Running mates Barry Snell and Nathan Vos made it perfectly clear that they have no intention of winning the GSB presidential election.

“I want to talk about issues that others might electorally be afraid to answer,” Vos said at last night’s vice presidential debate.

Vos said that he and Snell want to talk about the issues and inform students about a certain other candidate that is untrustworthy.

“I am not worried about being hurt electorally because I have nothing to lose,” Vos said.

Vos said our GSB elections are a popularity contest in which the one with the most likes on his or her Facebook page usually wins.

“Khayree Fitten running for the presidency is what compelled me to be on the vice presidential slate,” Vos said. “He serves for his own glory and nothing else.”

Gabe Walsh, Fitten’s vice presidential running mate, responded that although one of the candidates is trying to turn this into a smear campaign, he and Fitten will stand for issues, not simply stand against things.

“[Fitten] has done nothing but butt heads with people who have worked hard on senate and with our popular and successful President Spencer Hughes and Vice President Hillary Kletscher,” Vos said.

Aside from Snell/Vos and Walsh/Fitten, Hillary Kletscher/Mike Hoefer and Richard Martinez/Nick Lafrenz are also running for President/Vice President of GSB.

“Our platform is ‘The Year of the Student,’” Hoefer said. “Some of our biggest issues are increasing academic support like tutoring and [supplemental instruction] and an Iowa State Craigslist website.”

Walsh said his, as well as Fitten’s, GSB experience is specifically in finance.

“We want to go straight to the pocketbooks and save students money,” Walsh said. “One of our biggest projects we have already started working on is providing free e-textbooks for the top five or six classes.”

Lafrenz said that he and Martinez are focusing their platform around student diversity.

“This includes new dining options on and off campus, accessibility to their special needs and creating events to engage the diverse population,” Lafrenz said.

Adam Guenther, GSB election commissioner, asked the vice presidential candidates what reforms they would push for.

“I think the biggest is funding,” Hoefer said. “One thing Hillary and I want to do is open up funding to all student organizations.”

Walsh said that he doesn’t believe Hoefer and Kletcher’s idea of student funding is realistic.

“The reason certain groups are not eligible for GSB funding is because they already receive sorts of funding from other places on campus,” Walsh said. “We are just trying to prevent double dipping.”

Walsh said that he and Fitten would like to open an excellence fund for students that would like to attend a conference or something else along those lines.

Vos said that, as a senator, he would like to keep seeing the public relations committee expand.

“Aside from trying to push for a more diverse senate, I would just make sure everything is fair and balanced,“ Lafrenz said.

The presidential debate will be Feb. 27 at 6 p.m. in the Cardinal Room of the Memorial Union.

GSB elections will take place March 4 and 5 online at vote.iastate.edu.