With elections just two weeks away, the SGA presidential and trustee candidates gathered for a debate to discuss their platforms and ideas to the students.

The moderator, Dr. Frank Talty, read questions asked by students which all candidates had to answer in two minutes. The debate was divided in a way that the presidential candidates went first, to debate on more internal and direct UMass Lowell affairs, and then the trustee candidates followed to discuss broader, more external affair such as tuition.

The SGA president candidates, James Christopher and Sim Dy, began the debate with their opening statements, and then addressed the issue of affordability in concerns to tuition fees, textbooks and parking. Dy assumed limits in the involvement of the president in the determination of tuition and fees and spoke about the “value per how much you’re paying” which, according to him, includes large events. He also addressed textbooks by talking about the idea of making them more open-sourced.

Christopher disagreed with Dy, mentioning that as president this current year, he travelled to the State House to speak with legislators in order to secure funding for the university. If the school can obtain more state funding, then the student trustee has more security to vote to freeze tuition. Christopher’s platform coincides with Dy’s about the expansion of open-source textbooks.

Another big concern addressed in the presidential candidates’ debate was the student stipend that the SGA e-board receives. Most other clubs and their e-boards are voluntary, and the SGA e-board makes a collective $10,000 annually that goes directly to its members. The president alone makes $3,000 of that money every year.

Dy made a promise to eliminate his and his vice president’s stipend which would total $5,000; he feels that money should go back to the clubs.

“It’s something…we feel we do not deserve to put in our own pocket… Even though we are one of the biggest organizations on campus, there are other organizations…that don’t have an e-board or anything like that. And we feel it is our voluntary decision to be running for this office, so why not?” Dy said.

Christopher elaborated on the exact numbers each member of the e-board receives, including his own, which alone totals $3,000 per year, although, unlike Dy, he does not feel the SGA President position should be voluntary. He directly addressed Dy: “I can tell you, Sim, as Student President I put in 15-20 hours per week working in student government-related affairs. So if I weren’t to receive this stipend…I probably couldn’t be Student Government President.” He addressed that everyone comes from different financial backgrounds, so the stipend may feel as an option for some, but a necessity for others.

The student presidential candidates also debated topics such as LGBTQ inclusivity and the inclusivity of the SGA as a whole, as well as many other noteworthy issues.

The student trustee candidates took to the stage after to discuss their issues. Candidate Lindy Reed came with an entourage of fans and friends wearing t-shirts supporting her campaign. Reed and fellow candidate Jesse Kruszka began their debates with a similar set up to the presidential debates prior, beginning with questions about what a trustee does and concerns about tuition.

Each UMass school has one student trustee, which means there are five total in the system. The student trustees accompany the board of trustees to the State House to vote on different issues that affect all UMass schools. Each year, two student trustees are chosen to participate in a vote to raise or freeze tuition for the school.

On Reed’s website, she explains that “affordability is [her] number one priority.” Kruszka also acknowledged that affordability is very important. Dr. Talty, the moderator and a former student trustee, asked a personal question in regards to the difficult decisions a student trustee must make. On this, the candidates differed. Reed vouched that she would choose to keep costs low no matter what. Kruszka countered, explaining that if a problem arose that involved increasing costs but would benefit students in the long run, he would vote for what was in the best interest of the students.

All candidates expressed very strong priorities and issues they will want to address if they are elected. Most have information on Facebook or a website that explains further their plans if they are elected for their desired positions. Voting will take place April 12 to April 13.