Opposition sharpened during the student body presidential debate last Wednesday. Presidential candidate Paige Oltmans, alongside John Placke, debated against presidential candidate Brenden Sloup and running mate Claire Berquist.
The candidates opened the debate by delivering their campaign statements within a one-minute time frame.
“Our campaign and cabinet believe that UNK is at its absolute best when Lopers feel connected to each other, to their faculty and to their university in the direction it is going,” Sloup said. “Our campaign has four major pillars: campus engagement, increased accountability and transparency, increased campus security and support for students and finally advocating for each and every one of our Lopers.”
Sloup and Berquist plan to create an engagement task force of 8-10 people if elected.
“At the end of the day, UNK deserves leadership that actively listens, that actively acts and advocates for the betterment of all Lopers,” Sloup said. “That is the leadership that we are prepared to provide to you all.”
Berquist, vice presidential candidate with Sloup, focuses on communication as a preparation strategy.
“Brenden and I have really focused on communicating between the two of us,” Berquist said. “I have developed pretty good time management skills and organization skills.”
Sloup said the main thing on their cabinets’ agenda is that they don’t use vague hypotheticals ever.
“You will never hear my cabinet say we want to do this, or we will try to do that,” Sloup said. “It’s always we will do this and we are committed to doing that. Leadership at the end of the day is not about hoping, it’s about executing.”
Oltmans is running for president under the platform “Connect at UNK.”
“I am currently our student body vice president,” Oltmans said. “In this position, I have gotten to work really closely with President Sam Schroeder and work with him on his projects, but I’ve also gotten to work on a lot of my own projects.”
Oltmans advocates for turning student voices into actionable change.
“Connect at UNK also has four pillars: Connecting students to each other, connecting students to their voice, connecting students to their campus and connecting students to their future,” Oltmans said. “With these four pillars, we really hope to bring students together and make sure every Loper has a voice on campus. I really want everyone to know that I love this university, and I am passionate about my role here.”
Placke, vice presidential candidate with Oltmans, has taken a step back from his fraternity to focus on his role.
“I feel that my presence would be more felt as the vice president, supporting Paige in her role,” Placke said. “It’s my goal to make myself as available as possible, especially when Paige isn’t able to make it to events.”
Oltmans believes students should trust her in the role due to her experience.
“As vice president, I have gotten a lot of useful knowledge, I have built relationships with administration, and I also have demonstrated that ability with programs that I have implemented, like Swipe Out Hunger,” Oltmans said. “That’s something I initiated and organized.”
Students believe the debate gave good insight into the candidates’ stances.
“I thought it was a great debate,” said Dawson Heiser, a freshman at UNK. “I thought both of them spoke very well. They gave a lot of very good answers on their policies and how they intend to represent the student government.”
Voting for the election will take place on March 4-5. Students will be able to participate through ballots sent to their UNK email.
Presidential candidate Paige Oltmans’ campaign slogan is ‘Connect to UNK.’ Photo by Jenju Peters / Antelope Staff
