The three candidates for OU Campus Activities Council chair made their best case Monday night as to why they deserved the position.
The debate, co-hosted by the Student Government Association and The Daily, was held from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. in Meacham Auditorium of the Oklahoma Memorial Union.
Candidate Will Shelden, geology junior, said he is focusing on “development, accessibility, and community” to better tackle CAC’s internal issues and make the process to apply to be part of CAC more transparent.
Candidate Jonna Vanderslice, biology junior, said she wants “to further empower students” at OU by implementing a day-long conference within the organization and starting a newsletter to better publicize CAC’s programming strengths.
Candidate Alec Armer, entrepreneurship and marketing junior, said as CAC chair, he would implement a better, broader process to apply for CAC and would use survey responses to measure student engagement and direction.
Armer said his business background and mindset makes him a better candidate than the others, while Shelden emphasized his organizational strengths, and Vanderslice said her experience as CAC vice chair and her handling of personal tragedy means she can relate to other students’ troubles.
When asked about criticism of CAC being a “white, greek organization,” Armer said efforts to improve the organization’s diversity are already in place with some of the organizational pairings at CAC’s recent events.
However, Vanderslice and Shelden said there is an issue of perception with students' general view of CAC, and there needs to be further transparency at all organizational levels to eliminate the perception of bias.
A question was also raised about each candidate’s familiarity with CAC’s budget. Shelden said more work needs to be done to ensure that the OU community trusts CAC’s handling of university funds, and that there is no wasteful spending within the organization. Vanderslice said she would stress the use of permission documentation to ensure the proper allocation of funds, and Armer said he wants to increase fundraising from within CAC itself and lessen reliance on university funding.
Each candidate was also asked about their plans to engage the international student community. Armer said it is important to “make the international student community feel like they’re at home.” Vanderslice said she has already begun building a relationship with the leaders of organizations within the international community and would continue to do so as CAC chair. Shelden said he admires how “self-sufficient and well-organized” many organizations within the international student body are and wants to emulate that unity as CAC chair.
Elections for CAC chair will begin 9 a.m. March 28 and run until 9 p.m. March 29. Students may vote for their candidate of choice online once polls open.
