Student Senate: Tickets discuss power of body at final senate debate

Throughout election season each ticket has campaigned for Ohio University Student Senate to improve communication with students, their organizations and administrators. Each elaborated their plans on how to do so at a town hall forum Tuesday night in Walter Hall.

Senate’s last debate opportunity focused less on questions written by the judicial panel and more on questions that students had for the executive candidates on Fight, Green Light and Voice. Students could ask questions with #OhioUElections or write down a question on a note card.

The plans of each ticket focused on how the experience each executive has had can help represent students the best.

“We want to talk about issues that students are facing and figure out how we can help them,” Nicole Schneider, vice presidential candidate for Green Light, said. “We want to tell them what we are already doing for them so (students) don't see (senate) as a resume builder.”

David Parkhill, presidential candidate for Fight, believed that students will be benefited most by revamping representation in senate.

"It's the same people running for senate over and over again,” Parkhill said. "That's why senate is failing. They're not representing the entire campus."

The conversation then shifted from what senate can do to benefit students to how they can get students to feel connected with senate. Keyarah Newton, vice presidential candidate for Voice, said the reason voter turnout was low for the last senate election was because students didn’t feel welcome on senate.

“Look around you, many of us here are already in Student Senate. Where are the actual people we want to talk about?” Newton said. “Yes, Voice wants to be the voice for these students, but where are these students?”

Parkhill said students don’t want to get involved by running for office due to rules and regulations. He used the example of a fine his ticket received for not filing a campaign finance report correctly.

"This is all so fake,” Parkhill said. “This campaign, when it's over, who cares if the financial report was filed correctly? People aren't going to run because they don't want to get into stuff like this.”

Parkhill’s comment on the Rules and Procedures of Student Senate was also part of a discussion about whether senatorial experience was needed to run for office.

Jordan Kelley, presidential candidate for Voice, used the example of Megan Marzec and the Restart ticket that led senate during the 2014-15 academic year and said Fight had similar levels of inexperience to Restart, Kelley said.

"Some may argue (Marzec) was really well intended when she came in and the group she came in with really wanted to make change and make senate accessible to students,” Kelley said. “They were unfamiliar with the (Rules and Procedures) we got. Because of that, they were not able to make any real tangible change on campus.”

Each of the tickets has made its plan for change clear, but the next step involves implementation of those plans. Landen Lama, presidential candidate for Green Light, believes change will be possible under Duane Nellis, OU’s 21st president.

"He knows the significance of (senate). He knows the importance of student government. He knows how important it is to come to us,” Lama said. “(Administrators) know we are never going to back down. We're always going to be there to give our voice, to speak out against issues.”

The debate ended with each candidate giving a final appeal to students before voting opens.

Voting for senate elections will open Monday, April 3 at 8 a.m. and will close Tuesday, April 4 at 7 p.m.

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mc987015@ohio.edu