USG presidential candidates debate campaigns, safety, racism

Three Undergraduate Student Government presidential tickets discussed topics such as racism in Greek life, reforming the Department of Public Safety and navigating a return to campus amidst coronavirus health concerns during Thursday’s presidential debate.

The event marked a yearly tradition of hosting a USG presidential debate, which usually takes place in the Wallis Annenberg Hall, however, this year’s event took place over Zoom. Candidates and attendees dialed in remotely, with attendance reaching over 100 students eager to hear the candidates before voting opens on Feb. 17.

Kate Lý Johnston and Emily Bonilla, the moderators of the debate, offered candidates a strict format where each ticket delivered an opening statement followed by two-minute question and answers, rebuttals, closing statements and audience questions and answers. Similar to the last U.S. presidential debate, moderators would disconnect mics for candidates that exceeded the given time limit. 

Shreya Chaudhary, a junior majoring in business administration and chief communications officer for USG, began her opening statement by offering a month by month breakdown of her campaign’s plans and their day one actions, which include setting up bi-weekly luncheons and meetings with the USG Senate. 

After Chaudhary, Alexandra Gill, a junior majoring in business administration, opened with an outsider sentiment, stating she “has not participated in USG before” and calling for “no more career politicians.” 

Alexis Areias, who currently serves as a USG Senator and is running for president, began her opening statement by emphasizing that “students demand the support they deserve,” citing issues including health care and diversity courses. 

Areias, her running mate Lucy Warren, and Chaudhary –– all of whom have served with USG in some capacity before this campaign –– have had the opportunity to experience USG from within. Vice Presidential candidate Antonio Okeke, a sophomore majoring in public policy and business administration who is running alongside Chaudhary, has no prior USG experience nor have Gill and her running mate Del Wood, a sophomore majoring in international relations and global business. Gill and Wood have positioned themselves as self-proclaimed “outsiders.”

“[Wood and I] haven’t fallen into the pattern of inaction,” Gill said. “I currently cannot think of any radical change that USG has made during my academic time here at USC. I’m waiting for change. I demand change. And if they’re not going to do it, I’ll do it myself.”

Following opening statements, moderators directed the conversation towards the coronavirus pandemic and the eventual return to campus. Areias and Warren, the first ticket invited to speak, stressed the need for professors to show empathy towards students as well as providing access to mental health resources and implementation of a university-wide notification system should a student suffer a coronavirus related hardship.

“If you get [the coronavirus], or have an unfortunate death in the family … you’re able to notify a professor immediately and all your professors simultaneously,” said Warren, a junior majoring in economics. “As well as working on on-line classes and ensuring students still have those options once they return to campus.”

On the topic of campus post coronavirus, Chaudhary and Okeke proposed “Trojan Experience,” a platform for students to further learn about aspects of coursework, housing and activities that they may have missed by not being on campus.

“We want to ensure that we can help students best make up for the time they’ve lost,” Chuadhary said.

Following Chaudhary, Gill cautioned students might be “overly indulgent” when it comes to things like “partying” and “recreational activities” upon returning to campus.

“What we need to do in terms of student wellness is give them the resources to make mistakes and then correct [their] own behavior,” Gill said.

The candidates also discussed the future of Greek life, focusing on two fronts: mental health and racism. Okeke said he wanted to aid Greek life “with its mission right now with overdose training.”

The connection of mental health and substance abuse to Greek life was echoed by Areias. As part of their campaign, Areias said she and her team look to partner with USC Trojan Awareness Combatting Overdose to make drug testing strips available. 

On combating racism in Greek life, Gill issued a call for unity and said “we need to respect the fact that they’re making active efforts.” With Wood adding caution that the issues surrounding Greek life “are so deeply ingrained in our structure.”

The other tickets said they want to hold Greek life accountable but raised concerns over the working limitations between USG and Greek.

Johnston also guided part of the conversation Thursday evening to USC’s Department of Public Safety and how candidates plan to work with the department.

“Rather than abolishing [DPS] completely, because that is not practical while living in South Central L.A., instead, we want to give students the opportunity to work alongside and shadow the institution,” Gill said.

In response, Warren rejected Gill’s sentiment, with her running mate Areias calling for “radical change within [DPS].” Chaudhary said she wants to provide DPS with the training to “be better allies of the community.”

“I spent a lot of time this year working with Chief [John] Thomas, and I respect him as a person, but DPS doesn’t stop crime; we report crimes to DPS,” said Jaya Hinton, a junior majoring in business administration and co-director of Black Student Association, to the Daily Trojan. “That’s not what they’re there for. Really all they do is terrorize Black and brown students when they’re on campus.”

In 2013, Los Angeles Police Department officers responded to a noise complaint made against a party that was predominately attended by Black students. The incident escalated when over 70 officers in riot gear were called in to the scene, culminating in multiple Black students being detained. Students protested in response, calling out racial profiling at the hands of the officers and DPS at the scene. 

This event was not a standalone: Following a shooting on campus in 2012, there was — and continues to be — an increased state of policing, particularly against Black students and community members.  

Throughout the debated issues of public safety and the future of DPS, the Zoom chat made a recurring appearance during the evening as a place for audience members to engage live with the forefront topics. An issue that sparked contentious commentary was the platform presented by Gill and Wood allowing students to have certain weapons on campus, including pepper spray and tasers.

“How, in one of the most violent cities in the U.S., do the other candidates justify defunding DPS?” Gill said. “We want students to be able to protect themselves, even if they don’t have faith in DPS.”

Following the back-and-forth on DPS, many students took to the chat –– most describing their dissent for arming students while some asserted their support for the proposal. Ending with audience question-and-answer, students were allowed to ask questions of the candidates as well as moderators addressed questions raised in the chat.

“It’s nice to see people involved in the school, that they care about the stuff and making a change,” said Serena Allen, a senior majoring in public policy and director of outreach for Shreya Antonio 2021, to the Daily Trojan.

Voting will take place from Feb. 17 to 19. The winning ticket is slated to be announced Feb. 23 during USG’s Senate meeting.