The Student Senate President/Vice President ticket of Nathan Boggess and Mary Mercier, along with their candidate for Secretary, Peter Mutayoba, called for more communication on campus on Monday at the Student Senate Candidate Forum. The forum was a debate-style discussion between the two president/vice president candidates sponsored by Pi Gamma Mu at noon in the ‘Cat’s Corner.

All the candidates had the experience and qualifications of a good Student Senate President and Vice President.

Nolan Janzen and Nathan Schreiter are both Student Senators of two years and are on the Judiciary Advisory Committee. Janzen is also on the Government Committee and has been involved with S.A.B. Schreiter has done work in accounting for three years. The Vice President is expected to keep the books.

It is Janzen and Schreiter’s work as RAs for freshmen dorms that pushed them to run, wanting to be the voice for not only their residence, but all the students. They are running on the platform that if changes are going to happen on campus, they should be approved by the students and they will focus on what students want done.

Boggess, Mercier and Mutayoba have plenty of experience as well. Boggess has served as a Student Senator for three years and has been on nearly every committee, including the Strategic Planning Committee, which has given him contact with much of the administration around campus. In fact, he recently toured Anderson Hall with President Frye, discussing dorm renovations. He is also a desk worker for Anderson Hall and runs for the WSC track team. Finally, he periodically sits in on the Faculty Senate meetings, allowing him to meet professors from around campus.

Mercier has been on Student Senate for two years, serving on the Financial Committee. According to her, this has taught her the ins and outs of the Student Senate budget and how they handle fund allocations.

Mutayoba, who is running with Boggess and Mercier as their secretary, is not a Senator but is involved around campus in organizations, including Cru and the International Club. He is also a transfer student, giving his group broader experiences. They are running to insure that students’ are having their voices heard.  Mercier said she knows that students want changes and she wants to help those changes happen, and that moved her to run.

The forum was moderated by Dr. Jeff Carstens, Dean of Students, with questions coming from the student audience. Questions ranged from the candidates qualifications to what they want to change in their term to how to fund those projects.

Both groups addressed what they saw as two pressing issues—parking and dorms. They all agreed that the best way to address the parking situation would be to change the existing system, as the funds to build more parking are not available. This might include allocating spots differently to separating spots by class.

Janzen and Schreiter want to push harder for dorms changes that are already in the works to happen sooner. However, they want to insure that housing rates are still kept low for students. They also want to evaluate and improve the food services on campus. They don’t want to have to increase student funds substantially, so they want to push for projects to start earlier than currently planned.

Boggess, Mercier and Mutayoba have a three-year plan for updating the dorms that calls for simple renovations instead of costly rebuilds that displace students for a full year. They also want to get a cadaver for the science department to use, giving those students more experience they need for the work place.

Boggess added he would also like to evaluate the current programs and add more majors or minors if needed by students to “give them every opportunity to be successful.” Finally, they want to see more communication on campus, which is why they plan to hold a student forum once a month to get feedback from students.

They also want to either bring back the spring concert, or if that isn’t cost effective, do something annually that students will remember and enjoy, like the concert.

Boggess and Mercier, however, don’t have an increases in fees planned. Instead, they believe it is simply a change in how money is allocated and they would focus on making changes more cost effective. They also promised that any increase in fees will go to what it’s supposed to go to, something that has not always happened in the past.

Voting for the Student Senate President and Vice President is today and tomorrow from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. in the outside the upper cafeteria and 7 to 9 p.m. in the library.