The University of Massachusetts Amherst Student Government Association (SGA) held its Presidential Debate on Tuesday, Feb. 26 at 4:30 p.m. in the Student Union Cape Cod Lounge.

The debate was moderated by the Massachusetts Daily Collegian Head News Editor Daniel Frank and assistant news editor Abby Joyce. Juliana Pinelli, a Collegian Contributor, kept time for each candidate throughout the debate.

The night began with remarks from Frank about how the debate would be structured. Each candidate would get two and half minutes for opening statements, one minute for moderator questions and one and half minutes for closing statements. Moderators emphasized the importance of having a respectful and kind process during the debate.

There were four presidential tickets in attendance at the debate. Michael Borowski and Gianna Naulivou, Jacob Nevins and Darren Truong, Hai Viet Tran and Julia DeMarco and write in candidates Hadiya Ahmad and Dale Leone. Another pair of write-in candidates, Jacob Bleecker and Maggie Redinger were not in attendance.

Ava Marino and Kundayi Mazando ran for Student Trustee.

Borowski and Naulivou began with their opening statement where they brought up their three main points of Registered Student Organization (RSO) reform, nightlife development and safety and community outreach.

“This campus is amazing, it has its own zip code, it was built on the back of single businesses, agencies, organizations. If given the responsibility it would be one of our main objectives to ensure the talents of the students at this university have the outlets to shine and prosper as much as they can,” Borowski stated.

Write-in candidates Hadiya Ahmad and Dale Leone followed. Their platform centers around their values of communication, honesty, transparency and tangible results, as well as their experience as SGA members. Both candidates have been a part of the Humphries administration.

“In the upcoming year, we plan to heavily reform and uplift UMass RSOs and agencies,” Ahmad stated in her opening remarks.

After the opening statements from all candidates the debate moved into the moderator questions.

A main topic of the night was Chancellor Reyes ordering the dispersal of a Pro-Palestinian protest last May, resulting in 130 students, faculty and community members being arrested.

When asked about how SGA has been holding administrators accountable for the actions seen last May, Nevins said, “the actions of the administration last year were obtuse and grotesque.”

“I know that Darren and I both believe that students have the right to protest at a public land grant university, it is our First Amendment right and we have every right to organize and to have our voices be heard,” Nevins added.

He mentioned that he is “fully supportive” of the SGA’s work on a student’s bill of rights that is to be added to the Student Code of Conduct.

Julia DeMarco, the vice president candidate on the Tran/DeMarco ticket, discussed how the number of students arrested last May is a result of a lack of communication between students, administration and the SGA.

“I believe that it is our duty to create advisory guides that inform students of their rights when they are protesting and to give them opportunities to speak with administration more regularly,” she stated.

In addition to questions regarding campus administration and the campus climate, candidates were asked about their stance on President Donald Trump’s administration plans to restrict Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) programs and how to mitigate the effects of these restrictions on the UMass campus.

All candidates denounced the Trump administration’s plans to restrict DEI programs.

“One of our endeavors includes establishing a multi-faith prayer space on campus, specifically in the student union. We also want to hone in on DIA funds, it was established a few years back.  DEIA fund is very, very quickly being depleted … so we want to not only uplift DIA fund but allow it to be a separate program RSOs can apply to and increase the amount of funds that are  available to RSOs,” Ahmad stated.

Current Vice President Dale Leone added that he and President Humphries had sponsored a resolution supporting DEI on the UMass Amherst campus.

Nevins added that he also sponsored the resolution supporting DEI on campus. He also referenced the DIA fund.

“We are looking to support DEI at all levels across the campus by supporting the multicultural organizations that support the communities they represent,” Nevins stated.

Both Tran and DeMarco and Borowski and Naulivou echoed what their opponents stated before them. The Tran/DeMarco ticket stated their plan to support international students by providing reliable transportation to airports. This would also benefit out-of-state students. Borowski and Naulivou discussed plans to increase coordination with advocacy groups on campus to inform students about their rights.

Following a short five-minute break, the two student trustee candidates stepped to the podium for their debate. The student trustee is a representative of the university who works closely with the Board of Trustees of the UMass System. The Board of Trustees works to make the decisions that affect all UMass campuses.

“What I want to do as student trustee is to make big goals that we can get that best helps the student body,” Mazando said in her opening statement.

Her goals included lowering tuition, finding better ways to allocate funds as well as solutions for the lack of affordable housing on campus and DEI efforts.

Ava Marino emphasized that as much as she loves the UMass community, she has also seen issues about the institution.

“UMass Amherst has raised our tuition and invested those dollars in war. Our planet continues to heat up while they push back carbon zero to 2050. That is unacceptable. These are all issues that are important to our student body and I think that they should be addressed in these board meetings,” Marino stated.

The candidates were asked questions about their experience working with administrators on campus. Marino and Mazando worked together on House Council, a leadership group that elects students on campus to serve as the voice for their peers in their residence halls. Through working in a Northeast House Council, both candidates stated they formed connections with their residential directors.

Mazando focused on her past experience with house council and her time as a member of the Campus Demonstration Task Force.

“I worked directly with administrators to advocate for the rights of students in terms of our policies, including the famous land use policy that Chancellor Reyes used as an excuse to arrest students on campus,” Mazando stated.

Voting for all positions, president, vice president and student trustee opens on March 4 and ends on March 7.

Sydney Warren can be reached at [email protected].

A full transcript of both debates can be accessed.