The conversation surrounding diversity and student inclusion continued in ASUU’s second candidate debate on Wednesday, Feb 24.
After the last debate on Monday, both parties said concerns about student equity had to be readdressed and regrouped to find ways to be equitable when representing students.
Jack Bender, the presidential candidate of Students Leading Change (SLC), said he came to realize their platform didn’t account for diversity. They have made additional goals to promote equity.
“We want to build a lot of bridges by promoting diverse student groups on campus and reaching out,” Bender said.
The ONE party has a bullet point on their platform’s “Advocate for Everyone” to represent all of the student body. They will rely on outreach tactics to promote an equitable environment at the U.
When discussing inclusion, ONE’s presidential candidate, Jared Seachris, explained a plan to develop an online suggestion box. While creating and continuing traditions, Seachris plans to “make sure there is ample feedback so that if there is anything that wasn’t inclusive we can make changes.”
Candidates in both ONE and SLC were held over the fire by students concerned about past remarks.
One student directed a question to Seachris about a controversial statement he made at a Bystander Intervention Training last year. At the training, a Student Wellness representative introduced a scenario in which a student’s male friend is leading a drunk female up the stairs at a party. According to the unidentified student, when asked what he would do in that situation, Seachris responded by saying he would tell his friend that “maybe his pullout game wasn’t strong and that he wouldn’t want that responsibility.”
The student was concerned that Seachris — whose party has verbally expressed their support for Bystander Intervention Training — would make a joke out of the situation rather than advocating for a potential victim of sexual assault. Seachris did not deny the statement but instead said it was taken “wildly out of context.”
“That is something I had heard and is not my stance on sexual assault,” he said.
The candidate for vice president of university relations for SLC, Matt Miller, was asked to clarify a remark he made at Monday’s debate. Miller previously said he experienced oppression on his LDS mission as he was exposed to a new environment. A student in the audience asked if he felt this oppression was the same to what marginalized groups face at the U. Miller said he thinks the experience helped him understand the feelings of marginalized individuals and he recognized “everyone’s experience is different.”
Both parties expressed an interest in increasing the diversity of student representation, though their approaches are different. When hiring their cabinet, ONE intends to use marketing to expand the applicant pool, while SLC plans to reach out to various student groups and invite members to apply. Both parties said they want to create and maintain a relationship with the Center for Ethnic Student Affairs (CESA) by inviting them to ASUU meetings and attending CESA meetings.
Last year, according to a question asked by an individual in the audience, only 10 percent of the student population voted in ASUU elections. Seachris said his party is “reaching out to apathetic voters.” Bender said he is more concerned that students aren’t informing themselves about the viewpoints of the parties.
Voting opens on Feb. 26 and closes March 3.
@emilyinorgandy