Debate Recap

Ashley Reynolds showed her expertise and knowledge of the finance codes, quelling any doubts over her lack of student government experience during the debate. Despite chaos throughout the debate, Reynolds was able to stay firm, and explained her platform, future policies, and current legislation. She brought up specific Senate legislation, such as SBL116-95, a bill to enforce comptroller response times. Reynolds stood by her previous statement of being hard but fair on the comptrollers. She also mentioned well as SBL116-97, a bill to relax entry restrictions on programs. This directly lead into one of her pillars, which is to expand eligibility for organizations. Reynolds fielded other questions about building trust with students through financial literacy, enforcing deadlines for reimbursements, and spoke about working with the senate about conferences. All in all, Ashley Reynolds showed who she is in the debate.

Meanwhile, Maura Hamilton spoke highly of her running mate, while also advocating for the collaboration between branches of student government. Hamilton mentioned working with the finance committee and the Treasurer’s Office to eliminate any discrepancies the entities may have. She spoke upon the foundation she has laid in the 116th Student Senate, and how in the 117th, she will continue this work and improve on it. Hamilton also spoke on outreach, mentioning how she wanted the students to know student government more through many different avenues. Hamilton introduced the idea of a town hall, where students could come and ask senators and executives questions to improve their understanding of Student Government. Hamilton is committed to creating a sense of stability and trust, and that showed through her debate.