Voters assembled to gain insight into potential policy and promises offered by candidates.
By: Isaiah Latif
At CSI’s Green Dolphin Lounge, a panel was held for those running for the President and Vice President of CSI’s student government.
The event took place Tuesday night in front of students and faculty, and was streamed online. The panel was held to create transparency between students and candidates, and to help students make informed decisions on their ballots.
“We want bold ideas, both in community and learning,” said Vice President candidate Ethan Farrell. “We want to create and expand community partners.”
Each candidate started with an opening statement, and then took questions in order from left to right.
Questions were presented by students in the audience, eager to have their voices heard. Like Farrell, students at CSI have wanted change for some time now, specifically regarding social and student life.
Students asked about getting funding for student metro cards, more clubs and club hours, and where future allocation of student activity fees will be going. Candidates all had different ideas, but the central theme of their responses was that they will accommodate all student requests as long as they are actively and transparently communicating.
Students also asked about getting more resources for students who are parents, as well as having more accommodations for students who work. The panel all unanimously agreed to address these issues, as CSI is known to have a large population of students who work.
A large topic of discussion was the observatory on campus, and how it should be used more frequently. Among the proposed ideas were star-watching and potential astronomy clubs.
“Partnering with the stem clubs on campus… commemorating the fact that our campus has an observatory,” said presidential candidate Gabriella Rosales. “Create a whole event to highlight the fact that we have this on campus.”
Students’ reaction to the panel was generally positive. Everyone in attendance had a shared sense of each candidate’s skills and desires, and seemed to have a confident say on who they were voting for.
Each candidate was interviewed afterwards by the CSI youtube channel, and gave a brief synopsis of their background and why they are running.
Towards the end of the panel, it was highlighted that although candidates can and will push for student advocacy, it takes a lot of time to get things pushed through. Just because a candidate promises that they will push for student metro cards does not mean that this will happen immediately.
Vice President candidate Katarina Bartholomew believes that her campaign will provide CSI students with the best opportunity to create change quicker than any other candidate can.
“Our campaign has the most (student government) experience and plenty of connections,” said Bartholomew. “Our campaign is running on genuine passion for students and their advocacy.”
The campaign, spearheaded by Bartholomew and presidential candidate Gabriella Rosales, is entirely female led, and- if elected- is determined to create the most efficient student government possible.
Through connections and leadership experience, they believe that they can create the change that students have been looking for.
However, other candidates aren’t backing down, and as the panel went on, it was clear that every candidate believes they have a real chance not only to win- but to make CSI a better place.
With voting set to open in the coming weeks, this panel and other student government events are sure to have a major impact on the election.
The panel was filled with plenty of questions and left us with one more- who will you be voting for?
“Our campaign is running on genuine passion for students and their advocacy,” said Bartholomew. “We’re the leaders they’ve never had but always needed”
