Editor’s note: This is the final installment in a two-part series profiling the candidates for GSB executive offices.

Two of the candidates for Government of the Student Body executive positions said their combined wealth of experience in governmental and student affairs will allow them to tackle the challenges the future holds for ISU students.

Steve Medanic and his running mate, Andrew Kothenbeutel, have been active in governmental affairs on several levels.

They are running for Government of the Student Body president and vice president.

Both are currently involved with GSB: Medanic is the finance director, and Kothenbeutel, speaker of the senate.

They are running against T.J. Schneider, director of academic affairs for GSB; and his running mate, Joe Darr, vice speaker of the senate for GSB.

“We have a lot of experience working with the issues,” Kothenbeutel said. “We’ve met with students, we’ve worked with the students, we’re here to work for the students.”

Medanic said the election will come down to a difference in experience.

“We have the most experience,” Medanic said.

“You need to look at everyone’s record and what they’ve done so far to help students.”

As additional budget cuts and tuition hikes loom, Medanic said he and Kothenbeutel plan to fight tuition increases.

“The state of Iowa is just hurting itself by raising tuition,” he said.

Medanic said he plans to reach out to not only students, but their parents, friends, families and school boards to encourage them to get involved in the fight against tuition increases.

Kothenbeutel said he has attended numerous meetings of the Board of Regents, which he described as not always a “friendly area for students.”

He said the more experience a group has working with them, the better the organization will fair.

“They already know who we are,” Kothenbeutel said of the Board of Regents. “Someone else would take two or three months just to get to know them.”

Another initiative for Medanic and Kothenbeutel is to streamline the GSB allocation process by putting the funding process online, making it easier for student organizations to apply and receive funding.

“It’s their money; it should not be that hard for students to come and get it,” Medanic said.

He said the allocation process continues to evolve and is much simpler today than it was when he became the finance director two years ago.

“There is less red tape and hoops to jump through,” Medanic said.

Campus parking is another issue Medanic and Kothenbeutel hope to tackle.

“We have the connections with DPS, and we can direct their attention to students’ concerns,” Medanic said. “We have the relationships necessary to get these initiatives started.”