Commitment to service programs highlights run-off debate
By FINN PRESSLY
Senior Staff Writer
With the race for student body president down to just two tickets, last night's candidate forum focused mainly on a close examination of each ticket's platform goals.
Ryan Becker and Nikki McCord faced opponents Brooke Norton and Brian Moscona in a two-hour debate with questions coming from a panel of guests, audience members and the candidates.
The debate came just one day after an election that saw service-oriented candidates Demetra Smith and Yogeld Andre come within 3 percent of passing Becker and McCord for the second runoff position. Smith/Andre received 20 percent while Becker/McCord garnered 23. Norton/Moscona gained 42 percent of the primary votes.
With those results in mind, many of the questions centered on each ticket's commitment to service.
"We want to serve students while allowing students to serve others," said Norton. "This election has shown that students are interested in social issues."
Both tickets expressed strong interest in Smith and Andre's Dinner with Seven Strangers, an event that is currently being tested as a pilot program by Multicultural Student Programs and Services.
Norton/Moscona voiced commitment to introducing service-based scholarships, as well as Pacem in Terris, a program designed to bring students from war-torn countries to Notre Dame for their education.
Becker, meanwhile, stated his ticket's plan to apply things learned in the classroom to the community through increased experiential learning projects.
This type of program would be ideal for Notre Dame, he said, based on students' "service orientation" and "academic drive."
Among the other issues discussed was the Norton/Moscona proposal for hosting a hip-hop conference at Notre Dame — a plan that they admit has met with criticism.
According to Moscona, he and Norton borrowed the idea from a successful event at Harvard, though they plan to expand the conference as an academic forum for discussions of race and diversity on campus.
McCord, however, was not as enthusiastic.
"I'd love to see someone call Nelly on the phone and tell him we want him to come to Notre Dame to speak about diversity," she said but did not think the plan was feasible.
She and Becker are addressing diversity issues by using existing programs, rather than creating new ones.
"What we need to do is work together with the programs we have in place," said McCord.
In terms of programming and scheduling events, Becker and McCord also pledged to create a board devoted solely to planning and promoting more non-alcoholic events.
Norton and Moscona, meanwhile, proposed adding more restaurant facilities to the Alumni-Senior Club to make it a place for students of all ages, while still serving alcohol to those of legal age.
"The problem is that we don't have enough [social] space on campus," Norton said.
They also discussed an expansion of Founder's Day events, as well as a week to commemorate the 30th anniversary of co-education at Notre Dame.
Both tickets stressed the importance of getting students involved in student government and increasing the communication between their offices and student body.
Moscona suggested using emails to keep students informed, while McCord proposed sitting in on hall council meetings around campus to gather student input.
Becker and McCord highlighted the need for getting more students involved in student government and defended themselves against accusations of increasing student government bureaucracy from Norton/Moscona.
"It's not a bureaucracy if you get students who have never participated before," Becker said.
All News Stories for Wednesday, February 14, 2001
