Ball State's Student Government Association (SGA) had their final debate at Pruis Hall from 7-8 p.m. Feb. 17.
The debate featured Tina Nguyen, SGA President who’s re-running for her position, and Monet Lindstrand, vice presidential candidate and current President Pro Tempore. Nguyen and Lindstrand are the only candidates on the ticket this year.
Nguyen and Lindstrand reviewed their platforms for sexual assault awareness and safe transportation.
Nguyen said she wants to “leave a better Ball State than the one [she] found.”
When discussing sexual assault awareness, Nguyen discussed plans to work with local bars to implement an "angel shot," and promoted the "Step In. Speak Up." app.
“At Ball State, we have, unfortunately, had a lot of cases about sexual assault. 'Step In. Speak Up.' is a great tool to self report and help people understand what happened to them,” Nguyen said.
When discussing transportation, Lindstrand reviewed plans to increase awareness about Ball State’s transportation services, such as Charlie’s Charter, so students can better take advantage of them.
“We really want to work with [Charlie’s Charter] to make sure people know what [services are offered] and how to use them.” Lindstrand said.
Lindstrand also talked about working with bus services to add a second blue loop.
“Make it so that students on campus can get to their classes on time and be able to [confidently] use bus routes,” Lindstrand said.
RELATED: Monet Lindstrand promotes student happiness and safety at SGA’s vice-presidential debate.
Nguyen also stated her passion for creating diversity in Ball State’s education.
“Creating diversity in education is why I initially ran," Nguyen said. "That’s the most impact you can have, is spreading the word and actually implementing this within and outside of the senate."
Nguyen announced plans to introduce diversity talks into freshman seminars.
“Not everyone knows what diversity is, so that first conversation is very important so students can have a safe place to talk and understand this topic,” Nguyen said.
Lindstrand took the opportunity to encourage student engagement and praise the SGA’s open-door policy.
“I love having an open-door policy in my role of being able to talk to students. We want to get that feedback and hear what everyone is hoping to say.” Lindstrand said.
Contact Richard Kann with comments at richard.kann@bsu.edu or on Twitter @RichardKann.
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