The three executive slates running for Government of the Student Body president and vice president took their first major step down the campaign trail Thursday afternoon with a public debate.

The executive slates include Mike Banasiak and Ben Albright, Shawn Faurote and Vicky Lio, and Matt Denner and Jonathan Mullin.

About 30 students listened in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union as the candidates expressed their opinions about numerous controversial issues.

Tim Kearns, former GSB senator and Daily columnist, moderated Thursday’s debate.

Central focuses of the debate included diversity issues and the student body’s relationship with the City of Ames.

Candidates also critically scrutinized each other’s background and experiences, both within GSB and beyond.

All six candidates said increasing campus awareness of diversity was an issue their slate plans to address.

“More diversity needs to be brought to this campus,” said Banasiak, junior in management information systems.

Albright said he and Banasiak hope to increase awareness of diversity through the director of diversity position on their executive cabinet.

“It’s a matter of creating more awareness on campus,” said Albright, junior in agricultural studies.

He and Banasiak said they plan to look into the possibility of creating a multicultural center on campus, but they are not going to make any promises at this time.

“This is something we would like to look into,” Albright said. “It’s something we want to look into — not rush into.”

Lio said diversity includes more components than race, ethnicity, class and gender.

“What we would like to do is stress different ideas, different ideals,” said Lio, senior in journalism and mass communication and Daily staff writer.

“As a minority student, I have had extensive conversations with other minorities on campus,” she said.

Faurote and Lio said one of their slate’s main platforms is to create a multicultural center on campus.

“We would utilize the Memorial Union [for the multicultural center],” said Faurote, junior in mechanical engineering. “We need to be where students are, serving students.

Denner and Mullin said creating a multicultural center is one of their main priorities as well.

“We’re going to make sure there is a multicultural center in the MU,” said Denner, junior in political science.

Mullin said he and Denner plan to use student fee money to create a multicultural center in the Memorial Union.

“We feel it would be a much more inclusive area,” said Mullin, senior in biochemistry.

Candidates also debated about the possibility of adding a voting student representative to the Ames City Council.

“We want to make sure the city council listens to student concerns,” Mullin said. “It would be great to see [the idea of a voting student] pushed forward.”

Albright said he believes a student will have to prove himself or herself on the Ames City Council before voting rights are a realistic possibility.

Faurote and Lio said they would also like to improve the relationship between ISU students and Ames residents.

“We would actively seek the students’ ideas and concerns and put them first,” Lio said.

The final executive debate will be held at 7 p.m. Tuesday in the Campanile Room of the Memorial Union.