#The highlight room free#

We need to dial down and mold it more for the average student to try to figure out what they want to see,” Lei said.įarquharson and Rodgers argued USG needs to be more involved with students’ ongoing issues on campus. “Right now, we use professional-level political language. Taylor and Lei said they think the best way to have transparency and representation in USG is to make things easier to understand and encourage average students to participate in the organization. Taylor said he and Lei are “here to represent the average student,” and students should see a relatable leader. Student engagement and representation within USG “We do not spend student activity money on anything internal.” “As someone who is in USG, student activity fund fees go to student activities bar none,” Mason said. McAlpine and Mason,who have both served in USG for three years, agreed money should go back to students but defended the current USG budget. We have a lot of experience working with money to make responsible decisions,” Lei said. “We are very qualified to make financial decisions seeing that we are both finance students. Taylor and Lei also criticized USG’s current spending and want to focus on giving USG’s budget back to student organizations in a feasible manner. According to USG’s 2022 Fall Budget, the Internal Operations Team spent $12,000 on sherpas for “USG Wide Apparel.” Rodgers and Farquharson claimed $12,000 were spent on custom jackets for USG members this year. If you actually want to help students, why not actually give money to organizations that know what they are talking about?” Rodgers said. Rodgers said USG’s budget should be focused more on external spending as opposed to on itself. But we want to use our resources to bring in those who do know,” McAlpine said.

“The reason why we’re running is because we know we don’t have all the answers to every question on campus. They are dedicated to ensuring USG uses its resources to help uplift students and is helping them balance college life. McAlpine and Mason said they are focused on bridging the gap between the student body and USG. McAlpine, a third-year in electrical and computer engineering who most recently served as senior director of engagement, and Mason, a third-year in political science who most recently served as senior director of issues, are the only pair from a USG background. We are here to advocate for the normal, average student,” Taylor said. They said there are too many things out of USG’s control. Their main focus is on USG’s budget spending and pinpointing exactly what the student body’s responsibilities are by making the organization more efficient. With their Eagle Scout backgrounds, they believe they have the leadership skills to bring representation to the average student. Taylor, a third-year in finance, and Lei, a third-year in finance and economics, said they are dedicated to giving back to students. I also believe that USG spends money recklessly, and I would like to fix that,” Rodgers said. “I cannot think of any starting jobs in the field I’m in that would give me this kind of money.

#The highlight room free#

They said they were there for the free tuition and parking passes USG leaders get. įarquharson, a third-year in mechanical engineering, and Rodgers, a first-year in film studies and marketing, have based their campaign on being “anti-USG,” hoping to stop internal spending in the organization. Voting for this year’s election will begin Monday at noon and close Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. “Regardless, we wanted to issue an apology to any groups this has disproportionately affected, which includes groups that we ourselves are a member of.” We condemn these, and they do not reflect our personal views nor the views of the campaign,” Levenberg said. “We were unaware of the comments made by a member of our slate. USG presidential candidates Michael Farquharson, running with Julian Rodgers, Bobby McAlpine with Madison Mason, and Michael Taylor with Ming Lei debated ahead of the election.įarquharson and Rodgers ended their election bid Sunday night due to “unsavory” comments Farquharson made a “couple of years ago,” Henry Levenberg - a first-year graduate student in learning technologies and Farquharson’s and Rodgers’ campaign manager - said. They also highlighted representation and student engagement within USG, as well as safety and mental health policies. The candidates focused on USG’s budget, ongoing issues within the organization and ways to improve both. Credit: Sydney Jones | Lantern ReporterĪround 30 people gathered in the Interfaith Room of the Ohio Union and more over Zoom Sunday afternoon to hear the policies and goals of the three Undergraduate Student Government campaigns that will appear on the ballot this week. Three campaigns participated in a debate for Undergraduate Student Government president Sunday afternoon.