Student Body Officer candidates shared their platforms at a debate Wednesday in Marty Theater in preparation for the upcoming election in front of a crowd of about 40 students.
The Student Senate election subcommittee members asked questions of candidates running for President of the Student Body, Speaker of the Assembly, Secretary of the Finances and Secretary of the Assembly.
Junior mechanical engineering major Ashley Borja and freshman criminal justice major Allie Hoffman started the debate as contenders for Secretary of the Assembly.
Borja said her biggest goal is to improve communication within Student Senate as well as with the student body.
“As a member outside of [Student] Senate, I really had no idea what was going on within [Student] Senate,” Borja said, listing this as an issue she hopes to address if elected.
Hoffman said she believes one of the jobs of the secretary is to promote student participation with Senate and on campus.
“In this coming year, changes that I would like to see is more student involvement,” Hoffman said.
Speaker of the Assembly candidates sophomore political science and public relations double major Charles Cohen, sophomore political science major Olga Krapivner and junior psychology and Spanish double major Sojourner White, with Brianna Williams as her proxy due to her semester abroad, responded to questions such as how to fill Senate seats.
Cohen said though he thinks it is extremely important to fill the seats, he believes it is more about finding senators who represent the student body.
“Anybody can sit in a meeting, [so] it’s about finding quality individuals that have something to say and who represent the students of Bradley,” Cohen said.
Krapivner said she believes communication is key in filling seats.
“We need to show people this is what Senate does,” Krapivner said. “It’s a great organization, [and] it involves so much more than what people think.”
White’s proxy said White thinks people come to an organization to get involved, but they stay because of the people they meet. So, White suggests having mixers and events outside of the general assembly meetings to make senators seem more approachable.
Sophomore construction major Brian Ivancich and senior political science and accounting double major Hunter Vaughn discussed potential terms as Secretary of the Finances.
When distributing funding, Ivancich said he will look at past funds and take things on a case-by-case basis, while Vaughn said he thinks the process is a collaborative effort between officers, in cooperation with the history of funding.
Presidential candidate responses from Jason Blumenthal, a junior political science and economics double major, and Sarah Handler, a junior industrial engineering major, concluded the debate.
As an incumbent candidate, Blumenthal said if reelected, he expects to see a decision on setting a tuition freeze, the establishment of a three-year plan to improve campus Internet services and the building of relationships with new administration.
“Those are three things I would like to accomplish, but if they need to be changed to meet student needs, that’s what we’ll do,” Blumenthal said.
Handler said the changes she would like to see, if elected, include strengthening campus sustainability as well as increasing diversity within student organizations. She also said she would like to see more people passionate about Student Senate.
“The main thing I would love to see is for this campus to be more inclusive,” Handler said. “I would love to see events having diverse membership as well as attendance.”
Voting opens April 6 and 7 in the Student Center, via the Brave Life app or online. Winners will be announced in the Student Center Atrium at 5 p.m. April 8.
