Candidates for the upcoming Student Government presidential election set aside their campaign paraphernalia and discussed their platforms at a debate Thursday night.
Less than a week before the elections the four candidates — Jay Buller, Travis LeBlanc, Allen Richey and Kyle Wilkinson — squared off at the African American Cultural Center to get their views and issues across.
Each candidate started with a three-minute opening statement, then fielded questions from a media panel comprised of Student Media leaders.
Candidates were each asked to state what their No. 1 concern on campus was.
“Our main issue will be focused on revitalizing Student Government, not being the status quo Student Government,” Wilkison said.
Wilkinson added that transportation is a major problem. He thinks there is enough parking, but parking is just in bad spots. The University should implement a trolley system that will pick students up in parking lots and take them closer to the center of campus.
Richey said the direction of the campus is a big issue. The Master Plan will drastically shape the campus, and still too many questions remain regarding the plan and those questions need to be answered.
Buller thinks student safety is a primary concern and especially safety off campus. He would like to put a directory together with safety features for all apartments around campus. The directory will give students an idea of what each apartment offers for safety and would pressure those apartments who are lacking in safety measures to upgrade equipment.
“I believe it is extremely easy for us to look at apartment complexes off campus and ask them a simple list of safety questions,” Buller said.
LeBlanc’s No. 1 concern is student involvement in SG. He thinks that right now students just don’t care about SG and want an “ordinary students” voice in government.
The ongoing threat of the serial killer was a hot topic and safety was a major concern.
LeBlanc thinks Student Government can do nothing about the current serial killer issue and said the other candidates’ stance on safety has turned it into a political issue.
“I felt Student Government couldn’t do it. Administratively it could not be done; it’s something the police serial task force needs to handle,” LeBlanc said on his omission of a safety topic on his ticket.
“Eye of the Tiger” is a safety program that Wilkinson wants to implement. The program will employ students to drive around campus and look for suspicious behavior.
Richey could not make a promise on safety because he thinks it would be a promise his campaign could not keep.
After candidates answered questions from the media panel and student audience, they were given an opportunity to ask one other candidate a question.
Wilkinson’s question to Richey involved his opinion that Richey is running on issues from previous campaigns, in particular, former SG President Patrick McCune.
Richey responded by saying some issues have been mentioned before in SG, but were never completed by previous presidents.
“That is untrue. I looked at [Richey’s] ticket and some are continuations of things not accomplished, but 80 percent of the ideas are new and the other 20 percent are continuations,” McCune said.
The election takes place Wednesday and polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.