In front of about 30 students at Norris University Center on Tuesday night, candidates in the upcoming Associated Student Government elections debated campus issues in a sometimes sincere, sometimes tongue-in-cheek affair.
The first debate of the evening was between Weinberg junior Leah Witt and Weinberg junior Adi Shankar, who are running for student services vice president.
The second debate was between McCormick sophomore Anna Xu, Communication junior Jordan Fox and Weinberg junior Josiah Jenkins, who are all running for academic vice president.
All the candidates answered predetermined questions and audience questions. At times, they were asked to discuss specific issues such as campus safety or ASG’s flaws, while other questions included how to multiply 99 by 99 and to list all the Supreme Court justices.
Jenkins, who continually elicited laughter from the audience, discussed his plans to create a dinosaur research cloning facility on Lake Michigan, a world-class home economics department, self-transcripts for students and a new class-registration program called “Brutus.”
“Is this the ASG election thing?” a latecomer quietly asked, unsure from Jenkins’ discussion on stage.
The other AVP candidates emphasized improving the Academic Committee’s relations with administrators so they would accept the committee’s proposals.
Xu said her plans included creating an extended break from Thanksgiving through Christmas. She pointed out that candidates like Jenkins undermined ASG’s credibility.
“There are a lot of students out there who don’t take ASG very seriously,” she said.
Fox said she wanted to improve interschool relations within NU and honor Martin Luther King Jr. Day with a full day of cancelled classes and relevant programming.
Xu’s plans, such as the idea of an extended Winter Break, were too ambitious, Fox said.
“I think it’s going to take a lot more time and a lot more lobbying and a lot more research,” she said. “We’re fighting for one day off, so it’s a lot to swallow.”
The SSVP debate also focused on the ability of the committee to implement its plans.
“Right now Student Services is a think tank,” Shankar said. “I’m going to change Student Services to a think tank that gets its ideas imposed.”
Witt said improving dorm safety was her top priority, noting that the committee was already “very close” to getting security cameras for dorms.
Reach Nitesh Srivastava at [email protected].
