Budgetary concerns and alumni governance issues were among the topics discussed Monday night at the first student body presidential debate. Candidates Boyd Lever '10, John Nolan '10 and Frances Vernon '10 discussed the issues before a packed Tindle Lounge audience at the first Student Assembly debate in recent history to be sponsored by The Dartmouth.
The debate was split between questions written by The Dartmouth's Editorial Board and those submitted by students. Candidates were given the opportunity to respond to one another at the discretion of the moderator, executive editor of The Dartmouth William Schpero '10.
Several of the student questions addressed the effects of the College's budget cuts on various aspects of student life.
"What I'm proposing Student Assembly does is tighten its own budget," Nolan said.
The Assembly budget should be reduced by $10,000 to allow the funding to be allocated to other organizations under the Undergraduate Finance Committee, Nolan said.
Lever suggested a more "streamlined application process" for funding coupled with a governing council to oversee the various organizations under the UFC in order to allocate funds more efficiently. He said he hopes to "make sure that no communities are disproportionately affected by the budget cuts."
Citing the student body president's traditional role as UFC chair, Vernon said she would work with the UFC to reduce the budgets of each of the seven organizations it funds. Vernon said she would require student groups to submit detailed budget proposals to the UFC to increase accountability and transparency.
The candidates also answered questions about the Association of Alumni's 2007 lawsuit against the College, which stemmed from the Board of Trustees' decision to end the balance between the number of Board-selected and alumni-elected members.
"[The Board of Trustees] didn't warrant the charges brought against them," Nolan said,
Vernon said she also did not support the lawsuit.
"I think in general that the affairs of the alumni should not affect what happens to our undergraduate student experience," Vernon said.
Lever said that he was not familiar enough with the details of the case to comment on the legal action.
In response to a follow-up question about the Board's decision not to reappoint Todd Zywicki '88 for a second term as an alumni-elected trustee, Vernon said she would work to include a student representative on the Board, part of her 10-point strategic plan. She cited the service of Student Body President Molly Bode '09 as a member of the presidential search committee as a positive step in this direction, saying that the committee benefited from a student voice.
Nolan disagreed with Vernon's proposal to have a student representative.
Various candidates in the 2008 vice presidential election and the 1998 presidential election made this suggestion, as reported previously by The Dartmouth.
"I don't think that students need a voice on the Board of Trustees," he said, adding later, "If we're going to add Dartmouth undergraduates [to the Board], graduate students are going to want a voice next."
When candidates were asked how they would help make the campus more accessible to students with disabilities, Lever cautioned against taking "overzealous" measures that might not be financially sound.
Nolan responded by saying that many buildings' outdated architecture made them inaccessible to people in wheelchairs.
"As the Dartmouth College campus we can't say, 'Sorry, it's a budget problem, we can't accommodate you,'" he said.
Vernon said she would work with the Assembly's current task force evaluating disabilities to address the problem.
Candidates were also asked in a video question to discuss ways to increase student attendance at College sporting events and participation in athletics.
Vernon and Nolan both mentioned club sports as a way to make athletics more generally accessible for students.
Lever suggested that organizations like the Interfraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council could provide incentives to their members to attend events.
Monday also the withdrawl of Rob Hoffman '10 from the vice presidential race.
The original version of this article incorrectly stated that candidates in the 2000 contest for student body president raised the issue of a student member of the Board of Trustees. In fact, that issue was raised by candidates in the 1998 election.
