The Student Government presidential and vice-presidential candidates debated multicultural issues on Wednesday ahead of the election.

Each group began by briefly re-introducing themselves before answering the first question about inclusivity on campus.

The Together ticket, Darion Frazier and Bellamia Miceli, believe they are already demonstrating inclusivity in their politics by listening to student voices. 

When their Unity Field policy was met with some push back from students, the duo took action to meet with students and understand all perspectives of the issue.

“Inclusivity means being here right now, taking the time to hear what you guys have to say,” Frazier said. “We sat down, and we had a conversation and understood why many people had an issue with [re-opening Unity Field].”

Their campaign promises to listen and communicate with all student voices so they can work towards a more inclusive campus.

Jack Miller, of the Rooted campaign, believes the key to inclusivity on campus is protecting caucuses. 

Miller and his vice-presidential candidate, Sydney Hebert, have seen firsthand how SG caucuses give a voice to minority students, but they have also watched as these caucuses have been disregarded or pushed to the side.

“[The Asian] caucus isn’t active [anymore]. This is something that we would want to ensure that we bring back,” Miller said. “Because creating these caucuses and these organizations is one thing, ensuring their success for the long term is what’s more important to us.”

If elected, the pair plans to put more time, energy and funding into keeping these caucuses running. They want to give every student on campus a voice in SG.

“The more funding that is put into these positions, into these caucasus, the bigger the table can be. And the bigger the table can be, the more voices that can be heard,” Hebert said.

The Heart ticket said inclusivity means supporting minority spaces and marginalized communities even in the face of adversity. 

Presidential candidate Tyler Holliway pointed out that DEI regulations have restricted the funding of many minority organizations on campus. 

She and her running mate, Gabreyla Gonzalez, promise to support these organizations and ensure every student feels represented despite challenges from the state government.

“The Heart ticket has every single ethnicity within our campaign… [we have] every single voice that you can imagine within our campaign. Every voice that is considered DEI is in our campaign,” Holliway said.

Benjamin Barousse of the Home ticket emphasized the need for a president’s cabinet. He believes that by giving students from diverse backgrounds a seat at the table, his administration would create a more inclusive environment where more voices could be heard.

His vice-presidential candidate, Anna Katherine Harrell pointed out how important it is for SG to have a diverse group of leaders.

“If you’re not surrounding yourself with different perspectives other than your own, then there will be no change,” Harrell said.

The crawFISH ticket believes that every student’s voice matters. Presidential candidate Gerald Lê said he will do everything in his power to create an environment where students feel seen and heard.

“At the end of the day, we are all equal,” Lê said. “I’ll try to include all my peers and all the students here at LSU.”

Representatives from the International Student Association, Black Student Union, Latin American Student Organization, Asian Student Union and the Black Caucus each asked questions about inclusion for minority students on campus.

All of the candidates reiterated their policies and spoke on the importance of including marginalized voices.

Barousse and Holliway said they want to make sure international students feel welcome and seen on campus with the Heart campaign. They proposed a Global Tiger Spotlight, in which the stories of international students could be highlighted and shared across campus.

Meanwhile, Lê and Frazier both said they understand the experiences of international students. Lê is an international student from Vietnam and Frazier has worked with international students on the Together campaign.

The Rooted ticket pointed out that food insecurity can be a major issue for international students and proposed a food-based scholarship that would operate similar to Paw Points.

The Black Student Union and Black Caucus both asked the candidates how they plan to ensure historically underrepresented communities receive equitable funding and visibility. 

They also asked how the candidates plan to navigate state legislation that aims to restrict those communities.

All of the candidates agreed that the key to solving issues of representation is through communication and collaboration. 

Holliway elaborated by saying she wants to work with more students to get their voices into SG by making it easier to join.

The Rooted campaign plans to combat representation issues by creating a special multicultural fund for minority organizations.

The Latin American Student Organization brought up the difficulties that first-generation students face and asked the candidates how they would respond to these challenges.

Lê suggested more social events to make first-generation students feel more welcome. Miller and Hebert agreed that social events could be welcoming, but the pair also proposed moving the Tower Drive Club Crawl to the beginning of the spring semester instead of the fall semester to not overwhelm first-generation students.

Both the Home ticket and the Heart ticket said they would focus on helping students overcome language barriers because that is often a major challenge for Latin American students at LSU. Gonzalez proposed collaborating with more ESL programs or the Spanish department.

The Together campaign believes the key is connection within Student Government. Frazier says he and his team can make first-generation students feel welcome through communication.

The Asian Student Union asked candidates what steps they planned to take to ensure Asian voices were included in SG decision making.

Lê, who is Asian, said he is passionate about making sure Asian voices are heard. 

The Together ticket emphasized that communication is the most important thing in ensuring student voices are heard.

Both the Heart ticket and the Rooted ticket said they want to reinstate the Asian caucus in SG.

Barousse and Harrell want to use the president’s cabinet to ensure that every ethnicity is represented, including students from Asian backgrounds. 

“If there’s no inclusivity in Student Government, then nothing can be done,” Harrell said. 

Student Government elections will be held March 19 and March 20.