclusion, on- and off-campus housing, how we will involve students in the conversation, and how we plan to work with the board. We discussed a wide range of topics, including how we should work together.
Consiglio Jacobson's ticket listed her involvement in financial matters, having served on the Finance Committee throughout her three years at the university.
One of the key issues discussed was diversity, following a decision by the UW System Board of Governors. deal with state legislatures Lift employee pay raises and rebuild equity, diversity, and inclusion programs at system campuses.
One specific item Beane brought up was Resolution 67-R-7, which expressed support for transgender athletes and students after Wisconsin passed it. anti-trans athlete law.
Consiglio and Jacobson said the community is their main driver. They both outlined how important student participation is.
“One of our main pillars is to ensure that all spaces on campus are welcoming, inclusive and equitable for students. We really want to be a resource to encourage policies that make spaces more accessible, inclusive and equitable,” Consiglio said.
Both tickets were focused on reaching students. After Mr. Mandoli's discussion questions, the audience also had the opportunity to ask questions. An audience member asked how the Senate could be made more accessible to all students.
“The idea of the engagement gap. I think many of us at this university are very engaged, but there are also people who are barely engaged at this university. I think it's about making sure we reach out to the community. Everything,” Jacobson said.
Both camps valued student participation and mentioned it in their closing remarks.
“We need to make sure we bring voices to the table that aren’t currently there and get a full picture of student senate,” Consiglio said.
“There are two of us. So we reach out to our students, and we continue to reach out to our students, elected and unelected, to learn about student issues, what students care about, and We're going to ask how we can realistically and thoroughly resolve this issue,” Rafter said.
Voting for the Senate election will take place from April 15-17.
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