The Student Government Association held its presidential forum in the Oklahoma Memorial Union’s Meacham Auditorium Monday night.
The event included speeches from the current SGA president, Avery Dunlap, and each of the presidential and vice presidential candidates in this week’s election.
Opening statements
Each running pair was allotted five minutes for opening statements.
Mercer Martin and Josephine Nicholson introduced their campaign called “SPIRIT,” an acronym for strengthening connections, promoting OU traditions, integrating resources, reinforcing fellowship, igniting Norman partnership and tying students to community.
“We aim to be the bridge that connects every corner of this campus, strengthening relationships and creating a more unified union,” Nicholson said.
Kristen-Nicole Mitei and Kendall Rench introduced their campaign, “FOCUS,” an acronym for future, openness, community, unity and support.
“We want to create just an easier, accessible way for students to find their place on campus,” Rench said.
Bridget Lapp and Andy Wang introduced their campaign called “SERVE,” which stands for supportive, energized, resourceful, visionary and empowering.
“Our dream is to ensure that every one of your dreams can come true at this university,” Wang said.
Presidential answers
Each presidential candidate was asked seven questions with 60 seconds to answer each question. Topics covered included advocacy for international students, cabinet structure and changes that could occur from the current administration to the new one.
Lapp emphasized the importance of a headstrong approach in student advocacy in her responses.
“We’re going to go out there, and we’re not afraid to fail if it means advocating for the student voice. … You’ll never know what you can do if you don’t try,” Lapp said.
Mitei stressed her intention to prioritize open communication with the student body.
“Communication is one of my biggest core values, and just being able to be transparent, … and allowing students to know that they can come to us if they have a question or if they want to know a little bit more about what’s going on,” Mitei said.
Martin spoke about the value of creating a better future for the campus.
“We’re here as representatives, as students and we want to come together to make the best campus possible. I believe (Nicholson and I) have the ability, the experience, the knowledge to utilize these connections, to utilize the branches, to bring our SGA as a whole and this campus to the next level,” Martin said.
Vice presidential answers
Vice presidential candidates were given a different set of seven questions and 60 seconds to answer each question. Topics included the most challenging aspect of each pair's platform, the relationship between the executive branch and other SGA branches, and the biggest issue students face daily.
Rench spoke about the importance of creating relationships with students to better understand and meet their needs.
“I think that it just comes down to talking to all these different students, hearing their concerns and figuring out how best we can fill those roles,” Rench said.
Nicholson stressed the connection that must be kept between SGA and Congress.
“One of the things we’ve talked about is, of course, keeping our open door policy, making sure that all congressional members know when they could come in and be in our meetings along with us attending every single one (of their meetings) possible,” Nicholson said.
Wang said he wants to build a diverse cabinet that is open to disagreement. He said he believes that differing viewpoints bring about more honest conversations.
“We want a cabinet that is diverse. We want a cabinet that isn’t just going to agree automatically and give us the same spiel,” Wang said.
Closing statements
Each pair was allotted five minutes for closing statements.
Martin and Nicholson said they believe their past experience and knowledge will aid the student body in creating a better future.
“We’re here because we know what this university needs and we know exactly how to provide it, …” Nicholson said. “We are more than capable of accomplishing everything on the platform and we have the experience to tackle any issue.”
Mitei and Rench said they had “tunnel vision” and determination to satisfy the needs of the student body during their potential term.
“I think that no matter where we go, no matter what happens, we always do finish strong, and that is a big pillar of who we are as a campaign and what we want to do for the university. No matter what kind of adversity hits us, we will finish strong,” Mitei said.
Lapp and Wang emphasized transparency and humility.
“The one thing I want you to know is that all of us standing up here, we are not superhuman in any way. We are just regular OU students who saw a change that we wanted, who had a passion to make this university better, who wanted to help improve the OU experience,” Wang said.
The event ended with a standing ovation. Candidates stayed afterward to briefly speak with the audience.
Voting opens Thursday at 8 a.m. and closes Friday at 8 p.m. Votes can be cast through the ENGAGE platform.
This story was edited by Thomas Pablo and Natalie Armour. Larkin Bock and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
