Student debt, Campustown, student diversity and even crows; these were some of the main topics for the 2012 GSB Presidential Debate between candidates Jared Knight and Jake Swanson and their respective running mates Katie Brown and David Bartholomew.

The debate consisted of the opponents sitting on opposite sides of the moderator Mike Hoefer. The debate began with each candidate allowed to give a three minute introduction about themselves, and with each question presented, they were given a minute and a half to respond.

During the opening statements the candidates reiterated their platforms.

Knight and Brown spoke about implementing a CyRide tracking system, how they would work with the overcrowding problem within the residence halls and starting a program which included all teacher evaluations and put them online for students to see.

“We know how to start projects and we know how to finish projects,” Knight said.

Swanson and Bartholomew spoke about how they have a student focused platform, how they want to reach out to the different groups, colleges and organizations, and how they wanted to fix long term problems like student debt.

“Your campus, your choice,” Swanson said.

Some of the first two questions asked by the moderator were about the candidates’ biggest weaknesses and how they planned to delegate their time if elected.

“I occasionally take on too many things and I will delegate my time very carefully, I have learned that Google Calendar is a very effective tool,” laughed Knight in response to the question about weakness and delegation of time.

In response to the same questions Swanson said, “My weakness is probably that I am younger, but that has helped me be more effective to work with a younger demographic, and I plan to delegate specific projects to specific cabinet members and keep myself organized.”

When the topic of Campustown was brought up Knight iterated on the idea that Iowa State and Campustown organizations needed to get together and figure out what is needed in the area.

On the same topic Swanson and Bartholomew talked about adding new businesses to the area but also improving security there, like improving the lighting.

Minimizing student debt became one of the main issues of the night with ideas of ways to fix the problem were discussed by the candidates. Swanson began by saying that the average Iowa State graduate has $30,000 in student debts. One of Swanson’s solutions is to appoint a tuition task force to figure out solutions to student debt problems while working with Iowa State Ambassadors more to lobby at the Iowa House and Senate.

Knight talked about how state funding keeps decreasing and tuition keeps rising. His solution stated during the debate is to work at lowering the cost of college in things that they can control. Knight proposed that they would lower the cost by lowering the cost of dining, residence living and student fees.

Following the main part of the debate, closing statements were made by the candidates.

“We have already started working with students, faculty and groups to get their ideas and thoughts, and we are really excited for this election,” Swanson said.

“We want to educate students more about what GSB is and we believe that students matter most,” Brown said.