SA Presidential candidates debate

The Student Association Presidential debates were held last night in the Friel Lounge of Wilson Commons. The candidates debating were sophomore and SA Senator Matt Goldblatt, junior and Chief of Staff Ilana Kaplan-Shain, junior and Deputy Speaker of the Senate Pete Nabozny, and sophomore Dan Rudolph. All three candidates with leadership experience in student government chose to highlight that experience. “All the candidates are very qualified, but I’ve been involved in both branches of student government, the Senate and the executive branch,” Kaplan-Shain said. “I worked with Chris when we were forming the Cabinet. I have given everything I have to student government.” Kaplan-Shain is also the business manager of the Debate Team. “I’m the best candidate for the job because I have strong leadership skills, I’ve been involved in all [this year’s] reforms, I’ve worked on the Constitution,” Nabozny said. Nabozny is also the business manager of Grassroots.He admitted that he didn’t have Kaplan-Shain’s experience in the executive branch, but he felt that in his case it wouldn’t be a liability. “I’ve also worked on having blurred the lines between the senate and the executive branch,” he said. “So I feel that my lack of experience in the executive branch isn’t that big a deal.”Goldblatt also stressed his involvement in government. “I’ve been in Senate for two years, I’m project committee chair now,” he said. Goldblatt is also a brother Delta Upsilon, their vice-president of rush, a member of the Fraternities’ President’s Council, and a D-Lion. He felt his experience outside student government was as important as his work in it. “Having had lots of experience at this university, I believe I’d be in a good position to serve this campus,” he said. Rudolph is an active member of Students for Social Justice, but he has never held a leadership position before. However, he didn’t see this as a liability. He felt that his perspective as an outsider made up for any possible lack of experience. “We’re all equal. We’re all intelligent. We all know how to get things done,” Rudolph said. “If you want something different, vote for me because I have no experience.”All candidates had similar opinions on the current issues of the College Republicans’ bake sale and judicial sanctions against fraternities. They all expressed disagreement with the bake sale, but supported it on the principle of freedom of speech. “The College Republicans had every right to hold the affirmative action bake sale,” Nabozny said. “That being said, I think it was a cheap publicity stunt.””I think [UR] should not take any action,” Goldblatt said. All agreed that fraternities are a necessary part of campus life. “Obviously, the frats [sic] are suffering,” Rudolph said. “They just aren’t fun to go to any more.”Goldblatt felt that the recent rulings against ADF and SAM were a complicated issue. “I also see a large part [of the problem] being that [some] groups aren’t living up to the potential they have,” he said. Nabozny and Goldblatt both stressed the importance of acting as facilitators as president. “The SA President has to be an enabler, has to push people to do these things,” Nabozny said. “I believe in a need for communication,” Goldblatt said.But while agreeing with them in some ways, Kaplan-Shain and, to a lesser extent, Rudolph were more concerned with specific issues. “Keeping [up] with the decentralization theme, I’d like Security to be [decentralized],” she said. “The needs of the River Campus are different from the needs of Memorial Art Gallery and the Medical Center.”Kaplan-Shain would also try to address the issue of parking. “All the good lots get sold first, because all the lots are priced the same,” she said. “I want to lower the prices of distant lots.”