On Feb. 28, Student Media hosted a debate among the presidential and vice presidential candidates for Student Government spring elections. Topics such as advocacy, sustainability and accessibility were heavily discussed by each ticket.

The two tickets that participated in the debate are:

• Presidential candidate Emma Carter, a third-year studying sociology and international relations, along with her vice presidential candidate Nicole Teague, a third-year studying business administration.

• Presidential candidate Alex Obiol, a fourth-year studying textile engineering, along with her vice presidential candidate Lexie Malico, a third-year Ph.D. student studying chemistry.

Technician Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Carter, a fourth-year studying political science, moderated the debate.

After he introduced the panelists and explained the structure of the debate, Carter encouraged the candidates to debate with one another during the second round of questions.

The debate began with the vice presidential candidates’ opening statements. Each candidate stated their experience within Student Government and the main goals for their candidacy.  

Teague was the first to give her opening statement.

“I am running to be your next student body vice president because I want to ensure that all students have a voice on campus and that we are working here for you,” Teague said. “As a part of Student Government, we are here to serve the students, and that is one thing we are very big on in the Carter-Teague campaign.”

Malico then gave her opening statement.

“I started at NC State back in 2016, where I joined the Chemistry Department Graduate Student Association, where I began working with the administration in terms of advocating for students,” Malico said. “I continued that in Senate as a member of [Government Relations and Oversight] and University Affairs. I work passionately on Title IX, and I am very excited to be here tonight to talk about our platform.”

The three panelists were the Nubian Message Editor-in-Chief Keilah Davis, a fourth-year studying physics; Technician News Editor Alicia Thomas, a second-year studying political science; and Mary Goughnour, social media editor for Technician and a fourth-year studying communication. The panel asked five questions in the first round and six questions in the second round to the vice presidential candidates.

Vice President Round 1

Which departments in the executive branch, if any, do you think are obsolete or unnecessary, and what departments, if any, need to be added to the executive branch?

Teague stated that the communications department within the executive branch is obsolete due to the lack of student awareness and knowledge of its responsibilities. However, Teague believes that an outreach department should be added within the executive branch.

According to Teague, this new department would focus on finding new initiatives and reaching out to a variety of student organizations on campus.  

On the other hand, Malico expressed her hesitation to call any department in the executive branch obsolete. However, she stated that the traditions department is often underutilized and believes it can be expanded.

In addition, Malico stated the wellness department should be prioritized due to its necessity to students.

Each of your platforms details the importance of diversity and inclusion on NC State’s campus. Why are your ideas more beneficial to students than your opposing candidates?

Malico introduced the concept of a “diversity roundtable,” a part of the Obiol-Malico ticket that would incorporate a diverse collection of students to form a more representative coalition to converse with Student Government.

Teague addressed the necessity of not only incorporating diversity as a priority, but addressing the distinction between diversity initiatives and inclusivity. Teague also stated that if elected, Carter and Teague would work to appoint students of diversity on their cabinet, gathering a variety of different mindsets and ideas.

As a potential student body vice president, can you highlight what the Association of Student Governments (ASG) does, and how would you continue this representation and speak out for students at the ASG level?

Teague explained ASG is compiled of 17 different UNC System schools, like UNC-Chapel Hill and UNC-Charlotte, which all have different student representation. She stated that Carter has experience within ASG.

According to Teague, the Carter-Teague ticket hopes to maintain and grow a strong relationship with ASG in order to improve the quality of student life.

Malico emphasized the importance of changing ASG rules that may be outdated or may no longer reflect the values of the UNC System.

In addition, Malico discussed her own personal experiences working with ASG; she assisted ASG in writing legislation for Title IX.

What is currently the single greatest challenge Student Government faces, and if elected, how will you work to solve it?

Malico stated the lack of students’ understanding of Student Government’s role and jurisdiction within the university is the biggest issue.

“We as an organization need to be looking outward in the community and not only underscoring what we can do and how we can assist, but how we can help students advocate for themselves,” Malico said.  

Teague stated that an improvement in the relationship between the administration and students is needed in order to increase students’ welfare.

“We want students to know that administration can be a stellar resource,” Teague said. “We want to make sure we are utilizing it properly.”

Both of your platforms discuss visibility and transparency when it comes to working with university administration. What is the most pressing issue of transparency within the university administration, and how do you plan to address it?  

Teague stated that the lack of transparency between students and their representatives in Student Government is the most pressing issue.

Malico stated the lack of understanding by the student body of what goes on “behind the scenes” in Student Government is the most pressing issue.  

Vice President Round 2

For Malico: In your platform, you list a few points on sustainability; can you elaborate further what you plan to do in the office to achieve this goal? Are there any other sustainability-related initiatives you would like to accomplish?

