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SGA presidential candidates debate on Thursday, April 6. Megan Patterson • The Daily Beacon

SGA ELECTIONS

“With a new chancellor on campus, Morgan Mickey Hunter emphasized the opportunity for making immediate, impactful change and promised to be the leaders that students need.” See more of The Daily Beacon’s Editorial Endorsement on page 2. >>

Volume 133 Issue 51

UT students face off in SGA debate Candidates discuss platforms, future of SGA Annie Tieu Asst. News Editor

Students packed into the Alumni Memorial Building to watch SGA president and vice president candidates face off, and the annual debate took place Thursday night, April 6, at 7:30 p.m. It opened with the runners for vice president: Kiersten Marsh, from the Banks-Marsh campaign, Mickey Curtis from the Morgan Mickey Hunter campaign and Emily Dickey from Unite UT. The debate was moderated by Eddie Roe, senior in College Scholars. During both debate rounds, SGA vice president and SGA president, the order in which the candidates spoke was switched throughout the debate The vice presidential candidates began by explaining why they decided to run for SGA vice president, beginning with Marsh and ending with Curtis and Dickey, respectively.

Marsh said her decision to run for SGA vice president came from her confidence in her abilities. “There is a divide on campus, and one of the things I pride myself on is compromise,” Marsh said. Curtis noticed that there was confusion within SGA Senate and also among students and SGA, which he wants to resolve and bring about cohesion. “It is my vow, my dedication, in this vice president position to make sure everyone in Senate understands what it means to advocate for the constituency … to actively listen,” Curtis said. Dickey said the goal of Unite UT is to serve the students and empower them. “An approachable and student-centric SGA can be a really uniting force on this campus,” Dickey said. “SGA walks alongside student … We help them.” The vice presidential candidates addressed issues over campus climate, the proposed intellectual diversity office and

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other diversity issues. Eventually, the vice presidents presented their closing statements. For her closing statement, Marsh focused on the BanksMarsh campaign slogan “LIT,” an acronym for leadership, integrity and teamwork. “We’re not going to get anywhere in SGA without leadership, integrity and teamwork,” Marsh said. “We’re trying to demonstrate, with this campaign and with the people that we’ve attracted to this campaign, what kind of leadership that we’re going to have in SGA next year.” Curtis ended with a statement on bringing empowerment, accessibility, accountability and cohesiveness to UT campus and student government. “The Morgan Mickey Hunter campaign is not just about the policy. It’s about the people … It’s about you, you as students, us as students,” Curtis said. “We want to create that personal relationship.” See SGA DEBATE on Page 3

Friday, April 7, 2017


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