Molly Tumanic

Senior Daneille Strong attended Wednesday’s Student Senate Presidential debate to get a look at all the candidates together for the first time.

“I make it a point to know who is running my student body,” she said.

About 60 students attended, some wearing the campaign buttons of those speaking at the debate.

Three tickets are running for the Presidential spot: senior Chad Wade and running mate junior Meredith Marx; junior Bob Bourgeois and his vice-presidential candidate junior Lindsey Nelson; and senior Scott Olson and his running mate, junior Dawn Snyder.

Student Senate President Adrian Klenz, the moderator of the debate, said this year’s debate didn’t have the same feisty spirit as the debate he participated in last year.

“Last year, it was a little tense,” he said.

The overall tone for Wednesday’s debate was civil, Klenz said, “with a few jabs here or there.”

Bourgeois and Nelson took some hits for their lack of Senate experience.

Snyder said new ideas are good, but the new president needs Senate experience.

“You need to know how things work,” she said.

When Olson and Snyder were asked how they hoped to work with the administration, Olson said he’s worked with “a sizable regime” of administrators through his commission and committee work.

Bourgeois retaliated by saying Senate is a body representative of the students in general and an outsider will help dissolve the impression that Senate is an exclusive club.

Wade contrasted his directorship with Olson’s.

Wade said his performance as Finance Commission Director showed he wanted input into the budgeting process through open hearings.

He said the Information Technology Commission, which Olson directs, did not hold the hearings, which constitutes a breach of the bylaws.

Though students occupied most of the seats in the Cabin for the debate, Klenz said the Senate election will probably have a smaller turnout than last year.

The soon-to-be former president also said candidates waited until the last minute to start campaigning.

Senate elections also came as a surprise to some organizations partially because students’ attentions were drawn to the Wisconsin primary and neighborhood-related issues, Klenz said.

Though Strong asked candidates questions before the debate, she said Wednesday’s debate solidified her decision on who to vote for.