Student Media hosts 2019 Student Government election debate

On Thursday, Feb. 28, both tickets of candidates for student body president and vice president will participate in a debate hosted by NC State Student Media in Student Governance Chambers, Talley room 4140.

The presidential debate is between two candidates this year, Emma Carter and Alex Obiol. Emma Carter is a third-year studying sociology and international studies, and her running mate is Nicole Teague, a third-year studying business administration. Alex Obiol is a third-year studying textile engineering, and her running mate is Lexie Malico, a third-year Ph.D. student in the chemistry department.

The debate is open to all students to attend and an opportunity for involvement, according to Technician editor-in-chief Jonathan Carter, a fourth-year studying political science. Carter said the debates serve mainly as a tool for students to get to know the candidates and get involved in the elections process, so they can select the people that will represent their interests in the next 2019-2020 school year and make decisions on their behalf at the schoolwide level.

“Knowing these candidates and their platforms is really important, because then they know the information they need in order to vote,” Carter said. “We do the debates leading up to the election because we want the student body to be informed on these candidates, to be informed on their platforms and, most importantly, so they can see these candidates that they are going to be voting for in action.”

The debate will be moderated by Carter and will have three panelists asking questions. Two of these judges will be members of the Technician staff, and another will be Keilah Davis, editor-in-chief of Nubian Message and a fourth-year studying physics**.

Only the vice presidential and presidential candidates will be involved in the debate and receiving questions. The candidates will be provided with a time allotment for both an opening and closing statement, in between which they will be provided with questions*.

The debate is the same structure as last year’s, aside from the fact that there are half as many candidates, with last year’s debate boasting four candidates for president while this year’s includes two. Regardless, Carter said that he anticipates the same turnout and hopes that many people will also watch the Facebook Live stream.

Students also have a chance to direct message questions to Technician through Facebook and Twitter for a chance their questions will be asked at the debate Thursday.

“We’re going to pick the top questions we get from individuals on Twitter and Facebook and ask them at the debate,” Carter said. “There’s no part of the debate that’s open to public comment during debate, there’s no question-and-answer session or anything like that, so this is students’ chance to get their thoughts and ideas out there.”

Davis explained that to her, an effectual leader for the student body must possess several qualities. These include knowing a lot about Student Government and possessing the ability to communicate strong ideas.

Davis also emphasized the importance of students becoming involved in the election process and ultimately voting, saying that many students do not think Student Government has much power, making people apathetic. However, she said that Student Government can have significant influence on several bodies of people in and outside the university.

“I think that it’s super important that students plug in and pay attention to the campaign process, the many debates and presentations that will happen within the next week,”  Davis said. “They are picking a set of people who have the power to shape the course of NC State history, really, and that affects all of us who are here now and even after we’re gone.”

*Editor’s Note: Questions for the candidates will be asked by the panelists.

**Editor’s Note: This article has been updated to accurately reflect Keilah Davis’ major.