Presidential candidates take the stand
The three candidates representing the future leadership and student voice of Utah State University were dressed in either a suit, a T-shirt or a kilt Wednesday at the Associated Students of USU presidential debate.
The credibility and qualifications of the three candidates, Duke Di Stefano, Paul Watson and Jonathan Hemingway, seemed questionable among the audience seated in The Hub, but each candidate defended his platform and voiced his intentions for next year if elected as ASUSU president.
Lindsay Lyman, ASUSU Activities vice president, said, “Some of them were qualified, and some of them weren’t.”
Matt Stephens, a senior majoring in journalism, said, “There just needs to be something a little bit more professional.”
Ashlee Culter and Tyler Buswell, Presidential Election Debate directors, asked various questions to the candidates, including what the they feel is the most important aspect at USU that needs to be changed.
Di Stefano said, “We have a lot a students that would like to be involved. We could have a lot of more fun if we have a lot more participation.”
Watson said the academic side of the university needs
attention.
“We’re all here to get an education, and we’re all here to get a diploma. We need to make sure students’ academic needs are being met,” he said.
Hemingway explained that utilizing Web sites to receive student input would be the biggest thing to change.
“I think the first thing about running a decent university is getting knowledge of the students into the hands of the people who run the university,” he said.
Each of the candidates listed his qualifications for president. Hemingway spent last semester in Kenya, where he used leadership skills on a daily basis, often in life or death situations.
Watson has owned his own business for two years and hopes to transfer those skills over to his responsibilities as president.
Di Stefano is currently serving as ASUSU’s administrative assistant. He feels that has given him a good idea of some the issues students will face next year.
As for leadership skills, each of the candidates agreed a leader needs to work directly with the students.
Di Stefano said, “I once heard that a leader is someone who gets the process started, helps out in the whole process and says thank you in the end. A leader is someone who is there to work alongside the people and be able to help them accomplish their goals and to provide direction.”
Hemingway said he felt a leader is someone the students should be able to look up to and depend on.
“I think a leader is someone that other people want to follow,” he said.
Watson said a leader listens to the opinions of the students.
“A leader is someone who is able to listen to a lot of different ideas from a lot of different people, and they can make a decision from that listening,” he said.
The candidates were also asked why they love USU.
Watson said, “At this point I don’t know if I do love Utah State. I think there’s a lot of good things at Utah State, and I think there’s a lot of room for improvement. I think if I could see a student body that was concerned for their university, I think that could make me love Utah State.”
Di Stefano, however, expressed how much he loves USU.
“When it comes down to loving Utah State, I’m a true Aggie. I love it. It’s a lot of fun. We have a great student population. We have lots of fun people here. I don’t know what there’s not to love about Utah State. There are things that obviously need improvement, and that’s what we’re here to do,” he said.
Hemingway looked at the logical and personal aspects about attending USU.
“Um, the thing that I think I love about Utah State is that it’s far away from my home in Centerville, and that means I don’t have to live with my parents, but close enough that I can go home to do laundry.”
Many students who attended the debate had mixed feelings.
Ben Jenkins, a sophomore majoring in liberal arts, said, “I don’t think the school’s going to go to pot because we don’t have a good student body president.” he said, “I really hope things start to change, [though]. I hope the promises they make can be fulfilled.”
Lance Hansen, a junior majoring in family and consumer science, was surprised by the way Hemingway presented himself.
“He freakin’ wore a kilt. At least dress the part,” he said.
Not only did Hemingway wear a kilt to the debate, but he also attached a green balloon to his backpack and wore a sign around his neck that said, “Vote Hemingway because my legs are freezing.”
Di Stefano wore a suit and tie, and Watson wore a T-shirt and jeans.
Some students said they felt that some part, if not all, of the debate was not worth attending.
Stephens said, “I thought that it was worthless. I would have liked to have heard some more hard-pressing, relevant
questions.”
About half of the questions that Cutler and Buswell asked the candidates were not relevant to the campaigns, such as, who their favorite celebrity is, what they would put in their own personal advertisement and what is the highest peak in Utah. The questions were meant to show the personalities of each of the candidates.
However, Jessica Evans, a junior majoring in environmental studies, enjoyed the debate.
“I thought it was good. They had a nice setup. I definitely think they are qualified. There’s a variety of candidates,” she said.
Lyman said she felt more students should have come to the debate.
“I thought it had the potential to be good, but I was disappointed in attendance,” she said.
–mmackay@cc.usu.edu
The three candidates for the Associated Students of Utah State University Executive Council president voice their concerns and intentions during the Presidential Debate in The Hub on Wednesday. (Photos by John Zsiray)