Candidates face off in first WSA presidential debate

By Jason Koole
Western Herald

On Tuesday night, Aaron Booth and Andrew Ladd squared off in the first debate for the presidential election of the Western Student Association.

Jo Wei Looi/Western Herald | (Left to right) Chris Rettich, Joey Blaszczyk, Aaron Booth, and Andrew Ladd pose for a picture before the WSA Presidential Debate on Tuesday night at the Western Michigan University Bronco Mall.

The 7:00 p.m. debate was held on the stage in the Bronco Mall of the Bernhard Center and many people quickly filled up seats to watch the debate, including the Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell. Booth and Ladd were joined by their running mates Joey Blasczcyk and Christopher Rettich, respectively.

The debate allowed each candidate to have three minutes to express his point before a rebuttal. The discourse covered issues ranging from getting students more involved in the WSA to opinions on the proposed event center in downtown Kalamazoo.

Ladd defined his role as president of the WSA as being the voice of the students.

“It can be summed up in one really good sentence, actually,” Ladd said. “As the president, I will act as the spokesperson of the student body, to the university administration, city commission, and state legislation.”

In contrast, Booth said that he wanted to bring more teamwork to the WSA.

“We want to bring more of a team aspect to the WSA as president and vice-president,” Booth said. “We want to makes sure that we’re working as a team; it’s a group effort here, its not one versus the other or cabinet versus senate.”

Western Student Association Presidential Debate, Feb 23 from Fritz Klug on Vimeo.

After the debate each candidate made closing statements in regard to what they wanted to do with their presidency.

“We just want to make sure that student voices are heard, and that’s something were really going to put in our initiative next year if we are elected. Something we want to stress right now is that change, change, change, we don’t really need it right now,” Booth said.

“We have so many great initiatives that are already in place that we described in this debate that we need to follow through on to be successful, things don’t happen over night, over the course of the year, things take time.”

Ladd’s closing statement ended on different note, as he talked about their role on campus as leaders of the student body.

“We want to leave you with a note. As leaders here on campus, we really believe that we make a difference,” said Ladd. “We want to act as a student voice to university administration, we want to collaborate with other RSOs around here. Remember, exceptional students deserve exceptional leadership.”

The next debate will take on a town hall style in the Chemistry Building on March 10.

The election will take place from March 15 to March 19.

Kalamazoo Mayor Bobby Hopewell weighs in on the WSA debate from Fritz Klug on Vimeo.

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Posted by heraldstaff on Feb 25 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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