Eli Lindsey, ASUW elections commissioner, moderated the ASUW President and Vice President Debate between Seth Jones/Alex Mulhall and Roshan Stagger/Ryan Quigley on Friday, April 13.
After opening statements from both parties, Lindsey asked each team a series of questions that included, among other things, the main role of ASUW, transparency and First Amendment rights.
First, the teams were asked what they believe the main role of ASUW is, both teams had the opportunity to respond.
“I do view ASUW as the main student body meant to represent the students,”Stagger said. “It represents every student, not just a minority.”
Mulhall responded to the same question, saying that it represents all students and it should act as a helping hand to help maximize their collegiate career with resources that are not available in the classroom.
“When we talk about transparency and what ASUW does, there is a clear understanding of some of the things we have within our website and some of the things we do through reports and what not,” Jones said. “There is a lot of people in the student body who are not aware of those avenues in which we provide some of those platforms. In fact, having a more inclusive environment going forward is that we can make it more clear that their voices can be heard in these processes.”
Quigley said that transparency is the core of their platform. He said that in the past, they had very little knowledge of past bills, citing issues with bills that appropriated funds for SLCE office renovations and the removal of WyoVocal. He said that it is important to bring these issues to students to get their opinion on the bills before they are passed.
Stagger spoke further on this, stating that a minority of students use the resources currently available for students to find out what legislation ASUW is currently considering.
Stagger brought up a bill that Jones had previously authored, which appropriated the funds for SLCE office renovations. Jones said in response that it was part of a contingency fund with money already set aside for such projects.
Jones said that they could have possibly communicated this better, but there are constraints they must work under.
“We do not have the resources to table and to have all this outreach on every single bill and legislation,” Jones said. “With our platform, we hope to set up clear times and clear points.”
Mulhall responded to the question on First Amendment rights. She said it is important to be educated and provide resources for students and going forward, one of their bigger initiatives is making sure students understand their rights, but also to provide support for students who feel uncomfortable when others use their first amendment rights to make others feel unsafe.
“Absolutely every voice should be heard,” Mulhall said.
Quigley said that it is central to their platform when responding to the same question. He said that it is the duty of ASUW to serve as a place for students to voice their issues, that the recent shutdown of WyoVocal was harmful, as it limited the avenues for students to exercise their first amendment rights and voice their opinions.
A video of the entire debate can be found on the ASUW Facebook page. Voting for ASUW president/vice president, senate and two referendums is currently open. You can vote online by going to uwyo.edu/asuw.
