The four executive slates on the ballot for Government of the Student Body president and vice president met for the third and final debate Thursday in the Memorial Union.

The debate, which was moderated by the Iowa State Daily editorial board, allowed the candidates to discuss current university issues and the action they would take as student leaders.

In addition to tuition increases, the faculty petition on the ISU administration and student apathy, the candidates discussed their opinions about the future of Veishea.

GSB worked with the administration in the fall to clarify the rules for Veishea before senators took the pledge for a dry celebration.

“As long as President [Martin] Jischke is here and students from that time period are here, I do not think Veishea will go back to being wet,” said Alex Olson, candidate for vice president. “In the future, it is quite conceivable. I’m open to it, but I wouldn’t count on it.”

Presidential candidate Matt Welk said students can regain control of Veishea if they want to badly enough.

“Someday we’re going to prove to the administration that we’re mature and responsible, and they’re going to hand it back to us, if that’s what the students want,” he said.

A major issue that fueled the ongoing and controversial senate debate over the Veishea pledge was the administration’s position that Veishea be alcohol-free or called off.

“Basically, ‘The Man’ has been in Veishea the last couple of years, and we need to get the administration out of Veishea,” said vice-presidential candidate Luke Howell, who is running with Wendell Mosby. “That’s why people take pride in Veishea; it’s student run. We need to totally reconsider everything and take a different stance.”

Lisa Dlouhy, candidate for vice president, said a lot of students were confused about the specifics of Veishea’s rules.

“I contacted a lot of off-campus students, and the majority of the responses were indifferent or they weren’t sure of the rules,” she said. “We want to encourage the administration to be more open to the students.”

Presidential candidate Rick Cordaro, who served on the Interim Rules for Veishea Committee, said the work that was accomplished last fall between student leaders and the administration was a step in the right direction.

Vice-presidential candidate Kara Ladlie said the administration’s intervention in the rules for Veishea was not a negative thing.

“There is no reason that alcohol is needed to have a good time,” she said.

Ben Golding, candidate for president, said the students eventually will regain control of the spring celebration.

“It has been successful and can be successful dry,” he said.

The candidates also reviewed the past year of GSB work to decide what was the most important piece of legislation the senate tackled.

Presidential hopeful Wendell Mosby said the Catt Hall resolution that was passed to follow up on the work of the Catt Hall committee left an “everlasting impact” on the university.

“The Catt Hall resolution put closure to the recommendations that the Catt Hall Review Committee made to the senate,” he said. “Those students fought for something they believed in, and they didn’t back down.”

The senate recently allocated $125,000 for the construction of a bus shelter in the commuter-parking lot.

“Students came to us about the commuter lot,” Golding said. “In response, we’ve been working on this for the last two years.”

Olson said the bill to bring electronic voting to GSB elections will let students have their voices heard.

“We want students at Iowa State to have a voice, and electronic voting gives them that voice.”

Welk said the most important issue GSB has dealt with this year is the resolution to support the evaluation of Jischke and the current tenure system requested in the faculty-issued petition.

“We would like to see the additional review because review can never be bad,” he said. “We do want to see a balance of research and teaching.”

After the main questions were asked, the editorial board sprung a “lightening round” of questions on the candidates, where they cast their votes for Coke or Pepsi, David Letterman or Jay Leno, “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” and Karl Marx or Alan Greenspan.

The GSB elections will take place Feb. 28 and 29 and March 1. Students may cast their votes at several polling locations around campus, and a current ISU ID and fee card are required to participate.