Editor’s note: Candidates are listed in alphabetical order by presidential candidates’ last name.
Student Government presidential and vice presidential candidates answered a series of questions Tuesday night during the Diversity Debate hosted by the Black Student Union while more than 100 students listened.
The questions centered on diversity topics like students with disabilities, the LGBTQ community and minority funding.
When asked about how to raise awareness about sexual violence on campus, Renew LSU’s presidential candidate Bat Brunner mentioned his initiative to update emergency call boxes.
He said moving the boxes to darker areas on campus would “reduce the amount of sexual offenses and crime in general.”
Taylor Cox, Be Heard’s presidential candidate, suggested bringing preventive sexual violence information to classrooms, sororities and fraternities to reduce crime.
“I hope as a Student Government we can only promote for women and the gentlemen on campus to be more proactive,” Cox said.
The candidates also discussed how they would fund minority groups without taking away funding from other organizations.
“Landon [Hester] and I would like to represent LSU as a whole. We want to fight budget cuts to our last breath,” said Kristina Lagasse, Your LSU’s vice presidential candidate.
Joseph Hollins, the R.E.A.L. Campaign’s vice presidential candidate, said he would help minority groups by finding outside funding rather than taking from other organizations.
All vice presidential candidates were asked if they had any initiatives dealing directly with the LGBTQ community.
“We want to make everyone feel more comfortable and feel safe and secure,” said Madeleine Davis, vice presidential candidate for Renew LSU. She did not say whether or not Renew LSU had an initiative directly intended for the LGBTQ community.
Carrie Hebert of Be Heard mentioned her initiative to establish a “Diversity Advisory Board.” The board will include members from the LGBTQ community, she said.
Lagasse said she wants to connect campus through “an open line of communication.” She did not clarify whether Your LSU did or did not have a direct initiative for the LGBTQ community.
Joseph Hollins responded that, though the R.E.A.L. Campaign does not have any direct initiatives for the LGBTQ community, he and his brother, presidential candidate Joshua Hollins, want “more cohesion” on campus and in SG.
Though it isn’t on his pushcard, Your LSU’s presidential candidate Landon Hester said he would like to have an LGBTQ representative on his cabinet.
The vice presidential candidates also discussed what creative events SG could hold to “create more cohesiveness amongst the student population.”
Hebert mentioned their Tiger Nights initiative. The monthly event would show a movie or host a guest speaker, she said. Hebert also mentioned an ongoing SG service project. “If we’re all making LSU a better place, it’s for the better of the community,” she said.
Davis criticized the current SG for not getting outside students involved. She has never been affiliated with SG. “I have realized how it looks on the outside,” she said. “The reason why so many students aren’t involved in SG is because they feel like it’s an elite circle. … If I were to be elected vice president, I think it would be very informative to have an open-door policy.”
The last question of the night asked each candidate to select which of their opponent’s initiative was the most unfeasible.
Cox questioned Your LSU’s bike share initiative. He said SG has already been told it would be too costly to put into effect.
Brunner also confronted Your LSU and its phone and laptop super chargers initiative. He said the super chargers have already been paid for.
Hester rebutted Brunner and said he would bring more super chargers across campus. His running mate Lagasse said she thought the wording of some Scantron initiatives was misleading.
Joshua Hollins said he did not like the generalizations of all of his opponents. He said he would like to see concrete solutions.
“How you going to do it? Not generalizations, but real solutions for real problems for real students,” he said. The next SG debate will be Thursday at 6 p.m. in the LSU Student Union Live Oak Lounge.
 
____ Contact Danielle Kelley at [email protected]