Vanderbilt Student Government campaign rules forbid negative campaign tactics, but that did not mean the two presidential candidates could not draw sharp distinctions between their proposals Wednesday night.

The inaugural VSG presidential debate, sponsored by The Vanderbilt Hustler and moderated by Editor in Chief Jarred Amato, drew about 50 students to the Board of Trust Room to hear Jared Anderson and Joseph Williams discuss their platforms.

Anderson said he does not need administrators' approval to implement the ideas he has presented in his platform, as they are "proposals student government can take action on right now."

"We are here in what some administrators refer to as the hiccup years, and I think that's really offensive to us because this is our college experience," he said. "We want to stand up for students, take a firm stance and tell administrators that we need to improve this because it is our one college experience."

But Williams said his platform also contained many items that could be accomplished within his year as VSG president.

"Why? Because we've already started working on them," he said. "Members of our team have already started working on these things, getting results, starting conversations."

Even so, Williams' initiatives reflect his belief that VSG should think more long term, he said.

"Some great big initiatives, maybe they won't be able to be completed in one year, maybe it's two, maybe we can start things," he said. "Just because we might not be able to accomplish it in a year doesn't mean the Class of 2015 won't be thanking us in 10."

Anderson's running mate Courtney Holliday said their platform represented a more realistic view of what VSG can do for students already at Vanderbilt, however.

"This isn't about what you want to hear at campaign time. This isn't about things that are just exciting, that we know probably can't get done in a year," she said.

Anderson said his opponents have presented "a few unrealistic objectives," such as running a reverse Vandy Vans route and bringing Chick-fil-A back to campus, two issues Anderson said he has already researched.

"Chick-fil-A is probably my favorite fast-food restaurant," he said. "But Chick-fil-A left a couple years ago, and they're not coming back. I've already explored the issue."

And of Vandy Vans he said, "The reason the Vandy Vans don't run the opposite way is that it's all left turns, and it takes too long as to be inefficient."
But Williams said this difference in opinion stems from "a difference of how hard you are willing to work and how much you are willing to think out of the box.

"Chick-fil-A is not coming back to CX2 where it used to be, but what about not in a main dining area?" he said. "What about somewhere separate, like how Quiznos is in Morgan?"

And Willams' running mate Wyatt Smith pointed out that "there are plenty of left turns in the (Vandy Vans) system right now on the long route. ... You can't use left turns as an excuse as to why you can't have a reverse shuttle route."

Williams added that he thought the proposed underground parking garages mentioned in the Anderson platform seemed unrealistic.

Both candidates seem to agree on one thing, however - the need to stand up to the administration - and each candidate said he was the one best equipped for that job.

"We've already been doing that with administrators, striking a balance between building relationships ... but also taking a firm stance and saying, ǃÚIf you guys don't address this issue, Vanderbilt Student Government is going to stand up and address this issue,'" Anderson said.

But Williams countered, "The administration puts barriers up, but what is important for voters to realize and important for administrators to realize is that Wyatt and I have the experience and the goals necessary to overcome those hurdles."

- Glenna DeRoy can be reached at glenna.h.deroy@vanderbilt.edu