The presidential debate for Ball State University's Student Government Association (SGA) occurred Tuesday evening.

It featured candidates Noah Poole from the “Elevate” ticket and Samuel Adams from the “Adams and Angel” ticket. Both candidates presented their opinions and ideas for their potential candidacy in the upcoming election during the debate.

In the opening statements, Poole said he’s fit to be president due to his “lived experiences” through his diverse leadership involvement in Greek life and business management organizations on campus. 

One of the top priorities for Poole's "Elevate" platform is ensuring the safety of students. To achieve this, they plan to develop a reach out app that provides access to various safety resources on and off campus. 

These resources include: mental health hotlines, information on drug and alcohol use, transportation options and even a mobile blue light feature that can be used in dangerous situations while off-campus.

“Without a safety net for students, students aren't able to get their basic needs met,” Poole said. “Without those basic needs being met, first and foremost, students don't feel safe or ready to learn in the classroom, engage in student organizations or participate in university-sponsored events.”

One project Poole would like to implement is reforming the Benny Link app so that students can become more actively engaged with and aware of the organizations on campus. 

According to Poole, this project will improve the student experience on campus by encouraging and facilitating student participation in organizations. 

In turn, Poole hopes that reforming Benny Link will also increase the representation of SGA on campus so more students can become empowered to have their voice heard and gain a “baseline of knowledge and understanding about what exactly SGA does.” 

Poole would also like to look into increasing student wages, improving green spaces, and developing “tangible solutions” that embody what Beneficence stands for. 

During Adam’s opening statements, he said that all he’s ever wanted to do is advocate for people. 

“I like to speak on behalf of those who aren't able to fight for themselves, and I want to see great changes in the world,” Adams said. 

He wants to ensure that students see the change they like to see, as he believes that SGA has “drifted away from its primary mission of serving the student body.”

Adams said one project he is passionate about is improving accessibility related to disability services.

This initiative would allow ramps to be redone, buttons for automatic doors to be replaced, and pedestrian signals to be redone to make it easier for students with visual impairments to cross intersections. 

He also discussed implementing a skate park, increasing Resident Advisor (RA) pay, and increasing transparency regarding bus schedules and dining hall prices. 

“We don't believe that it's our job to speak on behalf of the student body,” Adams said. “We believe it's our job to speak as the voice of the student body‒them speaking through us.”

Adams emphasized that all of his ticket’s policies come “underneath the fundamental umbrella of transparency,” where they will advocate for the issues important to the student body. 

The vice presidential debate is scheduled for Feb. 15th at 5:30 p.m. and will occur in rooms 301/302 of the Student Center. As per the SGA elections website, voting polls will open on Feb. 19th at 8 a.m. and remain online until Feb. 20th at 5 p.m.

Contact Meghan Braddy with comments via email at meghan.braddy@bsu.edu or on X @meghan_braddy .

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