Candidates for Student Government Association (SGA) student trustee and president met last night for a formal debate of issues facing them as elections draw near.

SGA elections are this Wednesday and Thursday this week.

The candidates were questioned by a journalistic panel of three students in a televised debate at UVC-19.

Hannah Fatemi, a candidate for trustee, had trouble with a proposed smoking ban that the Faculty Senate has recently passed.

“How can they make a policy where 24,000 students don’t have a voice? We need to change that,” she said.

Candidates for both the student trustee and president positions all spoke largely on the need for an improvement in the student voice and in informing the general student body about what functions the SGA serves within the campus community.

“Outreach has always been a problem,” David Carr, incumbent SGA president and candidate for re-election said. “A lot of students are uninformed about what we do on a daily basis.”

“People don’t take the SGA seriously and don’t think they have any power,” Aiysha Cooper, a presidential candidate, said.

The four candidates for student trustee are Jason Bissonnette, Gladys Franco, Hannah Fatemi and Brian Thompson. The five candidates for president of the SGA are David Carr (incumbent), Aiysha Cooper, Mark Morrison, David Falvey and Cornelius Nugent.

The idea of “working for students and not paychecks” was mentioned by Thompson. Thompson, along with his running mate Falvey, is focusing on changing the politics and the group of friends in the SGA.

“I will work for the best interests of the students, not politics,” Thompson said.

Falvey wants to get to know senators on a more personal level.

Carr’s main point was that he has the experience to continue with the position next year.

“I think I do a great job serving the voice of the students,” Carr said. “It’s hard to represent 18,000 people on a daily basis.”

“When it comes down to what’s important, it’s the students – and without them, there wouldn’t be a school,” Cooper said.

Budget concerns and Gov. Romney’s higher education proposal were also a point of contention last night.

According to Fatemi, Romney’s budget plan sounded good at first, but it could end up costing $20,000 to $30,000 for out-of-state students to attend school. That doesn’t seem to fit with the universities’ mission of being affordable, she said.

Franco agreed that the University must be affordable to any student and that it does not need to become an elite institution.

Bissonnette, said that the proposal has “great potential.”

“It would allow this campus to maintain flagship status and ultimately, to grow,” Bissonnette said.

Carr said that he spoke last week to Chancellor John V. Lombardi about Romney’s proposal.

“The devil’s in the details,” Carr said. “And right now we don’t have enough details.”

“The proposal is just that: a proposal,” Morrison said, adding that the SGA has done a good job handling the issue so far.

Fatemi said the University needs to be advocated for better in Boston, especially concerning budget problems.

“Luckily we have a new chancellor who is very gung-ho right now about raising private funding, but that is not enough,” Fatemi said.

Candidates also debated a referendum question that will determine whether or not Greek students will be considered as commuter students on future ballots.

“The SGA should be dedicated to [Greeks] defining themselves,” Morrison said. “Students should be able to choose where they live.”

“The issue comes down to listening to what they have to say,” Falvey said. “The Greeks have done a lot of good, they have done a lot of community service which they are not recognized for.”

Candidates are split on whether having a police dog on campus is a good thing or not.

“It’s not exactly clear yet what the dog will be used for, but if there are rapes on campus, then we certainly need extra help,” Falvey said.

“I believe a dog impedes students’ rights. Everyone has a right to privacy,” Cooper said. “I don’t believe one dog is going to make a change on campus.”

Nugent refused to answer any question directly all night, responding to each question with something totally unrelated and often vulgar. Nugent made reference to his genitalia in response to one of the questions.

“It’s hard to think of original ways to climb through air vents,” he said in response to a question on Romney’s budget proposal.

“The most interesting part of that question is that it’s not interesting at all,” Nugent said in response to the question on Greek status. “Elvis is my hero.”

Elections will be held Wednesday and Thursday at all dining commons, the Campus Center, and the Newman Center.