As part of a full-scale effort to turn the often poster-happy Duke Student Government elections into an information-based campaign, the Election Commission will stage a presidential debate on the Main West Quadrangle tonight at 6 p.m.
With intense advertising restrictions and low voter turnout as consistent problems, the commission moved to inject this year’s election into the forefront of student life, bringing back the forum for the first time since 1999. Juniors Emily Aviki, Russ Ferguson and Jesse Longoria will face off on election day Thursday.
“We’re just trying to get this campaign more on a personal level and off the bulletin boards,” said junior Jamie Campbell, co-chair of the debate. “Everyone’s voting, but not everyone’s going to take the time to go to an event in the Griffith Film Theater. We’re just trying to get people in the middle of their lives.”
Each candidate will be allotted five minutes for opening statements, followed by pre-set questions ranging from the candidates’ qualifications to the role of DSG and hypothetical scenarios.
After the first round of questions, which the contenders have already seen, moderator Ryan Welsh will fire off more issue-specific questions generated by The Chronicle and student input. Three minutes will be designated for closing remarks to finish the debate, which will be held in the Great Hall in case of rain.
All three candidates, who have spent hours recently pressing their messages upon student groups in hopes of public endorsements, embraced the opportunity for tonight’s public forum.
“I’m really excited that they’re giving a debate because I think it’ll be a real chance for students to see us out in the open instead of in endorsement meetings and quick organizational speeches,” Aviki said.
Longoria relished the opportunity for the candidates to distinguish themselves from one another but did not see the debate as a panacea in changing the culture of voting for DSG.
“I think its a great first step,” he said. “There’s obviously more that’s going to need to be done in the future... to get people voting on issues rather than just who they know.”
Ferguson insisted that the presidential race was less about name recognition than the contests for other DSG executive board positions, but he praised the student-generated questions as a vehicle for shifting attention from policy to more “student-centered” topics.
“It’s a great way to get issues out there that haven’t been out there and get [students] thinking on their issues,” he said. “I think that what student life here is like is a huge issue that should be on the table.”
In addition to tonight’s debate, which will include catered food for what organizers hope will be a drop-in crowd in the hundreds, members of the Election Commission have produced three-minute campaign videos for each of the seven vice presidential candidates that will run today through Wednesday in the Great Hall.
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