During an hour complicated by faulty communications via cell phone, video conference and BlitzMail, candidates for student body president and student body vice president participated in their first debate of the campaign season in Collis 101 on Tuesday night. The debate, sponsored by Student Assembly and the Election Planning and Advisory Committee, followed the cancellation of both The Dartmouth's debate on Sunday and the Inter-Fraternity Council's debate scheduled for Monday.
Max Yoeli '12, the only presidential candidate on the ballot, and Amrita Sankar '12, a candidate for vice president, interacted via video conference with Aaron Limonthas '12, a write-in candidate for student body president who is off-campus this term. Frequent interruptions due to technical difficulties drew laughter and groans from the audience, and Limonthas, whose video stream was projected on a large screen behind Yoeli and Sankar, often struggled to follow the conversation.
Vice presidential candidate Brian Holekamp '12 could not attend the debate due to a lab for his physics class, Holekamp said in an interview with The Dartmouth.
Will Hix '12 was not invited to participate in the debate but was in attendance as an audience member. Hix is campaigning for student body president as a write-in candidate because his previous suspension from the College has made him ineligible to run for office according to EPAC rules.
During the debate, every candidate said he or she was dissatisfied with the Assembly's current level of contact with the rest of campus. Yoeli said there has been a "dual breakdown in communication" between the Assembly and both the student body and the College administration.
"It's our responsibility as leaders to communicate with the student body," Yoeli said.
Limonthas said he hopes to "eliminate the question of what does [the Assembly] do?'" by sending out regular emails to campus detailing the work of the Assembly a proposal that both Yoeli and Sankar agreed was a good idea. College administrators should bring all proposals that will affect student life to the Assembly in order to receive student input, "especially when it affects the students' pocketbooks," Limonthas said.
The debate also focused on diversity issues on campus, with both student body Vice President Brandon Aiono '11, the debate's moderator, and Limonthas asking Yoeli how he would address the concerns of minority groups as student body president. Yoeli said that although he does not have specific policy experience with diversity issues, he would reach out to experts on the topic from across campus and proactively address issues that have historically been ignored.
"I understand that minority groups won't come to [the Assembly] organically," Yoeli said. "The student body president needs to go to them physically, and sit down with the leadership and ask them what [the Assembly] can do for them."
When asked by an audience member what specific measures would be taken to address minority students' concerns, Sankar proposed to reinstate the practice of organizations sending a representative to Assembly meetings.
Toward the end of the debate, Aiono asked Limonthas how he could maintain the "degree of excellence expected" of him while off-campus if he were to assume the role of student body president later this term. Limonthas said he would remain flexible and make the necessary arrangements to be fully dedicated to the position.
When Yoeli stressed the importance of a newly-elected president being on campus, Limonthas said he would come to campus for the remainder of the term if elected.
Aiono also questioned Sankar about the circumstances of her candidacy, asking her why she decided to run for vice president rather than student body president as she had originally intended.
Sankar said she had the longest record of Assembly involvement compared to the other candidates, which made her more suited to the vice presidential duties of dealing with issues of constitutionality and increasing Assembly membership and retention.
Although Holekamp said he was not informed that he could propose a time for the debate that did not coincide with his class, EPAC Chair Harry Enten '11 said at the start of the debate that Holekamp was given the opportunity to propose alternate times.
"Holekamp decided that this wasn't worth his time," Enten said to the audience before the debate began.
Holekamp said he could not confirm that he will attend Wednesday's debate sponsored by the Inter-Community Council and the Afro-American Society.
During the question portion of the debate, Hix asked Yoeli and Limonthas what they would do if an ineligible candidate won the popular vote but was not allowed to assume the presidency, and Yoeli or Limonthas was subsequently appointed president.
Yoeli said he would defer to EPAC's ruling out of respect for its authority, but Limonthas said going against the popular vote could lead to problems in the future.
"If the student body elects someone, that should be the winner," Limonthas said.
