Throngs of Auburn students proudly wearing matching T-shirts and campaign buttons bearing slogans filled the Foy ballroom for the Student Government Association candidate debates Sunday, Feb. 17.
Students turned out to not only support their candidates, but to hear candidates for SGA president, vice president and treasurer answer questions about their platforms.
The event began with speeches from candidates for Miss Auburn before progressing to debates between candidates for SGA treasurer, vice president and finally president.
SGA president candidates Harrison Mills, Chelsea Crooks and Eric Savage answered questions on a variety of platform topics, including transportation, dining, academics and student life.
All three presidential candidates agreed that campus dining needs to move in a different direction.
"We need to move toward cafeteria style dining and away from fast food," Crooks said.
Mills suggested moving to a system that places more emphasis on swipes or number of meals eaten and away from a dollar value system.
Candidates also suggested that healthier options, including fresh groceries, should be a priority for campus dining moving forward.
Transportation was also an area in need of reform, according to Savage.
"The Opelika ride time can be as much as 30-40 minutes. This is not feasible," Savage said.
Proposed solutions to this problem included utilizing data that are collected on transit riders and eliminating underutilized stops.
Candidates also used the debates as an opportunity to express what motivates them to run for a SGA position and to urge students to vote.
"I want to work for you," Savage said in reference to Auburn students.
"I'm ready to address problems of all Auburn students," Crooks said.
"Say hey for a better Auburn University," Mills said.
Sunday night's debates started with questions directed at Wilson Yeilding and Will McManus, candidates for SGA treasurer
Yeilding stressed the importance of willing partnership with companies Auburn currently has relationships with, such as Verizon, and making financial resources available in a more timely fashion for smaller organizations.
Mcmanus emphasized the need for SGA treasurer to be well-informed and capable of answering questions about the budget to ensure greater transparency, as well as his experience with treasury.
When asked about the potentially intimidating task of managing SGA's considerable budget, Mcmanus said he had previously managed a million-dollar budget and would be working with considerably less if he were to be elected.
Both candidates also said appropriate use of funds and good budget planning are important.
"We need to make sure organizations are spending money in the right way," Yeilding said.
The debates then focused on the three candidates for SGA vice president: Amy Anne Olsen, Cody Sanders and Wesley Clendinen.
All candidates stressed the importance of SGA connecting with the student body.
"I'm not running for SGA vice president," Sanders said. "I'm running for student body vice president."
"Students don't know what's going on with SGA," Clendinen said. He said this is a problem he aims to fix.
SGA vice president presides over the Auburn University Student Senate, and each candidate addressed the complexities of this job.
Olsen said a candidate must be fully dedicated to the senate.
"I see the senate becoming what it was in the '80s and '90s," Clendinen said, hopeful the Senate will be a more prominent factor in student life as it was in the past.
Sanders also mentioned the importance of the Senate, but expressed the opinion that the Senate will be more streamlined in the future and demand less attention.
Sanders also suggested he would like to see the end of Auburn's $100 fee to drop classes.
All candidates for all positions mentioned the importance of one key concept, and that is that Auburn students vote in the upcoming election.
Voting will take place Tuesday, Feb. 19.
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