The Hustler hosted a debate on March 23 between VSG presidential candidate Hananeel Morinville, a junior, and sophomores Lin Morales and Dee Norman, running together for president and vice president, respectively. The candidates discussed their platforms, issues on campus and their plans for internal VSG reform if elected.

This debate occurred in advance of the upcoming presidential election, which was recently postponed and then resumed beginning with a single-day campaign period on March 25. First-years Sevaan Prestipino and Rachel Warner, the third ticket in the VSG presidential election, declined to participate in the debate as Prestipino believed the debate would create “more disunity and hostility.” Junior Ellie Kearns — running for vice president alongside Morinville — was unable to attend as she is off campus.

Each ticket answered eight questions, including five general questions and three specific to their campaigns. The questions were inspired by students, the Multicultural Leadership Council and the campaigns themselves. The candidates were given three minutes to respond to each question.

Campaign platforms

Morinville commenced the debate by explaining her and Kearns’ campaign slogan of “Change That’s Possible.” Their platform includes 20 points within five  areas, such as making campus parking more affordable, supporting local businesses, expanding the VSG Thrift Shop and working to prevent sexual violence.

“[Our slogan] is very focused on what we know to be true because we both have three years of experience being in VSG, so we’re starting to create change that’s feasible on campus,” Morinville said.

Morales and Norman said their platform centers on eliminating the “alienation” they have experienced on campus due to their identities and connecting VSG to student organizations like the MLC and members of the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition. Norman said they want to make VSG “more diverse and transparent” through initiatives such as expanding the VSG newsletters and encouraging Vanderbilt’s Faculty Senate to record their meetings. 

“Every one of our values and policies stem from the goal of making Vanderbilt a better home for all students, and we firmly believe that for Vanderbilt to be a home, every student must feel accepted, safe and included in both the student government and the community as a whole,” Morales said.

Speaking on which of their campaign platforms would be their top priority if elected, Morales and Norman pointed to their goal of pushing the university to move away from its stance of principled neutrality, which Norman believes has been used as a “weapon” against minority students to divide campus, citing protests during the Nov. 29 Michael Knowles speaker event.

“We truly believe in forming a more unified campus, so we can make it clear what our values as a student body are [and] so that the administration can also be encouraged to show what their values are,” Norman said.

Morinville emphasized her and Kearns’ prioritization of internal changes to VSG if elected, including more “direct access” to and “consistency” within VSG as well as increased use of Roadmaps, VSG’s petition submission website.

“If there are changes internally with how VSG is functioning and how people are communicating with VSG, that’s how we’re going to push for external changes,” Morinville said.

Prior VSG experience

Morinville highlighted both her and Kearns’ work in VSG as experience that will make them effective student body leaders. Morinville, as chair of VSG’s economic inclusivity committee, led initiatives like the Nashville airport shuttle, while Kearns, as chairs of VSG’s sexual assault awareness and prevention committee, spearheaded the Angel Drink initiative and brought Me Too Movement founder Tarana Burke to campus amid sexual assault prevention week.

“We have experience both inside of VSG and in different roles outside of VSG. Something that is so central to me and Ellie is that we’ve been able to get things done within VSG, and I think our history and our record speaks for itself,” Morinville said.

Morales and Norman have served as members of the public safety and transportation committee and as an MLC senator for the Vanderbilt Lambda Association, respectively. Both also emphasized their experience as student workers as providing them with insight into Vanderbilt’s internal affairs.

“I’ve interacted with freshmen, upperclassmen, administrators, student organizations and members from outside the university on a local level,” Morales said. “I’m very familiar with a lot of issues on campus as well as am in a unique position of hearing from these communities consistently.”

Stances on Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions

The Hustler asked the candidates to respond to administration’s cancellation of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions amendment proposed to VSG. Morales and Norman said they delayed their campaigning in order to take part in the Vanderbilt Divest Coalition’s “Apartheid Wall” sit-in in Rand Yard. They both voiced support for the amendment and want to see it reinstated to be voted on alongside VSG’s  presidential and vice presidential candidates, calling the cancellation an “illegal infringement on students rights.”

