Candidates running for positions in Student Council, the Honor Committee and the University Judiciary Committee debated such issues as rush dates, funding for Madison House and the Honor Committee's single sanction in the Rotunda's Dome Room last night.
Student Council presidential candidates Joe Bilby, Brendan Dignan, Michael McPheeters and Kevin Neher focused on the University's controversial decision to move rush to the spring.
Candidate Matt Garrity was not present at the debate.
Dignan condemned the administration's "arbitrary" decision to move rush to the spring and said Student Council should be an advocate of the Greek system.
"It is imperative that the Student Council president articulate the vision of self-governance to the administration," he said.
Bilby opposed Dignan's view, arguing that fraternities and sororities must demonstrate to the administration that they are "making concrete benefits to the University" in order to have their concerns addressed.
"Student Council should play a minor role" in the resolution of the issue, he said.
Neher advocated increased philanthropy on the part of the Greek system, but said he disagreed with the movement of rush to spring.
"It's hard for me to tell first-year students that it is not their right" to make the decision to rush in the fall, he said.
McPheeters advocated a student referendum on the issue and said Student Council should play a role in presenting the student body's opinion to the administration.
"Whenever an issue faces the University community, Student Council representatives have to address it," he said.
Candidates for Council Vice President for Organizations Kelly Harris, Nick Jabbour and Brian Maxted debated the topics of diversity within the Council Appropriations Committee and the fairness of the appropriations process.
Harris said applications for a position on the committee should be reviewed to ensure a "fair mix of all ethnic representations."
Jabbour said committee bylaws should be changed in order to guarantee representation from all factions of the University, such as athletics and service organizations.
To make certain all organizations regard the appropriations process as fair, Maxted advocated better and earlier communication of appropriations deadlines and procedures.
Candidates for College Honor Committee representative Ryan Blackledge, Thomas Hall, Forrest Jones and Ginny Rothschild all said they were in favor of removing the seriousness clause in cases of cheating and preserving the single sanction.
The single sanction demands that any student who is convicted of lying, cheating or stealing must be expelled from the University.
As it stands now, the seriousness clause allows student juries to find accused students not guilty on an academic cheating charge if they feel the offense is not serious enough.
Candidates for the Judiciary Committee expressed views on how they feel the functioning of the Committee can be improved and how the bylaws can be made more accessible to the student body as a whole.
Elections began last night, and will continue until 8 p.m. Thursday. New members of the Honor and Judiciary Committees will take office in the beginning of April, while new Council officers will assume control at the end of the spring semester.
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