Though most candidates stuck to their prepared platforms, candidate Travis Green '08 took a slightly different approach, using his closing statement to criticize the politicized nature of the contest and painting himself as above the infighting that he says characterizes the Assembly.
"I'm sick and tired of watching people play games to win this election," Green said. "I'm tired of hearing the same sh*t from candidates."
After answering several broad questions formulated by EPAC, candidates were given the opportunity to pose questions to one another. This forum led to a few moments of tension as candidates sought to discredit the platforms of their opponents.
Nova Robinson '08 challenged her opponents to clearly outline their plans to implement proposed reform, while Carlos Mejia '08 asked Green to delineate his most important Assembly accomplishment with respect to diversity.
Raj Koganti '08, for his part, used his question to ask fellow candidate Jaromy Siporen '08 to identify the candidate whom he would vote for were he himself not seeking the presidency. Siporen chose to endorse Koganti.
The debate also gave vice presidential candidates Nathan Bruschi '10, David Nachman '09 and Ian Tapu '08 the first chance to publicly outline their plans.
Pointing to his previous experience on the Assembly, Nachman stressed the need for the Assembly to work with the Student Governance Review Task Force, a group convened in response to this winter's controversy over the efficacy of student government.
"We need to be ready to be a strong partner that's going to be ready to help them," Nachman said.
Bruschi highlighted his work as Assembly secretary, a role he assumed after Nachman resigned the position during winter term. Bruschi pointed to changes he has made during his tenure -- including more efficient maintenance of Assembly attendance records and the placement of legislation on the Assembly's blog.
When the floor was opened for questions from the audience, Bruschi, who is a columnist for The Dartmouth, came under fire for his editorial pieces, which audience member Alessandra Necamp '09 claimed have divided campus.
Many of Tapu's campaign planks echoed those enumerated by Green, who has acted as his "running mate" throughout the campaign. At one point during Sunday's debate Bruschi accidentally addressed Tapu as Green.
Tapu, the sole Assembly outsider among the vice presidential candidates, stressed the need to create trust in the Assembly among the student body.
"Right now no one cares about [Student Assembly], as you can see by the number of people in this room," Tapu said.
