Correction: A previous version of this article stated that Bryant was opposed to Greek housing. It has since been updated to reflect that Bryant is just opposed to the university funding Greek housing.
The battle between the Red Party and United Party starts today. Students can vote at the Student Union, library or online on March 7 or 8. If you didn’t watch the Presidential Debate here is a recap of what went down.
The Presidential Debate on Feb. 28 went over several topics between each of the candidates, Samantha Mims (Red Party) and Rachel Bryant (United Party). The debate was moderated by Dr. Michael Binder, a political science professor.
The debate came right after two complaints against each party were filed. It was divided into three sections. The first section contained questions that Binder asked the candidates. The second section consisted of questions asked by the audience of the debate. The third section of the debate contained questions asked by the opposite candidate.
The candidates discussed the cabinet appointments, platform promises and what being a president means. Bryant said she would continue the work that SG President Bella Genta and previous President Caleb Grantham have done. Mims said she wants to increase the transparency and accountability of SG.
Greek housing was a hot topic of debate. Mims and Bryant both want to implement Greek housing, however, the way the would go about it is different. Bryant stated that she met with the Panhellenic Council and they do not want Greek housing funded by the university. She said she would work with the leaders of Greek life to implement housing.
Mims stated that the Greek Housing Plan has not been updated since 2006 while Bryant said it was updated in 2012. According to the UNF Fraternity and Sorority website, the last mention of building Greek Housing was in 2012.
Another topic of debate was the fact that Mims is an athlete. She is a beach volleyball player and has to commit several hours a week to the sport. During a rebuttal, Bryant brought up that as SG President, you serve on a committee that allocates funds to SG, the Counseling Center and other areas of UNF, including the athletic department. SG President can also break the tie if the committee cannot decide which funds should go where. Mims replied that it was “an unfair assessment” of her.
During the third portion of the debate, Bryant asked Mims how it felt to be running for the party she once thought was “dead.” Mims replied that at the time of that comment she was part of United Party, but would not like to reveal why she left.
Bryant rebutted Mims saying that Mims should reveal why she left the United Party. Mims then stated that she felt pressured to vote for certain bills while under United Party. She switched parties because she wanted to go to a party where she didn’t feel pressured to vote a certain way.
You can catch the whole debate here:
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