ASG Holds Debate Ahead of Presidential Elections

The presidential candidates exchanged remarks about mental health, Greek life reaffiliation and their motivations for running

In a highly anticipated debate last night, presidential and vice presidential candidates for Associated Student Government (ASG) were given the opportunity to introduce their platforms, cross examine each other and respond to questions in advance of today’s elections.

Presidential candidate Megan Wu, alongside running mate Paola Felix, shared her plan of action, which includes three pillars: sustainability, accessibility and well-being.

“Overall, we are passionate, we are experienced, we are driven,” Wu said. “We want to be your voice, and we want to be given the opportunity to represent you.”

The other pair, Presidential Candidate Kevin Ham and Vice Presidential Candidate Jenna Solis, detailed their plans to build a “blueprint for a better SCU.” The blueprint, Ham explained, comprises three goals: collaborative governance, enabling student passions and refining ASG’s role on campus.

“We have served as active participants in a university system,” Ham said. “We have gone beyond the simple resposting of campus issues on social media, rather working when no one is watching to ensure that our change is permanent. We do not aim to serve as performative leaders, but we hope to be decision makers.”

While Wu and Felix had a “pretty public” campaign, according to Junior Senator Clare MacMillin, Ham and Solis announced their candidacy just five days prior to the debate.

The two candidates had different answers when asked by ASG President Abigail Alvarez whether they would function bureaucratically within the administration, or as an advocate at odds with the administration.

Wu was confident in her approach as an advocate, citing her experience as a class senator and organizer of the mental health demonstration last fall.

“Throughout this past year, we have seen our campus endure a lot of things, and when those things happen and we experience tragedy, we need a strong voice that is unafraid to speak up to the administration,” Wu said.

Responding to the same question, Ham said it is important to strike a balance between advocacy and diplomacy.

“There is no scenario where the president only needs to be an advocate or a diplomatic figure,” he said. “As president, and with my experience before, I do see the value in shared governance and making sure that the president is measured and diplomatic in the way they go about their duties.”

Izzy Dachs, the current Greek Life Senator at Large, asked how they felt about reaffiliation and supporting Greek organizations in the future, adding that she has found that 65% of Greek life students do not feel as though they are represented in the associated student government.

Felix said that she is a firm believer that off-campus Greek life contributes directly to the Santa Clara experience and favors reaffiliation.

“We have seen in the past year the necessary reasons for accountability measures, and the best way to do this is [through] reaffiliation,” she said.

Similarly, Solis said that reaffiliation would help other students understand what Greek life is really about and dispel the negative connotation that it has on campus.

At-Large Senator for Health and Wellness Ariel Perlman, asked what truly drives the candidates to serve as president and vice president.

“We are running not for ourselves, but rather for the other individuals that really need to feel that they are heard and respected, and I think that is something that really drives me to become vice president,” said Solis. “I would work every single day to ensure that this position was not just handed to me; it was something that I worked for.”

“My main motivation behind running for student body president is that I recognize that Santa Clara University is not perfect; it has its fair share of flaws, and we’ve seen them throughout this year,” said Wu. “Instead of being pessimistic and looking at all these negatives, I want to be the voice to enact change, to continue to improve our university.”

Voting opened today at 8 a.m. and will close at midnight. To cast your vote, click “Additional Resources” on eCampus and go to “Student Elections.”