The candidate debate for the Student Government president and vice president executive alliance took place Monday. Topics ranged from student housing issues to concealed carry policies.

Four executive alliances qualified for candidacy and participated in Monday’s debate hosted by Megan Tran, editor-in-chief of The Daily Texan. The presidential and vice presidential candidates are as follows: Diego Collazo with Brian Pena, George Boghs with Ana Fuentes, Harsh Kumar with Marlene Weis and Helen Getachew with William Ramirez.

Collazo-Pena campaign

The Collazo-Pena campaign platform aims to implement policies that are not only beneficial to the University, but also look at the bigger picture and expand outreach beyond campus. They also want to focus on bettering the relationship between SG and the student body.

Collazo and Pena said they believe the time they have spent as liberal arts representatives for SG over the last year has given them the experience and knowledge to make these things happen. 

“(SG) has consistently missed an opportunity to utilize things outside of the Forty Acres to bring about genuine, tangible change for all of UT-Austin,” Pena said. “When it comes to housing and the affordability of housing, when it comes to equitable transportation, when it comes to voter registration, civic engagement … this is something we can do.”

Boghs-Fuentes campaign

The Boghs-Fuentes campaign platform focuses on change that can be seen in the everyday life of students at the University. Boghs and Fuentes said they want to incorporate students who are not being properly included in the dialogue.

They also pointed out they are the only executive alliance candidates that have no direct correlation to the legislative branch of SG, which Boghs said has become “increasingly more performative.”

“When George and I decided that we would run together, we were inspired by the different and completely unique experiences that each of us has had within this University,” Fuentes said. “It has inspired our seven-policy platform on which we are running which includes access to mental health, addressing food insecurity, and also increasing diversity, equity and inclusion, advocating for reproductive justice and advocating for student workers.”

Kumar-Weis campaign

The Kumar-Weis campaign platform puts emphasis on student financial aid and income. The duo wants to establish a Universitywide cooperative education program also known as a work-study initiative. Kumar said such a program already exists within the Cockrell School of Engineering but they would like it to be present across all colleges.

Weis said the proposal is a program where students would start work early in their college careers, typically at the University. Then they would go into an Austin-based company and  students would then be able to earn a full salary, she said.

“This is something that already exists in a lot of other colleges — Georgia Tech and Northeastern to be specific, among others — and this is something companies already hire for,” Kumar said. 

Getachew-Ramirez campaign

The Getachew-Ramirez campaign platform is centered on better access to information and resources for students. The pair emphasized that access to information for students can be limited by administrative decisions.

“There are some resources that are often neglected, such as the website not being up to date, with the contact office phone number not being used,” Getachew said. “Through my time in (SG), I’ve done a couple of initiatives, and I hope to further expand on them and improve accessibility through all of my policy platforms.”