USAC presidential hopefuls to debate tonight

As campaigning for the Undergraduate Students Association
Council elections begins today, all three candidates for president
will come together in a debate sponsored by the Daily Bruin and
BruinNews29.

The event, scheduled to be held in De Neve Auditorium at 7 p.m.,
is open to the public.

Student Power! candidate Jenny Wood, Bruins United candidate
Alex Gruenberg and Bruin Liberation Movement candidate Jake Strom
will field questions posed by a panel of moderators.

All candidates will also provide opening and closing statements,
and will be given a period to ask questions of their fellow
candidates.

After the debate, there will be two town hall meetings. In the
first, the candidates for internal and external vice president will
answer questions from the audience. In the second, candidates for
the general representative positions will have the floor.

The presidential debate was originally supposed to be between
Wood and Gruenberg, as Strom had decided not to attend, but he said
he had a “change of heart.”

“I just thought it’d be fun,” Strom said.

The debate aims to spur interest in the election process.

“It will get the wheels rolling (for the election),”
said USAC Election Board Publicity Chair Richard Meng.

Meng said one of the goals of the debate is to expose new
students to USAC, though it is still targeting all students on
campus.

He said the debate gives each candidate the opportunity to
directly address the concerns of the students.

Meng added that the debate will help those in attendance make
more informed decisions in next week’s election.

As an added perk, Meng said the first 50 off-campus residents to
attend the debate will receive a voucher for one meal in the
on-campus dining halls. The voucher is valid for use anytime at any
dining hall until the end of the quarter.

The presidential candidates expressed enthusiasm for the
upcoming debate.

“It is a good opportunity to better understand the
candidates,” Wood said.

Wood added that she would like to discuss reform of the
admissions process and the Expected Cumulative Progress
requirement, as well as the situation of health care on campus.

Gruenberg said he hopes the event will “address real
issues,” ranging from the expectations for the new president
to the question of a possible student senate within USAC.

“It should be very exciting and informative,”
Gruenberg said.

Strom said he hopes to give his opponents “a run for their
money,” adding that although he may have lofty goals, his are
honest.

“My goal is to strike some fear into my opponents,”
Strom said.

The event will be moderated by Daily Bruin Editor-In-Chief Tyson
Evans and Assistant News Editor Narges Zohoury, as well as a Bruin
News 29 reporter.

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