The five pairs of Student Government presidential and vice presidential-candidates gathered in the TigerTV Studio on the eve of the SG elections for their final debate.Supporting their preferred candidates and providing audience questions, nearly 100 students gathered to view the final debate, which promised to answer students’ final questions before voting opens on PAWS today.The debate will be reaired on TigerTV, campus channel 75, at various times throughout the day.Moderator Amy Vitrano, TigerTV station manager, asked each pair of candidates questions about transparency and sustainability after they introduced themselves via a previously taped segment.The candidates were then given the opportunity to answer students’ questions submitted through TigerTV’s e-mail account. The initial question concerned the $45 million in budget cuts the University is facing.Subsequent questions discussed the ways the losing candidates would work with the future SG president and vice president, how the candidates plan to promote athletics and what differentiates them from candidates in past years.The Make it Reign ticket, composed of mass communication students Jeffrey Noel and Ryan Ginn, pushed three major proponents of their campaign throughout the debate — the efficient and effective use of money, communication and their lack of a push card.”We’re not going to set important issues now,” Noel said of his ticket’s approach. “We’re going to do the small stuff.”The More ’09 ticket, led by human resource leadership development junior Stuart Watkins and mass communication junior Martina Scheuermann, is a ticket running on a green premise. Issues they pushed during the debate included the goal of cutting “frivolous spending,” their previous student leadership positions and the quality of other candidates running on their ticket.”Get us elected … and we’re ready to fulfill our duties,” Stuart said, adding the candidates backing him are “people that are going to think and act responsibly throughout the year.”The One Voice ticket is fronted by College of Business Sen. Greg Upton and SG Executive Director Laura Boggs. Boggs was not present for the first half of the debate. The pair pushed the viability of the options on their push card and their economic prowess.”As an economics major, I’ve been working with economists here at LSU,” Upton said. “The most important issue facing LSU this year is the budget crisis … Our campaign is the only campaign that has actually come up with a solution.”The Next Level campaign, led by University Center for Advising and Counseling Sen. Andy Palermo and Phoebe Hathorn, SG assistant director of finance, pushed their extensive experience in SG, plans to cut “frivolous spending” and their intent to reform dead week.”With this current economic climate, we need to be the solution and not the problem,”         Palermo said. “We need someone that has the experience … We need somebody that’s going to represent SG to the best of its ability.”Unity ’09 is led by Ari Krupkin, political science senior, and Melanie Oubre, mass communication sophomore. They pushed their leadership experience in organizations outside of SG and their intent to unify the campus.”We are working to make sure that you are informed,” Krupkin said. “[We want to] make sure that everyone on this campus can come together in the best ways possible … That’s what we’re about.”–Contact Lindsey Meaux at [email protected]