2008 Woodie Awards
Candidates come under attack during debate
Firaelle Paraison
Issue date: 2/27/08 Section: News
Lee Hall was packed for the annual presidential debate Tuesday. The purpose of the debate was to give candidates vying for Student Government Association and class officer positions a chance to state their positions and why voting for them would be beneficial.
Keenan Williams, 22, a senior business student from Philadelphia, moderated the event held at 6 p.m.
Senator, electoral commission and class office candidates were allotted one minute to give an introduction and explain their platform. Shortly after, the candidates running for student body president and vice president took the stage.
There are two parties vying for president and vice president of SGA.
Ticket A&M consists of Andrew Collins, 21, a senior business student from Atlanta, and his running mate Mellori Lumpkin, 20, a junior business student from Bainbridge, Ga.
The Franklin and Ardis Administration ticket consists of Gallop Franklin, 20, a junior pharmacy student from Tallahassee, and Dominick Ardis, 20, a junior health care management student from Tallahassee.
Williams explained the rules and how points would be assessed. Questions came from both the electoral commission and the audience.
The electoral commission asked several questions to both tickets to test their knowledge about the duties of SGA president, vice president and the cabinet.
A segment of the debate was open for questions from students in the audience. The students were straight to the point with their questions and some were a bit aggressive.
Students asked the candidates about Activity and Service fees and how they expect to improve the University's budget. Students also asked each candidate how they felt about the opposing campaign and the University's accreditation issues.
Students brought up recent allegations of Lumpkin spending unnecessary money on couches and carpet for SGA and Franklin's and Ardis' pre-campaigning. Each ticket was able to defend themselves.
Keenan Williams, 22, a senior business student from Philadelphia, moderated the event held at 6 p.m.
Senator, electoral commission and class office candidates were allotted one minute to give an introduction and explain their platform. Shortly after, the candidates running for student body president and vice president took the stage.
There are two parties vying for president and vice president of SGA.
Ticket A&M consists of Andrew Collins, 21, a senior business student from Atlanta, and his running mate Mellori Lumpkin, 20, a junior business student from Bainbridge, Ga.
The Franklin and Ardis Administration ticket consists of Gallop Franklin, 20, a junior pharmacy student from Tallahassee, and Dominick Ardis, 20, a junior health care management student from Tallahassee.
Williams explained the rules and how points would be assessed. Questions came from both the electoral commission and the audience.
The electoral commission asked several questions to both tickets to test their knowledge about the duties of SGA president, vice president and the cabinet.
A segment of the debate was open for questions from students in the audience. The students were straight to the point with their questions and some were a bit aggressive.
Students asked the candidates about Activity and Service fees and how they expect to improve the University's budget. Students also asked each candidate how they felt about the opposing campaign and the University's accreditation issues.
Students brought up recent allegations of Lumpkin spending unnecessary money on couches and carpet for SGA and Franklin's and Ardis' pre-campaigning. Each ticket was able to defend themselves.
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