A crowd of LSU students filled the Manship holiday forum Monday night for the student government election debate. Two tickets, Empower (John Michael Sweat and Sydney Smith) and Energize (Joseph Liberto and Amelia Carman), squared off, each contesting for the positions of President and Vice President.

Empower: Building Bridges, Expanding Opportunities

John Michael Sweat, the Empower candidate for president, wasted no time outlining his vision. 

“We’re about [our] four pillars, inclusivity, advocacy, community and transparency,” he said. “Our goal is to make students of any class of any age of any creed, into leaders and to develop them and their skills.” 

His running mate, Sydney Smith, said, “I believe that every student at LSU has an opportunity to become a leader, no matter where you come from. “We’re running to make sure that students have voices no matter what.”

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Energize: Fresh Faces, New Perspectives

Energize countered with a focus on their leadership and new ideas. 

“Our motto is a fresh faces and new perspectives” asserted Joseph Liberto, their presidential candidate. “We’re new people to this, and we really want to break that bubble.”  

Amelia Carman, his VP hopeful, added, “A lot of people have told me I’m a difference maker. . .Joe and I really want to make that change and bring about change on LSU’s campus”

Improvement in Student Government

The debate kicked off with questions about the main areas for improvement in student government. Both parties highlighted the need for an improved outreach and communication program for students.

“One of the chief concerns that we often get from students is that they genuinely have no idea what we’re doing,” Sweat said, “If we are able to bridge the gap between us and the students that don’t often see us, I think that it would be extremely beneficial.”

Carman concurred, saying, “I personally believe Student Government can be a little secluded with involvement. I think it’s important that people know how to get involved in student government.”

Goals and Remembrance

As the debate progressed, candidates were asked about their goals for their term in office and how they planned to be remembered.

Smith answered, “I was a Boy Scout so I’ve always lived by the code that we learned to leave LSU a better place than when we found it.”

Carman said she wanted to be known for more than just internal SG improvements and “as someone who focused on the student body as a whole, rather than improving student government.”

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Handling Disagreements in Student Government

Questions about handling disagreement within student government provoked thoughtful responses from both parties. Both candidates honed in on the importance of open dialogue and understanding differing perspectives. They highlighted the need for collaboration and compromise in addressing issues and making decisions that benefit the entire student body.

Liberto highlighted that members of SG all have a common goal: improving LSU. 

“We are all here, no matter the branch, to make LSU better [and] to improve LSU,” Liberto said.  

Sweat insisted that disagreements aren’t necessarily bad and can give us the chance to improve. In the case of a branch disagreement Sweat said he hopes to “find out, what is the difference? What’s wrong here? Can we rewrite something? Can we withdraw something, perhaps?” 

State Government Disagreements

That line of thought led the SG hopefuls to the next question: How would they handle a situation where LSU student government disagrees with Louisiana state government?

Sweat answered, “It largely depends on the specific issue and depends on the impact to the student body, but I believe in pushing back against administrators. . .I believe in pushing back against state officials.” 

Sweat noted that “obviously, if it harms us, then it’s maybe not a good idea to do certain things. But in certain circumstances where students need to be protected from the state government, it is our responsibility as students and as advocates to do that we need to push back against people who would harm us.”

Liberto said, “It all depends on the circumstance.”

“We have to remember that we are not a partisan party,” he added. “When we are talking to state legislatures I think it’s important that they poll the students.”

Representing Marginalized Groups

Next the candidates were asked: How will they ensure that all voices, especially those of marginalized groups, are heard and represented?

Carman emphasized the need for empathy and understanding in fostering inclusive representation.

 ”We can’t speak for everyone,” Carman said. “It’s important that we understand where they’re coming from and how they want to go about things because everyone needs to be advocated for, and everyone wants to be included as well.”

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Sweat focused on the necessity of providing marginalized populations with platforms to advocate for themselves. 

“It’s important to make sure that marginalized populations have a space within Student Government who wish to advocate for themselves,” he said.

Smith said, “It’s important that we stand by our commitments, so we’re committed to a diverse campaign and a diverse staff.” 

By engaging with students from a wide range of backgrounds and perspectives, the Empower campaign sought to create an environment where every voice is heard and valued. 

“We are not just John Micheal and Sydney, we are students,” Smith said. “We want our whole ticket and our whole school to be heard.”

The LSU spring 2024 elections will be held March 21-22.