Candidates for the two vice president positions in the Associated Students of the University of Arizona sparred last night in the first official debate of the election season, referencing struggles and successes of the organization during the past year.
The debate for executive vice president focused on issues surrounding involvement and funding for clubs at the UA, as well as the role of someone in that position.
Jessica Anderson, one of the two candidates, said she wants safety to be a central issue of her campaign, and she plans to work with campus clubs and organizations to promote the issue.
But Michael Slugocki, the other candidate, said he didn’t think an executive vice president, whose job is to interact with student organizations as well as oversee the ASUA Senate, should focus on safety as one of their main platform points.
“”If I tell everybody that I don’t like fires and I want to put out fires, I don’t run for chief commissioner of the police,”” Slugocki said. “”It just doesn’t make sense.””
Anderson countered that, saying she believes a leader with enough vision can accomplish her goals in that position.
Both agreed on the need for more communication between clubs and ASUA, but they differed on how to accomplish it.
Slugocki proposed an inter-organizational council, with representatives from all campus clubs to confer directly with ASUA.
Anderson said while clubs need better communication with ASUA, she is worried the logistics of being a part of the council, added to the complications of leading a club on campus, would make the council difficult to be a part of.
Anderson said she favored an Internet-based communication system instead, and said she also wanted to visit all of the more than 500 campus clubs personally to hear what they had to say.
Slugocki said going to each club is too lofty a goal for one person, and he said he thinks senators, who must attend senate club meetings, should handle more of that responsibility.
Briefly touching on recent controversy over club funding and David Reece’s resignation as executive vice president last week, both candidates said they wanted to ensure a fair and unbiased process for clubs to acquire ASUA money.
The debate for administrative vice president focused on visibility for ASUA Programs and Services, which the person in the position oversees. Programs and Services include SafeRide, Pride Alliance, Spring Fling and similar groups within ASUA.
Candidates Jen Dang and Amy Adamcin agreed about the lack of awareness of those services on campus.
Adamcin said she is confident she can attract more money, including from outside sources, for promoting those programs and make students more aware of what ASUA has to offer.
Dang, however, said funding for publicity should be an afterthought to changing the way ASUA goes about interacting with students. She said she wants to create more efforts to reach out to clubs and organizations on campus, stirring interest that way.
“”We need to stop tabling on the Mall if we want people to become aware,”” Dang said. “”We need to go directly to the students, not while they’re walking past us on the way to class or on the way to lunch.””
The ASUA presidential candidates will square off in a debate Monday at 7 p.m. in the Ventana Room of the Student Union Memorial Center.
General elections for all positions are Tuesday and Wednesday.
