Presidential candidate Lee Cooper '09 said he would make Student Assembly more representative by incorporating the Committee on Student Organization into the Assembly. He added he was already exploring this idea with the president of COSO.
His opponent, Molly Bode '09, questioned how Cooper would be able to accomplish COSO reform. She said that her plan to change the Assembly's status on campus would include running advertisements in The Dartmouth to "increase accessibility" and holding Assembly office hours in common places on campus.
"I don't see Travis sitting in Collis or FoCo," she said, referring to Travis Green '08, the current Assembly president.
A primary point of discussion was the dual issue of social space and Greek life at Dartmouth.
As vice president of the Assembly's student life committee, Bode said she helped organize the College's first alternative space party and is involved in determining how to best use the five additional houses the College purchased this winter.
Cooper, however, called the Cutter-Shabazz alternative-space party a "failure" and said he believed that the next alternative space party, approved at last Thursday's General Assembly meeting, would likely prove no different.
Cooper said he believes that Dartmouth's Greek life is very inclusive, but said that, as Assembly president, he would work to encourage all students to plan and attend alternative space parties.
Bode and Cooper also fielded questions from the audience about their different levels of commitment to the Assembly.
Bode stated she is a dedicated member of the Assembly and has been vice president of various Assembly committees.
"I don't do classes," Bode said. "Student life and student concerns are the biggest issues in my life right now."
Cooper said he rejoined the Assembly after a year of absence in an attempt to bring about real change.
"First, I have the interest, and second, out of circumstances, I'd be exceptionally excited to serve because of the problems that we are facing," he said. "There's a need for more institutionalized change."
Vice-presidential candidates Miesha Smith '09, Nafeesa Remtilla '09, Taylor Stevenson '10, and Chuck Zodda '10 discussed the role of the vice president in the Assembly and why they would be the most able to fulfill this position.
"The vice president's role is to make sure that they are behind the scenes, and I'm willing to do that," Remtilla said.
Smith -- who participated via a conference phone from Washington, D.C., where she is participating in a Foreign Study Program -- said that she has worked with both presidential candidates in the past.
She added that she would like to "make sure the General Assembly and the entire student body stay in touch."
Zodda expressed similar ideas, saying he would "get the student body more involved so that we can know what it needs."
Stevenson, however, said that he believes the entire dynamic of the Assembly should be reassessed.
"The traditional role is ineffective. We need to move beyond the traditional role," he said. "We [the students] are the heart, we are the soul, we are the body of this campus. If anyone should have the reins of power it should be us."
The vice-presidential candidates also described how they would increase student respect for the Assembly.
Remtilla said she would work to connect a diverse array of student groups to the Assembly.
"I have to connect with people on a personal level to get people excited about [the Assembly]," she said.
The main problem is that students are not aware of what the Assembly is doing, Zodda said.
"I think that activities in the Assembly need to be published in The [Dartmouth] so people know what's going on," he said.
The Assembly needs to address both small and large-scale issues on campus in order to give students what they want, Smith said.
Stevenson, again, offered a different opinion, stating that the reason why the Assembly is not respected is because it does not have the power to evoke change. He added that, if elected, he would work to give the Assembly more influence on campus.
"My goals are lofty, but at least I'm willing to fight for what is right as opposed to what is easy," he said.
The next debate will be on Thursday night at Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity.
