The Great Hall was a little louder and a little tenser last night when three candidates for Duke Student Government president faced off in a pre-election debate.
DSG Executive Vice President Jordan Giordano, DSG Chief of Staff Kevin Troy and DSG webmaster Andrew Tutt-, all juniors, spoke to a crowd of about 20 students, many affiliated with the campaigns, along with some who stumbled upon the event while eating dinner.
A fourth candidate, junior Lawrence Chen, skipped the event, put on by The Chronicle and DSG.
The debate began with opening remarks by each candidate, followed by six questions posed by moderator David Graham, a junior and editor of The Chronicle, and closing statements from candidates.
All three candidates' platforms stressed the importance of changing DSG's culture to make it more effective and better integrate the input of senators and students.
"DSG is only as irrelevant as the people within it," Tutt said. "The students in DSG are the reason that DSG hasn't been reaching out to students and the fact of the matter is that the DSG president is the student with the most power to change that."
Giordano argued that as executive vice president and vice president for community interaction last year, he has not only spent the most time and energy working within DSG but also forged important relationships with administrators, leaders of student groups and students in general.
"Because I've had the experience to know what's worked and what hasn't worked and to actually sit side-by-side with administrators, to advocate on the behalf of students, to work with more organizations... I would be the best Duke Student Government president," he said.
With a small group of supporters cheering after each of his responses, Troy emphasized his ability to reform DSG to include more participation from students if elected.
"I want to make sure that this organization has a culture that's open, has a culture that's helpful, has a culture based on dialogue and debate in the best interest of students so that we can advocate on our own behalf," he said.
In his responses, Tutt said he would fulfill the promises of his platform immediately if given the opportunity to lead DSG.
"If I was elected, the first order of business would be to start... making sure we have the biggest turnout we've ever had for a Senate election," Tutt said.
Sophomore Erin Bell said the importance of each student's vote in the DSG elections attracted her to the debates. After hearing the candidates speak, she said Troy would be the most persuasive as president.
"Kevin may be small, but he packs a lot of punch," she said.
As the debate came to a close, Troy encouraged everyone to vote and participate in student politics, regardless of their preference for the position.
"Tell your friends to vote," he said. "It's really simple, it's online, it's a tiny bit of your time, but it makes a big difference."
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