Malico stated reducing plastics is key to increasing sustainability on campus. She suggested replacing plastics with metal utensils and ceramics in the dining halls and restaurants on campus. In addition, Malico expressed the importance of NC State divesting from the fossil fuel industry.

“This is an issue that has been ongoing and has reached the [Association of Student Governments’] level,” Malico said. “Our endowment currently has a substantial amount of money in the fossil fuel industry, but what we would like to see is the [university] divesting from that and into more sustainable energy sources.”

Teague responded and agreed with Malico’s statements. However, she added that the Carter-Teague ticket would like to see more sustainable events on campus.

Malico continued and added Student Government should work to be more sustainable by reducing its paper usage. Teague agreed with Malico’s statement and highlighted the use of Google Docs when completing Student Government work.

For Teague: You write in your platform that you “believe in collaborating with the administration and Board of Trustees to complete various projects.” Can you be more specific on what those projects would be and how you plan on accomplishing them?

Teague stated that over the past few years, Student Government has worked to reduce the amount of student fees and limit fee increases.

According to Teague, the Carter-Teague ticket would work with the Board of Trustees to maintain and accomplish this goal. Carter would sit in on the Board of Trustees meetings if elected.

Jonathan Carter asked a follow-up question regarding Teague’s specific plans for affordability on campus.

Teague answered Jonathan Carter’s question, stating that if elected, she will work with the Board of Trustees to implement the trans-inclusive syllabi clause.  

Malico agreed with Teague’s statement, but went on to discuss students’ food insecurity and housing instability. She expressed the hardships of being a student when basic needs are not met.

Teague agreed with Malico’s statement.

For Malico: This is a student-submitted question: Considering senior design, student teaching, unfunded research positions and varsity athletics, unpaid student labor exists on a large scale at NC State. Do the candidates think that this is a problem? If so, what would be your solution?

Malico expressed that unpaid and underpaid student labor is an incredibly large issue on campus. She mentioned how resident advisors are not getting paid enough, in addition to many graduate students like herself.

Malico stated she feels comfortable advocating for students and working with the administration to increase wages and support for student labor.  

Teague agreed with Malico’s statement, but said she is unsure of Student Government’s jurisdiction for this issue. If elected, Teague stated she would collaborate with administration and other entities on campus to decrease this issue.

Jonathan Carter asked Malico to expand further on the specific initiatives she would enact for this issue, if elected.

Malico restated her previous statement, saying the Obiol-Malico ticket is comfortable advocating for students to any higher up organization.   

For Teague: You say that you want to reduce the cost of parking passes and work with university transportation to expand access to parking. What specific plans do you have to accomplish this?

According to Teague, Carter has a strong relationship with NCSU Transportation, allowing the Carter-Teague ticket to work with the department more easily. With this relationship, they will advocate for reduced parking costs if elected.

However, Malico stated that if the department reduced parking costs, the university would have to raise student fees.

According to Malico, the Obiol-Malico ticket would like to increase the number of bus lines and establish a bus line in Greek Village in order to increase sustainability and address transportation concerns.

For Malico: In your platform, you discuss creating a Graduate Student Bill of Rights to protect those students. What would a Graduate Student Bill of Rights look like and how would it be enforced?

Malico explained that graduate students at NC State do not get paid a living wage and cannot live comfortably in Raleigh.

For the Graduate Student Bill of Rights, Malico believes that every graduate student should have the ability to switch graduate advisors without prejudice, work a maximum of 60 hours a week and have better health coverage.   

“We need to be clear on if we are faculty or if we are students and what those expectations of us are,” Malico said. “At this point, I’m not sure that any graduate student can tell you that.”

For Teague: You write in your platform that you want to continue access to the sustainability fund. What does that entail?

Teague wants to increase the engagement of sustainability on campus by ensuring that events held are sustainability certified.

Malico asked Teague what types of initiatives the Carter-Teague ticket would like to see within the fund.

Teague discussed the usage of signage in restaurants and dining halls on campus to inform students what type of waste is compostable or recyclable.

The second round of the debate ended. Below are the candidates’ closing statements:

“I think Alex and I are particularly excited and prepared to take on a number of the things we discussed and debated on tonight,” Malico said. “Alex and I are very prepared to take on these roles, and I hope I get to represent you in the near future.”

“Every single initiative we have in our platform, we are making sure we are keeping the students first,” Teague said. “We really want to stress in our term in office that we are here for the students and Student Government is a resource for all students on campus, and I want to make sure that doesn’t go unnoticed.”

The vice presidential debate was then concluded.

Voting opens on March 4 at 8 p.m.