Debate shows loss of faith in government
By HELENA PAYNE
News Editor
Apathy and cynicism set the tone Wednesday as more than half of the seven tickets in the 2003 student body presidential elections pointed out the flaws of student government Tuesday and vowed to fix them.
Students filled the LaFortune Ballroom and watched as the candidates, ranging from humorous to humorless, vowed to reinvigorate student government and responded to questions from students and The Observer.
The candidates' platforms promised change, results for "real students" and a better campus life for undergraduates. But in the midst of the promises, some candidates added performances.
Juniors Ryan Gagnet, running for student body president, and John McCarthy, a vice presidential candidate, called the "Triumvirate," brought three body guards to the debates. The two candidates, dressed in yellow and blue Hawaiian shirts, proceeded to explain their plans to improve campus with a "chunnel" and "Israeli-style checkpoints."
Sophomore presidential candidate Matt Padberg and his running mate freshmen David Rail decided to focus on the sole goal of increasing Flex Points but later endorsed presidential candidate Joe Muto and his running mate junior Mimi Matkowski.
However, Muto eventually walked out after Padberg failed to take issues seriously and mocked his campaign goal to end parietals within six years.
"For those of you who expected a serious debate, I apologize," Muto said before leaving. Matkowski remained.
"We didn't come here with prepared speeches. We didn't come here with 39 platform ideas. We're just real students like everybody," vice presidential candidate sophomore Eric Tarnowski said, criticizing two tickets with more lengthy platforms — the Charlie Ebersol–Lauren Meagher ticket and the Pat Hallahan–Jeremy Lao ticket. Tarnowski is running with presidential candidate John Updike, a sophomore. The prepared speech comment referred to Hallahan, current chief of staff in the Office of the Student Body President, and sophomore class president Lao, the candidates who could be called student government "insiders." The two defended their insider status, promising to "put students first."
"We will be able to revamp student life," Hallahan said.
Lao added, "Our experience in student government has shown us the process through which change can be made." Although inexperienced with student government positions, sophomore Charlie Ebersol, running for student body president and junior Lauren Meagher, his vice presidential running mate, stuck to their 39-proposal platform also.
"Everything we propose can happen," Meagher said.
Ebersol repeatedly referred to his major priority to bring big-name acts to campus so that students can have the student life of other top 20 colleges.
"You'll be able to tell your friends you went to two top-40 concerts like U2," he said.
While not promising headliner concerts, student body presidential candidate junior Mike Bott and vice presidential candidate sophomore Mike Kirsh, a former member of the varsity track and field team, promised to be bring a "real student approach" to student government.
"We feel like we bring a lot to the table," Kirsh said. Alumni Hall president Bott added, "We haven't been holed up in the student government office."
All News Stories for Thursday, February 6, 2003