“If we are elected, we would ensure VSG’s budget does not include any funding towards the student side while also seeing how we can use the VSG budget for humanitarian aid to those afflicted, and we would encourage Vanderbilt to do the same,” Norman said.

Morinville said she believes students “are entitled to the right to vote” and said she and Kearns would support “what the students want and need.” She cited past VSG amendments including the land acknowledgement and divestment from fossil fuels as initiatives that passed in VSG despite not receiving support from university administration.

“We are going to explore options of doing this within VSG’s infrastructure. Something like this can be a bill that passes in the Senate. There are ways to do this, even without administration,” Morinville said. “VSG is also not a part of the university — I think that’s something important to point out.”

Academic transparency

The general questions section concluded with the candidates discussing their similar platform ideas of publishing class syllabi on YES for class registration. All three campaign tickets, including the Prestipino-Warner campaign, have advocated for the addition of syllabi to YES for class registration. Morinville said she will push for professors to publish a “loose syllabus idea” on YES that would include course books and general format.

“This is also an equity issue. Many students are going to classes and then finding out that they have to read several different books, and the cost of those continue to add up,” Morinville said.

Morales and Norman suggested creating a “repository” that would contain the syllabi of various courses across campus to provide students with a general sense of the course. This comes as part of their campaign prioritization of publicizing university resources they believe to be underutilized by the student body. Norman also said they would work with department heads to publish older course syllabi.

“This goes back to our belief that no student should be limited by their resources on campus,” Norman said.

Candidate-specific questions

The candidate-specific questions opened by asking Morinville about her campaign’s proposal of creating a long-lasting tradition on campus. Morinville said she wants to create a tradition that centers on connecting students’ first and senior years. Morales and Norman then responded to a question about their proposal to create a “State of VSG” newsletter as part of their VSG accountability goals. Norman said this new newsletter would provide students with information about VSG’s “internal elements.” Morales and Norman also said they will work to encourage the Vanderbilt Faculty Senate to record and publish their meetings.

Speaking on her platform’s goals to increase “diverse involvement” in VSG, Morinville discussed her and Kearns’ plan to make  VSG more accessible to cultural organizations through reconsidering the allocation of VSG funds. She said the Morinville-Kearns ticket has been endorsed by the African Student Union, Black Students Association and Association for Latin American Students, among other identity-based student organizations.

“I can’t really say too much about the budget that’s currently in place, but we want to maximize the budget and increase it a little more, so we’re able to help more students,” Morinville said.

Morales and Norman have publicly condemned the university’s stance of principled neutrality, saying they believe the policy unjustly acts “as a blanket excuse” to promote speaker events with individuals who “attack identities on campus.” In response to how they would push the university to abandon this policy, the candidates said they plan to work with tenured faculty they believe oppose principled neutrality to encourage administration to reconsider their position.

“If we were elected, I think we can really work on the risk in that position to form a more united front of both the students and tenured faculty who oppose this,” Norman said. “To be very clear, the only people who are benefiting from principled neutrality and its usage are Diermeier and Vanderbilt administration.”

Morinville also discussed her ticket’s plan to recognize National Mental Health Day on Oct. 10 if elected. She said she will push professors to cancel classes that day and work to create relaxation spaces on campus.

“Obviously mental health is something that needs more than a few minutes. It needs more than a few days. So it’s very much going to be a work in progress,” Morinville said. “Ellie and I simply want to begin the work by recognizing National Mental Health Day.”

Morales and Norman concluded by discussing their plans to increase inclusivity on campus through more inclusive housing on campus for transgender students and greater collaboration with student advocacy groups.

“We need advocacy for [marginalized] identities. If we feel even a little bit heard — even a little bit represented — I think that goes a long way in what we can do as students,” Morales said.