The four candidates for student body president met in New West on Thursday for the second debate of the campaign season hosted by the Dialectic and Philanthropic Societies. After the debate, the host endorsed candidate Ashton Martin.
Martin was joined by Jack Noble, Jane Tullis and Tarik Woods, all of whom faced various questions on critical student issues, in addition to direct questions about each candidates’ platform.
When asked where funding could be reduced at the University, Tullis said changes should be made to graduate and professional student stipends.
“So while we don’t need to be removing any stipends from students, we should be freezing some of them until we achieve parity between a variety of professional and graduate students we have on this campus,” Tullis said.
Martin said no funding should be cut for student organizations, but sustainability fees should be audited to ensure they are being used properly.
“I think everything that people are working towards on this campus are equally important and the thought of decreasing funding is just not fair,” Martin said.
Moving toward the subject of controversial speakers on campus — an issue that has become more prominent with the Silent Sam protests last year — Noble said the University should put some restrictions on speakers who have a history of derogatory speech that makes students feel unsafe.
“This is supposed to be a University of students where students are supposed to feel safe where students are supposed to learn,” Noble said.
Building on the first debate of the campaign hosted by the Campus Y on Wednesday, the candidates were asked specific questions about their platforms.
