Candidates face off in internal debate

By Lily Chun | Thresher Editorial Staff

Candidates for Student Association President, External Vice President and Internal Vice President gathered for an SA sponsored debate Monday in Farnsworth Pavilion to discuss why they felt they were the strongest candidates for the respective positions.

SA Elections Committee Chair Andrew Bowen, who moderated the debate with SA President Laura Kelley, began the discussion by asking the candidates to describe the Rice student body in 30 seconds or less.

SA Internal Vice President Matt Youn said he thinks Rice students are unique.

“We’re a quirky bunch, and I love it,” Youn, a Brown College junior said. “We’re a group of very intelligent students but at the same time, we keep it real.”

SA External Vice President Sarah Baker said she thinks students worked hard but also knew how to have fun. Baker, a Lovett College junior, said she was happy with the different types of students on campus.

SA Parliamentarian Christopher Warrington also said he valued the variety of people at Rice.

“We’re a diverse group of students in our bonds, and we’re cemented together by the college system,” Warrington, a Jones College junior, said.

Next, Kelley asked the candidates to each describe one leadership strength and one leadership weakness.

Baker said she is very good at gauging student opinion.

“I’ve had experience with [the College Assistance Peer Program],” Baker said. “I really value that in myself.”

Baker said her weakness is that she takes on too much and needs to learn how to delegate.

Warrington said his best leadership trait is that he is good at managing large long-term projects. He said his weakness, however, is that he can get tunnel-visioned on a particular issue.

“I’ll overcome that,” Warrington said. “Everyday I look over what happened, see what things I got done and what things I didn’t.”

Youn said his greatest strength is his ability to collaborate with different people on projects. Youn said he aided others to make online course evaluations public and helped with figuring out the academic poll.

“That shows I’ve worked with others and also had to gauge student opinion,” Youn said.

Youn joked that his weakness was that he occasionally worded phrases awkwardly.

Bowen then asked the candidates what the most pressing issue for students is and what each candidate, respectively, will do as president to address this concern.

Warrington said he thinks integrating the new McMurtry and Duncan Colleges will be the biggest issue for students.

“We’ve learned a lot from Martel, and we will not make the same mistakes we made back then,” Warrington said.

Warrington suggested that people who are very dedicated to the college system invite their friends and move into the new colleges.

Baker said she thinks safety is the most important issue on campus at the moment.

“I think all of our opinions changed about the preemptive stealing measures going on,” Baker said. “It’s important for the SA to broadcast what the purpose of these actions are.”

Baker said she wants to make the campus safer.

“It’s a big problem [if you] don’t feel safe walking across campus,” Baker said. “Late at night, people walk home, and that’s where the crime has been.”

Baker said she thinks reviving an old off-campus transportation program would be a good idea.

Youn said he thinks student life on campus has declined as a result of the construction. He suggested better communication between the administration and students so students are kept aware of construction updates and changes.

“At the least, there could be more understanding about the construction,” Youn said.

To show each candidate’s problem-solving style, Kelley gave a hypothetical situation, asking the candidates what they would do if the administration began to sell passes for the Recreational Center to people not associated with Rice.

Youn said while getting the administration to just repeal membership would not work, students could find out information as to what they can do.

“We can work on finding out if it’s a year-long membership,” Youn said. “We can say we don’t want that to be a year-long membership. … Also, if students were given more benefits, then at least we’d be happier with the crisis at hand.”

Warrington said students would first need to find out more information to figure out what the effect of creating membership has been and find out how much the Recreation Center is being over-utilized.

“Sometimes, certain issues show up, and they’re a little inflated,” Warrington said.

Warrington said a possible solution could be to look into setting aside specific times at the Rec Center for students.

“There are times when students aren’t going to be using the Rec Center so much during the day,” he said. “Maybe we could prioritize equipment. I would hesitate to segregate the Rec Center, but maybe we could have it so every other day we’re coming back to a timeshare.”

Baker said she agreed with the two candidates that students should be consulted first.

“We need to poll the students, find out what students really want,” Baker said. “To be fair, though, Autry used to have [a membership fee], so it may be feasible to look at that and see what we can do about it, but I do think we need to talk to students.”

Next, Bowen asked the candidates what could be done to increase the SA’s visibility and presence.

Baker said the SA president and the vice presidents could eat lunch at different colleges every week or go to different clubs to advertise.

Youn said he thinks senators and presidents should act as direct liaisons with students.

“[They could accomplish this by] using bulletin boards, getting them up in the commons, using envelopes so people can input comments and knowing who their senators and [New Student Representatives] are,” Youn said.

Warrington said he thinks the short-term goal of the SA should be to move its weekly meetings to the residential colleges. He said he thinks the SA should utilize current resources like its Web site and he would like to see more of the SA’s presence during O-Week.

Warrington said as a long-term goal, the SA should consider the increase in the student population and increase the size of the SA accordingly.

“We need to increase the size of the senate so we can have more ideas in this room bouncing off each other so we can make sure everyone’s voice is heard,” Warrington said.

For the final question, Kelley asked the SA presidential candidates how they viewed the current relationship between the SA and the college governments.

Youn said the SA is currently finding that balance. He suggested college governments work on issues that affect solely their own colleges and that the SA work together with them on university-wide issues.

“I don’t want [the colleges and presidents] to think we’re trying to be a superior organization,” Youn said. “At the same time, there are things that are more university issues like athletics and construction.”

Warrington said he thinks the root of the jurisdiction issues this year have been a lapse in communication from the time something happens to when a tangible action occurs.

“The SA meets once a week, and that can cause a delay,” Warrington said. “Lots of times, there are issues that seem to be isolated to one college, but when you pull back, you see that they are campus issues.”

Baker said she thinks the SA is still trying to figure out what its jurisdiction is but that overall the SA should improve the quality of life of students. College presidents will be key in helping figure out the SA’s boundaries.

“I see college presidents as partners in making Rice a better campus,” Baker said. “There are things they definitely handle better than us. I think the SA should be a resource to college presidents whenever they need us.”

The presidential debate was followed by the debate for the candidates of SA internal and external vice presidents. The candidates introduced themselves and Bowen asked the candidates what they thought the most important issue was for vice presidents next year.

Martel College freshman Nicholas Muscara, who is running for external vice president, said he thinks the Hedgehopper card will be the biggest issue.

“I want to put a dining and entertainment guide with the Hedgehopper card,” Muscara said. “I think students would use the Hedgehopper card more if they were more informed [about the places they were going to].”

Lovett College freshman Alexander Wyatt, also a candidate for external vice president, said he thinks the SA must spread its name to its peer institutions and plan events in conjunction.

Brown junior Akshay Dayal, an internal vice presidential candidate, said he wants to make sure all lines of communication are open within the university.

For the last question, Kelley asked the candidates to describe their leadership strengths and weaknesses.

Wyatt said he thinks his strengths and weaknesses are one and the same — his enthusiasm for Rice.

“I get so excited that I just ramble on about Rice and no point is made,” Wyatt said. “I hope to tone that down by getting Rice’s name out to the country.”

Muscara said he thinks his strength is organization and his weakness is that he does not listen as well to others as he should.

“I think organization will drive and determine the success of the next external vice president,” Muscara said.

Dayal said he thinks his willingness and drive to work with people were his strengths. He said his weakness is that he takes on too much and does not delegate well.

“I like to see how you can fix a situation in a constructive way for both parties,” Dayal said.

February 15, 2008

The Student Newspaper of Rice University

Candidates face off in internal debate

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