Everything you didn’t miss at the VSG presidential debate

“We have 100 problems, I’m aware of them”, said Lizzy Shahnasarian, the current president of VSG. Lizzy opened the debate along with other senior members of VSG including the speaker of the Senate, Jackson Vaught.

They gave a run-down of the things VSG have accomplished during Lizzy’s time in office, referencing the Sexual Assault Task Force and progress in developing gender neutral housing.

Then the debate started. Multiple questions covered “diversity”, Vanderbilt’s favorite buzzword. The first, in regards to the recent instatement of George Hill as Chief Diversity Officer.

Both candidates said they had already enjoyed working with Hill, and Ariana said she saw, “meetings that bring him together with students”, as the key to making Hill’s role on campus meaningful and effective.

Jude’s running mate, Andrew Brodsky, said he wanted to,”increase collaboration between different organizations”.

He said: “We need to work together to make sure everyone is represented and has the ability to succeed and thrive on campus”.

Ariana’s running mate, Taylor Gutierrez, said it was important to “break down the walls between all these different groups,” so that students could better learn from each other.

In response to a question about improving diversity, Jude talked about wanting to make Vanderbilt a more welcoming space for international students.

She said: “They get here and they don’t know where to get food, where to walk”.

She argued that more efforts need to be made, “to show [international students] we’re excited to have them”.

The candidates were also asked a question relating to VSG’s budget scandal. “I was one of the first members of VSG to say that’s not ok”, said Andrew Brodsky, Jude’s running mate.

Ariana said she wanted to end the culture of “meetings behind closed doors” and emphasized that VSG’s current “problems with communication” needed to be solved.

She said: “The treasurer should be involved with every meeting regarding the budget”.

When asked about how they would combat sexual assault on campus, the candidates did offer differing perspectives. Jude argued the importance of “bringing students into the room with administrators” and said that, too often, students and faculty are “competing to solve the same end goal”.

Ariana made it clear she wanted to “simplify the jargon” surrounding sexual assault, saying that many of the documents involved in the process of bringing perpetrators to justice were overcomplicated and confusing for students to try and understand. She said the “creation of visual aids” would make it easier for everyone to come together and try and tackle the issue head-on.

The moderators questioned Ariana about her decision to leave VSG for a year. She said the breadth of experience she gained in her first year as part of VSG, “working with all levels of the organization, from CLC to Exec”, meant she had already gained a deep insight into how the organization worked.

Jude was questioned on how her perceived status as an “establishment candidate” could hurt her campaign. She said she saw it as “a big strength” of her candidacy.

She said: “You can’t change something unless you know it”.

Both candidates were asked for their views on Newcomer’s decision to run, and his eligibility, which has been the most controversial part of the election so far.

Ariana said: “I love it”.

“I talked to Jack, he’s a great kid. It’s great to see students getting involved. Personally, I think restricting a write-in ballot would be unconstitutional.”

Ariana added, “I think the Newcomer campaign has been a great thing for this campus”.

This drew claps and cheers from Dan Stefan, Newcomer’s running mate, who attended the debate as a member of the audience.

Ariana’s campaign team referenced a previous VSG bill that Jude had been part of drafting, which had attempted to require three semesters at Vandy before someone would be able to run for president, which would render freshman ineligible.

Jude said Newcomer’s campaign had changed her mind.

She said:  “It’s a great thing that students care so much, students should be able to choose”.

Dan Stefan later said on Vandy Radio that he didn’t think Jude was “truthfully supportive” of their campaign.

Ariana defined one of Vanderbilt’s core values as “success”.

“Success is defined differently by all students”, she said, adding that, “not all students are being celebrated in the way they should be”.

“I don’t think anyone can have success without support”, said Jude.

She said she loved Vanderbilt’s “culture of students applauding each other”.

Jude also said we needed a “more holistic” education.

“I work but I can’t do my taxes”, she said, suggesting that Vanderbilt students need to be better prepared for the real world.

In her closing speech, Jude said: “Talk to us, we don’t want this to be Jude and Andrew’s vision for the future”.

Ariana emphasized that her campaign was also “about the students”.

She said: “We are the outsider campaign”.

“I know you’re sick of seeing our faces. I’m sorry for being on Facebook all the time. But this is about you”.