Four students want to bring positive change to USF St. Petersburg and discussed why they should serve as the next student body president at Thursday’s presidential debate.
Each ticket had a distinctive message to deliver to the audience and fellow candidates, but everyone had to address one thing in particular: student government’s image, reputation and representatives.
President-elect Nia Joseph believes that with communication and transparency, that relationship can be restored. Her running mate, Chardonnay Tyson, said “communication is light.”
Jozef Gherman, a presidential candidate, doesn’t want students to think SG’s job is solely to hand out money, but to know that SG can solve problems and is a “professional and trusted organization that meets the students’ needs.”
President-elect Ziya Kardas said that his being new to SG would create a “drama-free” organization. Vice president candidate Kyle Uber said they would be approachable, welcoming conversation about “anything # anytime, anywhere.”
Presidential candidate Teral Hilliard admitted he can’t change the image of SG alone, noting that “by ourselves, we are just grains of sand. Together, we’re a beach.” His running mate Victor Sims said it’s not necessarily about the candidates, but rather the students.
Most of the questions circled back to the students, clubs and organizations on campus, with each ticket promising to tighten the bond between them and SG.
Vice president candidate Juan Salazar, who is running with Gherman, said he wants to see more collaboration among student leaders from different clubs and organizations on campus, and not just between student leaders and their corresponding members.
Joseph and Tyson have been outspoken about their support of clubs and organizations at meetings and on the student-driven Facebook “Know-It-All” Guide. This was one of their key points of the night.
“Realize that in an organization, everyone is at fault. Without a united front, everyone else can see the holes,” said Tyson. “Communication is light.”
Sims brought up the fact that a mere 19 percent of USFSP students are involved in clubs and asked the question, “How can we create more presidents?”
Other debate questions were centered on the representation of students, experience, sustainable initiatives and what it means to be a Bull.
When asked what they can offer as the student body president, the candidates underlined their experience on campus and future contributions to USFSP.
If elected, Kardas would be the only graduate student in SG. As a commuter and single parent, he believes he has the experience to reach out and represent a wider population of students.
Kardas and Ub expressed their dedication by saying that they would divert all or some of their salaries back into the clubs and organizations, which would be more than $12,000 returning to university funds.
Joseph noted her extensive leadership training and initiatives on campus. She believes that to have a successful organization, presidents should be capable and willing to perform every job within that organization # even the smallest one.
Hilliard said that bringing experience as a regular student is vital, but overlooked.
“The experience that I’ve had is actually going out, shaking hands, rubbing elbows, attending events,” he said. “Learning what it is that the student body wants by being a member of the student body.”
Gherman took a personal approach to discussing the elections.
“What really affected my leadership, what really got me started and what really motivates me to be your student body president # that was my first day on campus when I came here for orientation,” he said.
Throughout the debate, all competing candidates were heavily focused on transparency, which is considered SG’s biggest weakness. Each ticket, however, shared personal and specific goals for USFSP.
Kardas, who wants to establish connections with the surrounding community and take advantage of the university’s location, envisions alliances with events such as the Saturday Morning Market.
Meanwhile, Hilliard was the first to refer to student health and wellness as a priority, and emphasized that racial, cultural and sexual diversity is important on campus.
At the end of the debate, many students in the audience stood and applauded the candidates.
