The three pairs of candidates vying to be the next set of Vanderbilt Student Government leaders each tried to prove why they’re the best yesterday afternoon at the third annual Hustler-sponsored presidential debate.
Each team had 90 seconds to respond to the questions, which ranged from the candidates’ top priorities to the biggest issues they feel students face today. Through each answer, the presidential and vice-presidential candidates tried to express to students why they should vote for their ticket in this week’s primary election.
Presidential candidate Aysha Malik opened by expanding on her leadership capabilities as well as those of running mate Theo Samets.
“What stops organizations from implementing changes is not the absence of sound ideas or strong policy, it’s the absence of strong leadership, … which Theo and I can certainly bring,” Malik said.
“I’ve seen that works and what doesn’t work in our organization,” Morse said. “… We don’t have a narrow view of what VSG does, and we know how students think about the organization.”
To counter that, current Vice President Lori Murphy and her running mate, Lee Pedinoff, said their position as “the most experienced ticket” sets them apart.
Earlier in the week, the candidates presented their platforms, which were an overview of what they hoped to accomplish and implement while in office. They discussed them further on Sunday.
Murphy and Pedinoff established the most extensive platform, with reaching out to student organizations a key theme throughout their goals, while Morse’s and Gleiser’s shorter platform allows them to focus on their “core mission to make VSG represent the student body,” Morse said.
Malik said their five-part platform set forth a realistic group of ideas with which “I think we’ll be able to succeed and not be left with a laundry list of things to do.” “It’s Theo’s and my unyielding faith in our commitments that will help us achieve those initiatives,” Malik said.
