A lot has happened since the vice presidential debate, which should give students all the more reason to attend the presidential debate.

Student Government is in turmoil. While it should be noted that it is the responsibility of the current set of executive and legislative leadership to address long-standing issues, it will only be a few short months before it is on the crux of the next president and vice president to ensure the future success of the organization.

That being said, a lot of what Student Government does is outward facing. The president and vice president build a campaign on what they can do for the student body and how they can impact change on campus. Senators, too, run on campaigns impassioned by a vision to help their college or residency.

And when it is time to select Cabinet members, the president and vice president reach out to all of campus — bringing in leaders driven to make a difference on a certain topic or issue.

But what does this all lead to?

A bunch of random people, some elected and some not, thrown together with the hope that they will eventually all get along. And as recent events show, this doesn’t always happen.

Because of this, the ISD Editorial Board encourages all candidates currently running for a Student Government position to adapt their campaigns to include ways in which they will manage conflict and build a cohesive Student Government.

Many students join student organizations to work in a field that interests them, as well as to develop professionally. Student Government helps train students to be competent and confident leaders. As difficult as the current conflict may be, it serves as a learning experience for all involved — both those directly involved and those watching from afar.

With this, it is important that incoming leadership recognizes this as an area that needs to be consistently addressed. Henceforth, it should become a regular part of the campaign process. Yes, the president and vice president are running to make Iowa State better, but to do so, they need to ensure that Student Government also becomes better.

Examples could include building upon the leadership retreat Student Government goes on at the beginning of the fall semester. Not only should there be a greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion training, but also project management and conflict resolution.

Additionally, there should be more consistent efforts to assess the climate of the legislative and executive branches. A random survey doing so is worthless unless action is guaranteed to follow.

While it may feel odd for the slates to run on an internal platform, the first step in addressing some of the systematic issues plaguing Student Government is to realize that they exist and recognize that as a leader you are intrinsic to the solution.

Transparency is great to run on, as well as increasing the presence of the legislative and executive branches on campus, but more is needed to ensure that Student Government doesn’t fall back into old habits.