Issue date: 3/27/07 Section: News

Daniel Bates - THE BATTALION

As rain and thunderstorms pelted Texas A&M Monday night, a different storm rumbled inside Rudder Auditorium as candidates for student body president participated in a debate over issues of campus, character and traditions, and yell leader candidates presented their election platforms.

"I was here partly because it was raining so hard that I couldn't go back to my dorm," said Nathan Motl, a freshman political science major. "Once I was here though, it was interesting."

The debate was organized by the Election Commission to introduce the candidates to the student body. The commission administers all student body elections and conducts the freshman elections in the fall.

"The debate gives the students an insight about the character and nature of the candidates," said Zachary Johnson, director of programs of the Election Commission.

The eight SBP candidates were seated alphabetically in a panel and answered randomly selected questions submitted by students prior to the debate. The focus of the questions centered on issues such as increasing communication between the administration and student body, improving campus policies and revealing the qualities of the candidates.

"I was curious about specific policies, personality and approaches of the candidates," said William Simmons, a sophomore English major. "There was no big issue or defining issue, but I was impressed with the candidates."

After the SBP debate concluded, each of the nine yell leader candidates presented a three-minute speech expressing their platforms and reasons for running.

The forum concluded with a Yell Practice led by the yell leader hopefuls.

Listen to the debate

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