On Tuesday, Aug. 31, the Student Association (SA) hosted its first ever debate between freshman representative candidates in the Administration Auditorium. The event consisted of two debates: one between male candidates and one between female candidates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event was created to allow freshmen to interact with the student body and convey why they would be a good representative of their new class. Senior Ethan Brazell, SA president, said the purpose for the event was twofold.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe wanted students to have the opportunity to express their personality, what they stand for and have a platform to promote themselves,\u201d Brazell said. \u201cThe other side is that we wanted to do a fun event that promoted elections.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The candidates were asked a variety of questions. Some were pensive, challenging candidates to choose the most valuable leadership trait, while others were humorous, asking about disliked movies and conspiracy theories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The audience, mostly freshmen, was engaged, frequently laughing and reacting to answers from the candidates on stage. When he heard there would be a debate, freshman Sam Gooch said he was very excited to get to know the candidates better and enjoyed the entire event.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI found the debate extremely entertaining,\u201d Gooch said. \u201cI\u2019m a humorous guy, and there were a lot of funny things that happened throughout the debate. It really helped me meet the candidates, although I would\u2019ve liked to see a few of the candidates actually debate.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Freshman candidate Adele Duncan said she was nervous to compete against people she had never met but ended up gaining a lot from the experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen I found out there was going to be a debate, I got a little bit worried for a quick moment because I did not know how I was going to \u2018fight\u2019 verbally against people I had just met,\u201d Duncan said. \u201cLuckily, it was more of a \u2018get to know you\u2019 type of setting, and I actually became excited. If the debate had not happened, I don\u2019t think many people would have known who they were even voting for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A debate has been a common event during elections for the SA president each spring but has never been done during the election for freshmen representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The motive was due, in part, to a crowded field of candidates. Fourteen freshmen ran for the position, including five males and eight females. This stood in contrast to six candidates from the previous year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Brazell said he considered the debate successful in renewing student interest in the SA, as a number between 125 and 150 attendees were present to learn about their potential representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Members of the SA believe the event was a promising start for an energetic year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA goal we made back in May was to create something that people wanted to be a part of,\u201d Brazell said. \u201cIt was very encouraging to see that people want to be involved in what we are doing this year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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